09/24/2026
Daisy ā a great example of why addressing the little things early matters.
Daisy came to me at about 8Ā½ weeks old for a week of board and train to work through some crate issues. She is a confident, outgoing puppy with a BIG personality ā and she had already decided that if she didnāt like something, she was going to make sure everyone knew about it. š
The first video was taken when I picked her up. She was crated in the car for the roughly 20-minute ride to my house, and she angrily barked the entire way. She wasnāt settling, she wasnāt relaxing, and she certainly wasnāt quietly accepting that sometimes we have to do things we donāt particularly want to do.
Fast forward to the ride home, and the difference speaks for itself. Same puppy, same crate, same car ā but now she is calmly and happily riding along, completely settled and quiet.
Daisy is a really nice puppy. She has confidence, personality, and plenty of opinions. And thatās exactly why it is so important to address those little attitude issues while they are still little.
A puppy who learns that barking, protesting, pushing boundaries, or being generally naughty gets them what they want can very easily grow into an adult dog who believes they run the household. It is much easier ā and much fairer to the dog ā to teach them early on that boundaries are consistent, expectations are clear, and they can handle being told āno.ā
Of course, a week of training is only the beginning. What happens after a dog goes home matters just as much as the work done here. I can put the time and effort into teaching the dog, but the owners are the ones who ultimately have to maintain those expectations and continue reinforcing the behaviors.
And Daisy's owners deserve a huge amount of credit here. They have been communicating, asking questions, following through, and putting in the work. They arenāt looking for a quick fix ā they are actively participating in raising a well-mannered dog.
That consistency is what is going to turn this confident, spicy little puppy into the lovely adult dog she has the potential to become. ā¤ļø
Starting early, setting boundaries, and following through matters ā especially with the puppies who have a little extra personality!
