I am about to adopt a 10-week-old lab  retriever. Can you share your training schedules, tips and tricks, and things for a while at work? Thanks in advance.  This is a very good question. Having a 10-week cold, puppy at home can come with a lot of challenges, a lot of difficulties, and a lot of learning, for both you and your pup. A lot of experiencing new things, overcoming challenges, enjoying just simply having a p. But these are all questions, that will be very relevant to anyone that has a brand. New puppy at home. So let's start with what schedule should I have with my dog? And, really the best way I can answer that is what schedule works for you? And I don't mean, what schedule works for you and your pup. I mean, what schedule works for you. And, this doesn't even need to be related to having a puppy, but rather, what schedule works in your lifestyle. I know that for me, a typical nine-to-five schedule does not work. And so instead of trying to force myself into that schedule, I make the schedule that I do have for myself, work for me. And so if your schedule is a nine to five, then that's the schedule you wanna work with. I will say, that if you have a 10-week cold, a brand new puppy at home, and you are expecting to go to work, tier nine to five, or whatever that schedule might be. That you have someone there, to give your puppy breaks, to give your puppy instances where they get to be with someone. That way they're not either in a crate or alone for far too long. That is a lot to ask for over a young pup. That's something that needs to be developed through time. But, having someone that can come to your home or already be at home and spend some time with your puppy while also letting them have some time alone. That way they don't get used to always having someone home. That can very much be an advantage so that your puppy never feels too overwhelmed, or too stressed from just being alone and, and away from you for too long. But as far as an actual schedule goes, really make it so that it works around you. And really the best practical tip I can give in this scenario about schedules would be to have your dog do things with you before you need them to do things without. And what that means is if at 9:00 AM you're heading out for work and maybe the next person isn't going to interact with your p for one or two or three hours, then I would recommend doing activities with your puppy beforehand. Physical enrichment, mental enrichment, even potentially socialization. And, a 10-week cold puppy is likely not going to classes yet, or much as far as a walk goes. But you can still do a lot of, socialization, play some new sounds. Bring out the vacuum cleaner without turning it on just yet. New things that have your pup thinking. Have your pup learn. Oh, this is not so bad. This is still social. Very much socialization for your dog to learn. These things are okay to be around and they. Feel good. And so doing those things before you have to leave, before we have to head out, or before, let's say if you work from home before, you want your pup to give space, time, and quiet. , make sure that you give them what they need. So that's how I, I would build my schedule, around that. I would make sure that before 10:00 AM whether 10:00 AM means work, whether 10:00 AM means cooking, whether 10:00 AM means. Yoga, whatever. Make sure that before then your puppy is getting what he needs. That way, what you want, the time alone that you have corresponds with your puppy wanting to rest, wanting to be on his own, wanting to actually, be just in a place or room or in their crate where they're just happy to rest cuz they already got what they needed from you. What about tricks? As far as tricks go, I would play that into, the mental enrichment that I just mentioned. You can very much start with the basics for a 10-week-old pup, you don't have to go very far where you can take tricks a little bit further as if your puppy already has the basics at this young age. I wouldn't focus too much on adding more newer tricks. I would focus on the basic sit, stay down, and do those with distractions. So just like I mentioned, the vacuum cleaner is a great distraction. Their football can be another distraction. Perhaps the door open with your puppy on a harness and leash, that can be another distraction, but they're still being asked to do the same tricks. It's just that by doing the tricks that they already know, but you adding some, new layers, some new levels to those activities. You're not just having them learn. Oh yeah, my dog can do that, sit with the door open. You're also having your puppy learn impulse control while socializing in a way as well with the door being open with maybe sound, the vacuum cleaner as well. So you're mixing a few things, at once, but nothing that is, too difficult for your puppy, comparing one trick versus the other. So, Sit versus rollover. Those are two very different exercises as opposed to sitting with the door open. It's still the same exercise and trick but you're having them take it to the next level and you're gaining a lot of impulse control, practice, and training as a result. So I would very much get creative, think of ways where you can use your dog's, tricks that they already know, to have them really hone behaviors that you. Will want to have them have, for their lifetime, like, impulse control is a good one. Socialization, of course. A socialized dog will likely have better behaviors to give to you. one that has a lot of impulse control. Same. And so that's where I would go as far as tricks. So, while you are at work, and I'm assuming at work means you are at home, as I mentioned, I would recommend having someone come over so that your puppy is resting in their crate or where you've left them, but not for too long to a point where they get overwhelmed and for each puppy that may be different. There are some puppies that really cannot handle being left alone, potentially just based on their demeanor. Or, just from, their experience. And so I would try to have someone come over, based on what your puppy can handle. If your puppy can handle only 10 minutes, make sure that they're not alone for more than nine, and someone is showing up right before the 10th minute. It sounds very difficult and challenging because it is, but that way you can really make it so it's never, too difficult for a young puppy, like a 10-week-old, pup. But as far as having your dog do things while you're at work, as they get a little bit older, I would definitely recommend more than anything, kongs, chew toys, and I would usually wrap it up at that. I know a lot of people will ask and want to use puzzles, snuffle mats, slow feeders, balls, and other kinds of, playful toys. And those are great. However, with a young puppy, with a young adolescent dog, if we're maybe worried about some chewing, destructive behavior, I wouldn't leave them with those toys,, a whole lot other than Kongs or the toys that are very resistant to chewing. I would leave them primarily with those types of toys because, I know that it's safer for them to chew, but also if I am leaving a dog, especially a young puppy, I'm making sure that any kind of enrichment as far as things for them to do that is a little bit more on the enrichment side, have already been done before I leave the house before I leave for work. And this is a lot of work, but this is how I can. Set my puppy up for success by making sure that my time away, my busy time, where I can't give them attention to them represents rest. And that's why I want to be able to give them what they need before I ask for what I want.

Dogs are very good at communicating with us through non-verbal cues and their eyes can oftentimes speak louder than the loudest bark! if you find your dog staring at you, and you know that they're not hungry, thirsty or in need of a bathroom break, then chances are your dog is staring at you as a way of letting you know that they'd love to do something with you! Provide them with a fun game of tug and pull or a nice food puzzle so they can make use of their energy. If you proactively do this throughout the day your dog is more likely to nap instead of staring.

They love you! But it's also a way that they're letting you know that they're likely up for a fun game, activity or walk with you. Giving attention to a dog that's staring at you is definitely better than a dog that's jumping, barking, biting, nipping.

Some pups are more vocal than others, but whenever you're feeling frustrated with a behaviour your puppy is doing and you don't understand exactly why, chances are your pup is feeling exactly the same. This is when you can go back to basics and ensure that your pup has had a chance to burn both mental and physical energy. This is oftentimes the most common reason for a pup barking often, which leads to them getting your attention which leads to doing something. Separation anxiety would be next on the list of reasons, but this one is partly due to the amount of time and space you're taking away from your pup which may be too much for them, but also particularly difficult if they've been left with a lot of mental/physical energy that they don't know what else to do with.

Dogs can be picky eater and especially when they are generally exerting little energy throughout the day, which doesn't help develop their appetite. Most commonly however, dogs will eat during the evening because they've not been presented with accomplishment-related opportunities where they use both their brain and body to find, scavenge and enjoy getting each piece of their meal! In short, make sure you provide ongoing opportunities for enrichment to build on your dog's appetite and they'll be more likely to want to eat throughout the day.

A lot of dog trainers and their students will use a dog clicker (a small object that makes a click sound) to help train and condition their dog. The advantage with using a dog clicker is it makes for a clear marker (a word or sound used to indicate to a dog that something they're doing is desired) of a wanted behaviour right before giving them a reward for that action. Using a clicker allows you to not have to rely on your dog either being able to hear your verbal cue and its tone because it always makes the same consistent sound, that helps provide more consistent training and conditioning. The disadvantage with a clicker is that if ever you don't have it with you and you've become fully reliant on it then you will want to make sure you practice with multiple markers like saying "Yes!" by then, and not just the clicker.

Positive reinforcement, fun and force-free (harm-free) methods are the best way to encourage your dog to repeat behaviours that you are happy with because it's rewarding for them to do so, instead of trying to help them understand that they've done something wrong.

Snuffle mats are 100% of a time a better choice over food bowls! Not only are they fun for dogs to use and snuffle out every piece, but they also help prevent boredom by allowing your pup to use their excess energy to problem solve using their nose!

The nose is the key! Think of it this way: After a long day of work, above we use our eyes and ears to consume content (a movie, music, social media, book reading) that helps decompress and relax. Just the same, we can help our dogs relax but mainly through their nose, by providing them with puzzles, snuffle mats and exercises for them to snuffle and use their nose in fun way that helps their brain relax. End these exercises with a stuffed Kong for even calmer results!

Absolutely not! Chances are that if your dog is walking out in front if you is because they're simply eager and looking forward to get somewhere for one reason or another and/or they've got too much energy at that moment which makes it difficult for them to walk in a more relaxed, at ease manner, whether it's in front of you or not. Focus more on why your dog may be choosing to walk the way they are, but it's a guarantee that it's not to dominate you and if you'd like your dog to walk different, you can make sure they're getting the opportunity to do so after they're already feeling mellow from fun and engaging activities with you!