04/06/2026
These dogs taught me something important..............
Advocating for your puppy is one of the most important things you can do!
Tilly and Kez are very different dogs and both needed huge advocating for but in very different ways.
Tilly has anxiety and did/does not appreciate dogs she doesnt know rushing her and jumping on or near her. When she was younger we had to start advocating for her by body blocking dogs approaching her and asking owners to recall and re lead their dogs. This was important to prevent Tilly getting stressed and having negative associations with walks and fearing other dogs.
When Kez was a puppy he was the complete opposite and wanted to approach every dog in the park. He was 'that dog', so we were very choosy about which dogs he approached and interacted with and vice versa. We had to advocate a lot for him while training him as a puppy, as if another dogs approached him while training, he lost all focus and got to aroused to continue. So we frequently asked people to refrain from letting their dogs approach us.
In both scenarios the reason was different, one was fear prevention and one was distraction reduction. However both scenarios are very important times to advocate for your dog. I learnt that its your role as a guardian to keep your dog safe and happy and your right as an owner not to have anyone else ruin your puppies experience.
Does either resonate with you?
Comment below
👇👇👇
