My owners are so confusing. I want be a good pet and make the family happy, but they aren’t making it very easy for me! One lets me sit and sleep on the couch, the other yells at me while I’m trying to take a nap. There are all these soft toys around the house that smell like my owners, so I want to play with those, but then I forget about it and I get yelled at when I’m just looking for pets. It’s a lot to try and keep straight!
I think my owners need some puppy training tips, straight from the dog’s mouth, so we can get along better and I don’t get so confused all the time.
Be consistent with me: I don’t understand when one person is okay with me doing something, but another one isn’t. If you don’t want me on the couch, or the bed, you have to let me know and show me my own place to sleep. I may whine a bit though, because I love you and want to be close to you all the time to protect. But if I have my own sleeping area, or better yet my own room(!), then I can get used to it so we all are happy.
Praise me when I do good: My mind goes a million miles a second between finding toys, investigating new smells and sounds, eating, and napping. I can’t remember what I did earlier in the day, like if I went on the soft carpet for the bathroom. If you tell me as I’m doing it, I’ll know it’s a bad thing. If you praise me for the good things I do, I want to do them more so you keep praising me.
Teach me how to show affection the right way: I love jumping on you because I want to be close to you and show you how much I care, but sometime I know you get mad when I do that. If this isn’t how I’m supposed to greet you and our friends, just let me know and I’ll stop!
Swap out my toys: You shoes are tasty and they remind me of you, that’s why I like chewing them. But if you don’t want that, why don’t you help me by showing me my very own toys that I can play with.
I can’t wait for all the adventures we’re going to have going forward! If you think you need a real dog trainer in LA to take care of me and help me learn, I’m happy to make new friends!