28/05/2026
LarryLam and DandyDan have just completed their 12-week training and behaviour programme.
Twelve weeks can feel like quite a long time when you are in the middle of the daily practice, but in behaviour terms, it is a very short window.
These boys are five years old. They have had years to develop their own behaviour patterns, responses to pressure, and ways of managing situations that feel exciting, worrying, frustrating, or overwhelming.
There have also been some very stressful events during these 12 weeks for the household to add into the mix. Real life doesn't pause neatly while training is happening, and that matters. Stress affects capacity, recovery, learning, emotional responses, and how much a dog can manage on any given day.
So when we see meaningful change over a few months, it is worth recognising what has gone into that.
A big part of our work together has been at home.
Visitors coming into the house had been a significant trigger, with barking and arousal shaping much of what happened at the start of sessions. Over the programme, that picture has changed noticeably.
There is now a much clearer process in place.
The boys are settling more quickly.
Their guardians have practical ways to support them.
That matters, not just because it feels easier for the humans, but because it tells us the boys are beginning to feel and behave differently too.
Choice and agency have been a significant part of the programme.
Not in a vague “let them do whatever they want” way, but in a very practical way.
Less telling.
More thoughtful set-up.
More awareness of lead pressure.
More noticing what each dog is communicating.
More skill-building before expecting them to manage.
More opportunities for them to move, sniff, check in, take food, disengage, and make choices that help them stay regulated.
When dogs feel they have some control over their environment, and when we support them before they are already overwhelmed, we often see very different behaviour.
We have also worked on skills supporting enjoyable walks as well as long line use, reading body language, and how to make thoughtful choices about environments. Their final in-person session was a very real-world walk with busy road crossings, noise, children, dogs, cyclists and the River Eden bridge, giving us lots of useful information about what each dog finds difficult and what helps them recover.
DandyDan has made lovely progress around key triggers, but he is also a dog whose physical comfort matters to the whole picture. His guardians have followed that thread too, and he is now receiving physiotherapy support to help him feel more comfortable in his body.
Training is important, but it is only one part of behaviour change.
Health, pain, comfort, stress load, environment, routines, confidence, relationships, recovery and emotional state all influence how a dog responds, we look at the whole dog.
LarryLam has had his own journey through the programme too. At the start, he was much less sure about taking part. Over time, he has become more involved, more willing, and much readier to engage in training at home.
That has been lovely to watch.
When you live with two dogs, progress does not always happen at the same pace. It rarely does. They are individuals, with different sensitivities, different experiences, and different needs.
LarryLam and DandyDan have both made progress, but they have not made the same progress in exactly the same way. That is completely normal.
What stands out most is how much more understanding their guardians now have of both boys. They are reading body language more carefully, planning ahead more thoughtfully, noticing what each dog is communicating, and using their skills in the moments where they are actually needed.
Both boys are more settled.
They are less reactive overall.
Their relationship is more tolerant.
There has been significant progress around the key triggers that brought their guardians to me in the first place.
The next step is time.
Time to practise.
Time for the routines to become familiar.
Time for the learning to settle.
Time for emotional responses to keep softening through consistency, support and appropriate expectations.
It's been real pleasure working with LarryLam, DandyDan and their humans over these 12 weeks.
There is more they can build on, but they are not leaving the programme with the same uncertainty they arrived with. They are leaving with more understanding, more knowledge and practical skills, and two boys who are showing that change is possible.
Tara
Paws & Minds 🐾🧠
