A young puppy has the patience of an active toddler. When you first teach behaviors, keep durations short. What do I mean by that? Work up to a solid 20-second stay for things such as place, go to bed, sit-stay, down-stay, kennel doorways, and wait. That’s the first benchmark. As soon as your puppy can remain still and calm for that amount of time (it may take the first few weeks to achieve this, so be patient), then start adding the 4D’s: distance, duration, distractions, and difficulty....

Today is a sunshiny, beautiful fall day. Love the crisp, fresh air. We started posting daily on the blog a few weeks ago, and then got knocked off the map by a relentless flu. It came around for a third wham earlier this week, leaving me with little energy to spare. Of course, the office doesn't bark, nor wag it's tail, excited to see me, so the little energy and mental clarity I had just didn't reach around to everything office related. If you reached out during this time, and didn't get a...