Written by Laurie Yost, Mosha’s mom and owner of Playful Pups Retreat
Playful Pups Retreat is proud to be a Fear Free certified facility. Laurie also holds the highest level of certification through PACCC (Professional Animal Care Certification Council) with a CPACO certification (Certified Professional Animal Care Operator).
It has been a while since I last shared an update on Mosha’s development so I figured now is the time. Mosha is now 9 months old and wow has she changed! Not only has she grown at an extraordinary rate, which is of course typical for a giant breed dog, her personality is developing and I am happy to say, so is her confidence.
I have spent a great deal of time working on her social skills since she joined our family in July. We have had great progress and success, much of which I can attribute to the hard work and efforts of our outstanding puppy training team at Playful Pups Retreat. Throughout her first stage of puppy development, I took her out and about to local parks and pet friendly stores and restaurants to gain much needed life experience. She has also been attending Puppy Social Skills Daycare once or twice a week and the positive training, socialization and play time with her doggie pals has been a great way to learn and blossom, while also gaining some much needed independence from me.
Unfortunately, the weather has gotten cold so we have not been able to visit outdoor restaurants but we have continued our excursions to local parks and Mosha loves to go with me in the car, so I try to take her everywhere I am able. As with any adolescent dog, training is extremely important, I feel it is even more crucial with a giant breed dog so that she develops into an adult that is a pleasure to be around and not a pony size menace, so we spend time every day working on her basic obedience skills, patience, and self-control.
Training the dog doesn’t need to be “one more thing to do”, but can and should, be worked into your daily life. For instance, I take time to instill positive behaviors by asking Mosha to sit and wait before each meal, when getting into or out of the car, or when getting on her collar and leash. When feeding meals Mosha can now put her head ON the counter…so we work on the “back-up” command and I ask her to sit and wait as I prepare her (very massive) bowl of food… at the same time, generally telling her not to be a rude a$$hole, said with love of course!
A few minutes of daily training here and there adds up to a polite and well-mannered pup. Mosha is in a crucial developmental stage, what I affectionately call the “Juvenile Delinquent” stage, so I am prepared for another 6 to 9 months of socialization, confidence building and training to help her become her very best self. I am proud of how far she has come and as a dog mom and pet resort owner, I know that it is my daily commitment combined with the professional pet care team we have working at Playful Pups Retreat, as well as our outstanding veterinarians and vet techs at my vet office, Companion Animal Hospital, that has gotten her to where she is now and will continue to help us throughout Mosha’s journey.
At Playful Pups Retreat, we love to partner with dedicated dog owners as we understand some pet parents prefer to have help and guidance with dog training, so if that is you, check out the A to Z Day Training or our 2 week Stay & Train Programs that are offered at Playful Pups Retreat and our professional dog training team is happy to help you and your pup learn and grow!
