10/26/2026
Curious what a group training session looks like? Here’s a peek! 👇
This is Teal and Briggs working together for the very first time!
Fun fact: Teal has been staying at my house for the past week, but these two had NEVER met before this session. And guess what? They still didn’t need to meet- the whole session you see they never once interacted or greeted eachother.
Because socialization isn’t always about interaction. Sometimes it’s about learning to coexist.
Here’s what we worked on:
-Stays with distractions – Holding position while another dog works in the same space, with the same handler.
-Heel work – Moving both dogs around the room while maintaining engagement and position.
-Random down-stays – Practising patience throughout the room, sometimes even right beside Briggs.
-Rear-end awareness – Building better body positioning for a cleaner, more finished heel.
-Following body movement – Learning to read and respond to handler movement rather than relying on constant verbal direction.
-“Leave It” – Practising disengagement and impulse control. Learning that just because something is available, interesting, or happening nearby doesn’t mean she needs to investigate or involve herself. Sometimes the correct decision is to leave it alone and redirect her attention back to me.
-Resource guarding – At the end, I released both dogs to food scattered on the floor to observe Teal’s response. No obvious guarding behaviour showed up during this exercise!
BUT HERE’S SOMETHING I REALLY WANT YOU TO NOTICE. 👀
I was working BOTH dogs.
That means Teal was hearing the same excited voice, familiar commands, praise, and encouragement that she’s learned to anticipate, love, and respond to…
Except this time, they weren’t always meant for her.
Imagine hearing your favourite person use all the words that normally mean YOU’RE doing something amazing, except they’re directing that excitement toward another dog, right in front of you.
That’s HARD!
This session wasn’t just about obedience. It was about emotional regulation, patience, impulse control, neutrality, and learning that another dog receiving attention doesn’t mean she needs to get involved.
And that’s where our “Leave It” work becomes so valuable, too. It’s not just about ignoring food on the ground. It’s about learning to disengage, respect boundaries, and understand that not everything in her environment requires a response.
And the best part? Neither dog needed to interact to make this a valuable experience.
Neutrality over unnecessary interaction. Every single time. 👌
I’m SO proud of this gal. Teal has come such a long way in a short time, and watching everything start to come together is incredibly rewarding.
This is why we put so much work into the little things. They eventually become the BIG things. 🩷
