Success Story: Helping new parents set safer expectations for their pup
Becoming a new parent is a beautiful yet stressful time of learning and bonding as a family. As the parents are adjusting to their new way of life, so also must any fur babies in the home. Luckily, we were able to help one amazing family make this transition by working with their bulldog and ensure harmony. They had already completed traditional dog training with him but were still struggling to keep his high energy play and habits in check. Knowing safety and respect were the first priorities, we began making adjustments for good behavior. The more prominent area of concern was door control. When the doorbell rang, the dog would burst up and explode through the house. His owners were worried he would accidentally harm their baby while plowing through in a frenzy to reach the door. We taught proper door control but modified our techniques to him only barking a few times. This would make sure he didn't wake the baby when a guest arrived.
Food control was also a focus of the session. We showed them how to keep the dog from stealing the baby's food while crawling on the floor or jumping up to reach the high chair. The issues of carrying off the baby's toys were easily fixed when we addressed the feelings of jealousy the dog was experiencing by showing him even though a new baby was in the house, the owners still loved their dog.
Lastly, we taught them minor improvements such as some of their play activities were teaching the dog bad behavior's that they didn't want near the baby. We had a very good time with this family and showed them some different ways to play with the dog that wouldn't cause to much excitement when the baby was around. Now they can all enjoy time together without anxiety and adjust to this new chapter of life together.
