Red Maple K9

Stop saying hi 👋

The word socialization is tossed around so much these days. Naturally people think it’s the ability of a dog to be social, so the answer must be to meet every dog and human we see so we can put our dog in social situations and see how they react.

But did you know one of the most common issues I hear at our assessments is that their dog won’t stop saying hi? That that they get too excited when passing by dogs and so they start barking, lunging and pulling to get to the dog? That they got bit meeting a new dog once and ever since then their dog has become reactive?

Socialization with control is what we look for. Swipe to the end to see the 5 things we do as trainers to socialize our dog! 🐶

Welcoming a family member home is super exciting!

You bought all their toys and bowls, the treats your last dog loved but got extra just in case they didn’t like the first ones… the blankets are laid out, a schedule planned, vacation days taken.

But a week or 2 later you’re now asking if this was a mistake, did you jump the gun and your parents were right all along, did the dog naturally have these behaviours or did we cause them somehow!?, “am I going to be that person that returns an adopted shelter dog back to the shelter?”.

Believe it or not, these are all very valid and normal experiences most of us have felt at least once in our life. You’re not alone. We’ve heard it from hundreds of our clients that we meet and they’re not alone either 🫶

Collecting years of hands on experience and knowledge around the world, we’ve came up with 5 important tips to help you and your new dog succeed in their new home 🏡

Remember, these tips and tools are not forever, eventually your dog will build the skills and you’ll have the tools to branch out and give them the life you have always dreamed of! But until then, here are 5 things I would never do with a dog I just adopted.



Welcoming a family member home is super exciting!

You bought all their toys and bowls, the treats your last dog loved but got extra just in case they didn’t like the first ones… the blankets are laid out, a schedule planned, vacation days taken.

But a week or 2 later you’re now asking if this was a mistake, did you jump the gun and your parents were right all along, did the dog naturally have these behaviours or did we cause them somehow!?, “am I going to be that person that returns an adopted shelter dog back to the shelter?”.

Believe it or not, these are all very valid and normal experiences most of us have felt at least once in our life. You’re not alone. We’ve heard it from hundreds of our clients that we meet and they’re not alone either 🫶

Collecting years of hands on experience and knowledge around the world, we’ve came up with 5 important tips to help you and your new dog succeed in their new home 🏡

Remember, these tips and tools are not forever, even