The Learned Canine

09/22/2025

I find that living with a puppy is a lot of asking myself, does it really matter? I hadn't planned for the pumpkin stems to be chew toys but in the end decided that it was actually a pretty cheap way to keep him busy! 🤷‍♀️

08/27/2025

Happy National Dog Day from my crew to yours! 🥰🐾

08/26/2025

Vet visits don't have to be scary! Bring lots of tasty treats and perhaps a familiar blanket and yummy chew for your pup to enjoy while you're waiting.
It also helps if your vet is patient with your pup and takes the time to make them feel comfortable. If they don't? I'd suggest finding a new vet! 🐾

08/24/2025

I've had my puppy for just over a month now. What's the most important thing I have been doing? Pairing things with food. I take food on every outing and feed any time Banksy notices something new, scary, or exciting. A person walks by? Food. A dog barks? Food. Bus rumbling by? You get the idea.
This creates positive associations and helps to teach Banksy that the world is a safe and happy place. His confidence is growing and so is his engagement with me. He has even started to orient to me on his own when he sees certain things. Positive pairings for the win! 🐾

08/03/2025

It's very important to me that Banksy be able to tolerate confinement and isolation without stress. As such, we have been working on these things since the day he came home. Here are my top 3 tips for success:

1. Create a positive association with the confinement area by feeding meals, duration chews, and treats in it. Try to encourage your dog in and then provide the good stuff rather than luring or bribing them to enter to prevent your pup from feeling tricked.

2. Build duration gradually, ideally releasing your dog before they have a chance to become upset.

3. If your pup does start vocalizing or scratching to get out, wait until they settle before releasing them. [Unless it's night time and they are letting you know they need to potty!]

Happy training! 🐾

07/31/2025

Myth busting!

Myth 5: Your dog knows when they've done something wrong.

The behaviors your dog may be showing such as looking away, trying to look small, licking their lips, are not signs of guilt. Instead, they are appeasement behaviors, offered during times of conflict to appear non-threatening and disinterested.
They aren't saying they're sorry. They're reading your body language and saying "Please don't hurt me."

07/26/2025

🤣

07/23/2025

As with most puppies, the biting and chewing are pretty constant. If Banksy is awake, he's probably got his teeth into something! 😅
So how do I handle it?

1. I never scold. Puppies need to feel safe and trust us. They also need to chew. It's up to us to teach them what's appropriate to chew on.

2. I provide novel chew items everywhere Banksy hangs out. There's an antler on the bed, a Kong on the couch, a cow hoof in his crate, a big paper bag on the floor in the kitchen, a whole toy bin in the living room, and to keep him occupied while I did my hair, I tossed him an old toilet paper roll. This sets Banksy up for success by making it easy for him to make good choices.

3. When he tries to chew something that he shouldn't, I offer him a more appropriate alternative and calmly remove the item. If it's something that can't be removed, I simply block access until he gives up and then show him what he could be doing instead.

4. Supervise and repeat, repeat, repeat! 😅

07/23/2025

✅ Subway ride

Why am I so eager to work through my socialization checklist? Because we have a very limited window of opportunity to expose puppies to all of the things we want them to be okay with as adults. At around 4 months of age, their brain changes and they are much less open and able to adapt to new things.

By taking advantage of this critical socialization period, I hope to help Banksy grow into the most confident, resilient version of himself that he can be! 🐾

07/21/2025

Socialization for this little guy is well under way! I have a long list of things I want to expose my new puppy to in the coming weeks but am trying to be mindful of the fact that puppies also need lots of sleep! Today Banksy had fun exploring the creek and then came to tell me when he was done. (See photo in comments) 🥰

07/16/2025

Reward based training is definitely the way to go! 🐾

07/14/2025

The last time I raised a puppy of my own, it was 2011! 😳 As I prepare to welcome the newest addition to my household, there are things I will definitely be doing differently. The first pertains to potty training. I live in a high rise, with my balcony being the only easy access to outside. Previously, I was determined that the balcony would not be used as a washroom but in retrospect, that slowed our progress down tremendously. When a puppy has to go, they have to go. They can not be expected to hold it down a long hallway, in an elevator and through the lobby to outside. They simply do not have the physical capacity when they are very young. This time around, my plan is to provide a grass pad on the balcony in the hopes that once he is older and I remove the grass, he will no longer see the balcony as a place to do his business. I'll let you know how that works out! 😅🤞