10/30/2026
✨Creative Training For Creative Dogs✨
Siva was just a gangly, velvety baby when we first met. A chunky little Cane Corso with legs that seemed to stretch on for miles and the softest, floppiest ears ever put on a pup. She tinkled when she met guests (ooooh, the excitement!), thought every single lap was for sitting (invited or not), and she sure couldn't puzzle her way into her new daddy's big ol' truck!
Siva came from a responsible, reputable Cane Corso breeder—a bit of a diamond in the rough these days, when backyard breeding can make finding a well-bred pup feel like searching for a needle in a haystack! Her breeder, a wonderful human guardian, gave Siva a fantastic start in life with puppy kindergarten that included a variety of thoughtful socialization experiences. And I mean proper socialization—not just plopping a puppy into a room full of humans and dogs and hoping for the best! 😂
Human guardians like her breeder are also a rarity. If you find one of these humans, never let them out of your realm. They're worth their weight in gold!
With Siva, we started with her excitement around strangers first.
An unfamiliar human would walk toward her, and she'd wag her long whip of a tail real low, pull her ears back against her head, and go into a goofy, sideways, almost-sit...
Then she'd piddle right there on the floor.
Most humans would call this excitement. And they're not totally wrong. But it actually often comes from a place of insecurity, not unadultered delight.
So... did we have her practice greeting every human stranger because, as the humans say, 'practice makes perfect?'
We sure didn't!
Many times, these piddling pups' insecurity comes from a lack of built-in social skills. Ever mingle with a group of strangers and wonder, Where should I put my hands? When do I jump into the conversation? Am I talking too much?
Yeah. That was Siva in pup form. 😂
First, we took away the pressure of meeting new people. We'll just walk by. No harm, no foul.
Her dad did a fantastic job of guiding her past many a stranger, first at a distance and then gradually working her closer as she became familiar with the exercise. No making eye contact with these "strangers." No saying a word. No expectation that she needed to interact with them.
Siva quickly learned, Oh! We can just pass by! No need to say hi, no need to get into my head about what I'll say to them!
And just like that, the world got a little less intimidating for Siva. ❤️
She didn't need to meet every stranger who crossed her path. She didn't need to learn to love every new person, either. She just needed to learn that she had options—and that sometimes, the best option was to keep walking with her favorite human.
As her confidence grew, those awkward encounters became a little less daunting. And her dad? He learned something important, too: helping a dog navigate the world isn't always about teaching them what to do. Sometimes, it's about showing them what they don't have to do.
Because here's the thing about dogs: they're individuals. They have their own personalities, preferences, fears, and wonderfully weird little quirks. And sometimes, the best way to help them succeed is to stop asking them to fit into our expectations and start getting creative with the way we teach.
Siva's story is just one example of how looking beyond the behavior can open the door to a whole new approach to training.
And if you think helping a dog feel more comfortable around strangers takes a little creativity, wait until you see what happens when we put that creativity to work in other ways. 😉
After all, training doesn't always have to look like training. Sometimes, it looks a little more like play, a little more like problem-solving, and a whole lot like learning to see the world through your dog's eyes.
Stay tuned. We've got more creative pups—and their equally creative adventures—to share! 🐾
https://infinityparkpets.com/pet-blog/f/creative-training-for-creative-dogs
