Today was bath day! But really… bath day started several days ago. We don’t just introduce a brand-new, overwhelming experience all at once. Instead, we layer it. Over the past few days the puppies have: • Spent time in the bathroom • Heard the water running • Experienced the sights and smells of the space • Felt gentle handling around their faces, feet, and bodies • Watched littermates explore the area calmly Each piece is small on its own, but together, they build confidenc

Today we played the box game, and it is one of those simple looking activities that actually does a lot of heavy lifting behind the scenes. The box game can be done with a shallow box or a shallow pan. Today, we used a metal aluminum pan. The point is not the object itself. The point is that it is something new. At first, most puppies simply sniff it, touch it with their nose, or paw at it. Sometimes they will place one paw in, sometimes two. That first session is usually ver

Today, we worked on ramping up the clicker. At this stage, the clicker is not about asking for behaviors or shaping responses yet. Right now, it has one simple job: to teach the puppies that the sound of the click always predicts something good. Every click is followed immediately by a reward. No exceptions. No pressure. No excitement. Just consistency. For this session, I chose to use a raw dog food as the reward. Although we do not feed a raw diet long term, I do intentiona