With summer in full swing and COVID-19 restrictions being lifted, anyone and everyone is outside trying to enjoy the weather and sun. Now, I don't know if it's because more people are out and about more than ever or if people are more carefree now that COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, but I am noticing A TON of people at the parks with their dogs off-leash. Now, I am fully in favor of having my dog off-leash under the right circumstances. I have also trained, and am still in the process of training, my dog to be off-leash. Yes, you heard that right, training my dog to be off-leash. Listen, I'm here to break it to you... no matter how much you think your dog loves you and will stay by you when taken off leash, they're just not going to. As soon as you take that leash off, your dog is going to leave your side and engage in self-rewarding behaviors like exploring, sniffing, chasing birds, etc. Here's an example of an encounter I had the other day at the park: A woman pulls up to the park with her dog and gets out of the car with her dog on leash. I'm in a large grassy area working with Caos about 15 feet away from some items I had left in the grass. I continue working with Caos, but also am aware that this woman is now in the same vicinity as me, as Caos is off-leash. I watch as this woman takes her dog off-leash and the dog immediately trots off to smell the surroundings. At this point, I ask Caos to come to me and lay down, as I wait to ensure that the woman has control of her dog. As I'm watching, I notice that not only is the woman on her phone and not paying attention to her dog, but she also hasn't noticed that Caos and I are under the shade by the tree line. The woman's dog proceeds to go over to my things that I had left in the grass and begins rummaging through them. At this point, the woman finally looks up from her phone and begins yelling, "no," "come," "leave it," "stop that," "come," to which the dog doesn't even acknowledge her existence. It's not until the woman finally reaches her dog, that she's able to pull it away from my belongings. The woman then pulls her dog by the collar away from my things, releases the dog again, throws a ball and tells her dog, "go get it," to which the dog completely ignores her again and trots off the opposite way. The woman continues to yell commands at her dog as she runs after it and finally puts the leash on. Sadly, I hear the woman say to the dog, "why are you doing this to me?" "why aren't you listening to me?" I then continue my training session with Caos, all while continuing to be aware of my surroundings and this woman. I watch and listen as I hear the woman becoming increasingly frustrated as she's giving her dog commands to no avail, although now with the leash on, and hear her say, "look, that dog is being good and listening to his owner," "why aren't you listening to me", "don't you love me?" It was truly heartbreaking because I could hear the hurt in the woman's voice. But the thing is, just because your dog loves you, doesn't mean they're going to stay with you when given the opportunity to be off-leash. Your dog has to respect you and listen to you ON LEASH before you can think about taking the leash off. If your dog can't sit, down, heel, stay while on a leash how can you expect them to 1) listen to you when off-leash and 2) be called off a distraction... you can't. You need to have a solid foundation and be sure that your dog is engaged with you FIRST, then you can start to think about taking the leash off. And even then, start with a 50 foot or 100 foot long line that you can attach to your dogs collar. That way, your dog can be away from you and have the opportunity to explore, but if they don't listen, then you still have a way to correct them or pull them back to you. Now, things happen and you may be working your dog off-leash for weeks or months with 100% recall and then all of the sudden your dog fixates on something and doesn't come back when called. Figure out what went wrong and go back to the basics. Maybe you need more exposure on leash with whatever the distraction was or maybe you need to go back to using the long line. That's okay. What's not okay is continuing to take your dog off-leash when they aren't listening to you, in hopes that it's just going to click and they will all of the sudden become obedient. Because like the woman I mentioned earlier and so many others that I've come across at this park, they continue to let their dogs off-leash with no progress in their training. I have seen dogs run across the street to get a ball, run clear across the field to chase a person, and seen dogs leave their owners to run up to another dog. Any one of these scenarios could have ended in tragedy if a car was coming, if the dog attacked the person, or if either dog was aggressive. So please, be a responsible dog owner and keep your dog on a leash until they trained and have a solid recall. And if an accident does happen and your dog runs up to another person or dog, PLEASE apologize to that individual. Be smart and be responsible. As always, this is me, running with Caos.

Potty Training. An often frustrating aspect of training a puppy. No one wants to deal with accidents and the constant in and out for multiple potty breaks, but we all have to do it. Surprisingly, constant accidents and unsuccessful potty training is a huge reason why so many dogs wind up in shelters. First and foremost, potty training begins the moment you walk through your front door with your new puppy, so you need to do some research in advance so that you can decide how you are going to potty train your puppy. Now what do I mean when I say you need to be prepared? Well, you need to determine by what means you will be potty training your puppy. Do you live in a house and you will be utilizing your backyard from the beginning? Do you live in an apartment with easy and quick access to grass? Are you going to use puppy potty pads or something similar? Will you be using a training bell on the door to teach your puppy to alert you when they need to go out? Whatever method you decide to use to potty train your puppy, remember these 3 points: Consistency is key. Patience is a virtue. Potty training won't happen overnight. Positive reinforcement will create good habits and strengthen the bond between you and your puppy. Timing is Everything Now, for a GENERAL rule of thumb, a puppy can hold its bladder for 1 hour for every month old they are. For example, if your puppy is 5 months old then they should be able to hold their bladder for about 5 hours. Remember, however, that this is a general rule and some puppies have smaller bladders. Puppies need to be taken out A LOT! For a frame of reference, you're going to need to take your puppy out: First thing when he/she wakes up in the morning After every meal After they drink water After they wake up from a nap After playtime Right before bed When taking your puppy outside, always go out the same door and go to the same spot in the grass/yard. Your puppy thrives on routine and consistency and will begin to correlate the actions you take, with knowing it's time to go potty. Also, be sure to keep in mind that if you do live in an apartment complex, there are multiple other dogs using the same grass your puppy will be using and you don't know if they are sick, have been vaccinated, or are carrying any parasites or diseases. Until a puppy is fully vaccinated, it is extremely important to keep puppies away from areas where other dogs have used the bathroom. As a rule of thumb, if you see poop or traces in the grass, go somewhere else. Before I brought Caos home, I knew I would have a difficult time taking Caos to the same spot to potty every time, due to the amount of dogs at my apartment complex and the fact that people don't pick up after their dogs (this still baffles me, there's poop stations all over for the owners convenience and it's part of a dog owners responsibility.. but I digress). So, I decided to purchase a Doggie Lawn. Doggie Lawn is a great company that sends owners REAL grass swatches that can be left outside, or inside with a tray, and deodorizes all odors because it's real grass. This allowed me to take Caos outside, to the same grass area every time, where I could ensure he would be safe from catching any parasites or diseases from other dogs. I would highly recommend checking them out if you live in an apartment complex or simply want more peace of mind! Now, Let's Talk Accidents Accidents will happen.. and it's your fault, not your puppy's. So how do we minimize accidents? Don't deviate from your routine. Have your leashes, collars, shoes, flashlight, umbrella, and treats by the door. If accidents are going to happen, they're going to happen in the moment where you can't find your shoes or your puppy's leash. So designate a spot to store everything you may need to take your puppy outside to potty and make sure you always return those items to that same spot. Now, when an accident happens there are two things you can do: 1) If you catch them in the act, firmly say no, pick the puppy up, and take them outside to their potty spot. If they finish going outside, praise them like you would normally, and return inside. 2) If you find the accident after it's happened, you CANNOT punish your puppy. I repeat, you CANNOT punish your puppy if you don't catch them actively going potty inside. Do not rub your puppy's nose in the accident. Your puppy is not able to distinguish that the act of going potty in the house is what he/she is being punished for. Clean up the accident and determine why the accident happened. Is the area for your puppy too big? Were you not watching them? Determine what happened and move on. Have a plan, stick to your schedule, and remember that timing is everything. Potty training doesn't have to be a nightmare, and as long as you're consistent, potty training will be a breeze. As always, thanks so much for reading! This is me, running with Caos.

Puppies. They're so cute, soft, and snuggly! But those sharp, razor blade like little puppy teeth are anything but soft and cuddly! But here's the thing, puppies don't have hands. Well duh, right? Obviously not, because every day people are always asking and searching in Google for, "How do I stop my puppy from biting?" Puppies can't feel, play with, and experiment with different textures and objects with hands like human babies can, so they use their mouths to explore. Furthermore, when puppies start teething, they're going to want to bite and chew on whatever they can get their mouths on. There's all sorts of articles out there that will tell you how to get your puppy to stop biting and nipping. I've read everything from yelping out loud when they bite, like their littermates would. I've read articles telling people to press against their puppy's upper lip. There are plenty of methods out there that you could try. But how do you stop your Malinois puppy from biting? Truth is, you don't. They're called "maligators" for a reason and your puppy was bred to bite. Your Malinois puppy simply isn't going to stop biting. Even if your puppy isn't from a powerhouse working line, your puppy is still going to encompass the intense desire to bite. Simply put, your Malinois puppy has a natural drive to bite.. And that's what they're going to do. So if you're reading this hoping to find the magic method to get your Malinois puppy to stop biting, you're not going to find it. What I can help you with, is in learning how to redirect your Malinois puppy from biting you, onto a toy. Hone in on your puppy's natural instinct and desire to bite. Play with a rope or toy, and refocus their attention from your shirt, onto the toy. Truth is, if your puppy is out with you then you should be engaged in some kind of training session or play time. When your puppy is out, you should have 100% of your focus, on your puppy. So if you don't feel like constantly redirecting your puppy from biting due to being tired or just wanting to relax, then your puppy should be in its crate where it can't get into trouble or learn bad behaviors. Remember, you got a Belgian Malinois. Biting just comes with the territory.

In an earlier post, you followed along as I trained Caos through 16 weeks. So where are we now? Well, I can say a lot has changed and we've both grown tremendously. By 4 months, Caos and I were working through some reactivity and continuing to practice Sit Down Left-side heel position Right-side heel position Come Place Leave it Look at me I am no longer luring Caos into the 'sit' or 'down' position and our recall is spot on. I have also began training Spin right Spin left Speak Off Pound it (give me paw) Out (release an object) Center Settle Down 4 Months to 6 Months During months 4-6, I really began working on the 'heel' position. Caos is extremely keen on positioning himself on my left side in preparation for heeling, however he's having a difficult time maintaining the left-side heel while walking. Interestingly, Caos is still requiring luring in order to position himself on my right side in heel, yet he is much more comfortable walking on my right side when in motion. Although I'm interested in training a focused heel on my left-side, at this point I'm not allowing myself to get hung up on Caos maintaining a left-side heel, due to the fact that he is respectfully walking on my right side without pulling. Between 4 and 5 months Caos has also become extremely confident. This has resulted in Caos wanting to explore and investigate his surroundings, a lot faster than I can walk. And that's really where pulling comes from, right? Your dog or puppy wants to get to that smell on the grass or that bush to pee on, and as humans, we're simply not going to walk as fast as our dogs naturally want to go. And that's fine, I get it. But when we're on a walk, I need Caos to be respectful of the leash and to myself. I mentioned wanting to train Caos to walk in a focused heel. It's not realistic to have my puppy walk in a focused heel on an entire walk. In the same regard, I also don't expect Caos to walk in a heel position for our entire walk either. I want a solid left-side heel, right-side heel, and center so that when I am out walking in the city or around other people, I know Caos will be in a solid position on either side of me or between my legs, where I am fully in control. However, I personally don't need Caos to maintain a heel position when we are casually walking on a trail or through a residential community. I do require that Caos not pull and respect the 4-6ft leash. So how did I address his pulling? I utilized working his obedience into our walks. Whenever Caos would get close to the end of the leash, I would recall him back to me and praise and reward. If Caos was really excited and wanting to drag me along, I would utilize the sit command. Walk for a couple steps, ask him to sit. Walk a little further, ask him to sit again. This kept his attention on me, as he never knew when I was going to ask him to perform a command next. As our walks progressed, I also found myself using 'wait' if Caos was beginning to near the end of his leash. Although I didn't formally 'train' this command, Caos quickly picked up that when I asked him to 'wait,' he would stop to let me catch up. Now, like I mentioned in my first blog post about training during the first 16 weeks, progress isn't linear. Some days were better than others and some days you just want to walk your dog and not constantly have to ask your dog or puppy to 'sit' or 'wait' or recall them back to you. Because of this, I decided to introduce the Herm SPRENGER collar into my training for quick, effective corrections. I also wanted to mention that I am very familiar with the Herm SPRENGER and was confident introducing it into my training. In no way should you feel obligated to use one if your dog or puppy is pulling. Furthermore, if anyone is interested in learning more about the Herm SPRENGER, I can share some resources from amazing dog trainers whom I respect and trust. I'm also focusing a lot on our recall training and beginning to incorporate some "off-leash" obedience. At first I attached Caos to a 100ft long lead and we would practice in an open field. As Caos became more receptive, I utilized a 30ft long lead and by 6 months Caos was reliable completely off-leash. 6 Months to 9 Months Once Caos was 6 months, I no longer needed to lure him into any of the above positions. As I began to take Caos off-leash more and we went on more hikes and longer runs, I noticed my obedience was taking a back seat to the rest of our training. Although I no longer required luring, I found myself having to ask twice for some commands when we were practicing at home or even in the community on leash, to which I was not proud of. I knew I had to incorporate more obedience work into our training in order to really "fine tune" his commands. I began incorporating short obedience sessions into our longer runs and hikes. I would ask Caos to "sit," and "stay," while I continued running ahead. I would also ask Caos to "heel" alongside me as we continued our run. I also began to use his ball more as his reward system instead of treats, especially during the work week when I would take him out on his breaks. We were now practicing sit, down, left-side heel, right-side heel, and center 3-4 times a day during our 30 minute breaks while at work, instead of once or twice a day after work. And once again, I watched as Caos sharpened his skills and began to excel. Our runs are now even more enjoyable, as I'm watching Caos constantly look towards me for direction in anticipation of, "what's next?" Caos is calmer and more relaxed at work because he's not only being worked physically, but mentally as well. And as an added bonus, Covid-19 restrictions have FINALLY began to lift, which has allowed Caos and I to venture back out into the community to local restaurants and establishments, further cementing our obedience. We're definitely not close to where I want to be and I have so much more I want to work on and introduce into Caos's training. As Caos and I head towards a new chapter in our personal life and my professional growth, I'm so excited to see what lies ahead. Be sure to follow along, as these next couple of months will be filled with big adventures and a ton of new opportunities, that will give way to plenty of new content. This is me, running with Caos.

How the heck do I work 40+ hours a week and stay on-call every other weekend while raising a puppy alone? I work 10 hours a day, 4 days a week and have 3 days off. I get A TON of questions about how I own a Belgian Malinois while working a full-time job and what I do with Caos when I'm at work. The simple answer to that question is that I have the luxury of taking Caos with me to work, which was ultimately the deciding factor for getting a Belgian Malinois to begin with. I get a lot of questions about what a typical day looks like for Caos and I, both during the work week and on the weekend. So, that's what I'm going to discuss in this post! A Typical Work Day Our day starts off at 5am, immediately with a potty break. Caos gets his breakfast while I get ready for work, then one last potty break before heading off to work. Because I get to work at 6am and there is only one other person at my facility, I typically close my office door and allow Caos to sleep on his dog bed while I work. Around 7:30am, I take Caos out for his first walk of the day which typically lasts around 30 minutes and consists of walking and playing along the beach. After our walk, I place Caos in his "work" crate. Now, I say "work" crate because when Caos is at work with me, he is working as well. I work at a mental health facility and because I knew Caos would be going to work with me everyday, he has been training to be a therapy dog. It's been truly incredible to watch as Caos has helped the client's relax and show vulnerability. Caos has truly accepted the clients as part of his family, being so gentle and calm in their presence, while also continuing to be protective and guarded towards strangers when it is only him and I in the community. Anyway, Caos's longest stretch in his crate is during the morning hours, where he will typically nap in his crate from 8am to around 11am. On any day of the week, this is when Caos sleeps the most during the day anyway, so it ends up working out perfectly. Caos then goes out for his second 30 minute walk of the day around 11am, spends time with clients, and is fed lunch around 12pm. After lunch, I like to let Caos stay out of his crate while we practice his "place" command on his dog bed. As he's matured, this hasn't been an issue, so he naps until his third 20-30 minute walk at about 2pm. After his third walk, Caos usually visits some more clients, and then either goes back into his crate, or practices his "place" command, until his fourth 30-40 minute walk at 4pm. On days where Caos seems to have more energy, any one of his walks could be replaced with a game of ball with some of the clients at a park across the street from my facility or we go down to a trail and practice his off-leash training. Upon returning home from work, I typically spend around 60-90 minutes with Caos playing tug and ball, while working in obedience commands where he has to work for his toy, or we go on a 3-4 mile run. At this point it's around 7pm, and I ask Caos to "settle down," where he is allowed to lay anywhere in my apartment, but has to realize that playtime is over. Finally around 9pm, if we didn't go for a run after work that day, I take Caos out for one more 20-30 minute walk where we practice training off-leash. Weekend Once you own a Malinois, there is no such thing as sleeping in. Caos is always up every morning at 5am ready to start his day and asking for breakfast. I on the other hand, attempt to go back to sleep after taking Caos for a potty break and giving him his breakfast. If I'm lucky, Caos will let me sleep until around 7am, at which point he no longer has the patience to lay in bed and lets me know I need to get up too! First, I like to get my workout in, during which I am tugging with Caos or throwing his ball, so really we're both getting in our exercise! After my workout, I will either take Caos on a 4-6 mile run or we will go to the local sports park, where Caos and I will practice recall and off-leash training, while I use a chuck-it to throw his ball. After Caos gets his exercise, we will go run any errands I may have, in which he stays in the car if he cannot go inside with me. If I am in need of more food for Caos or need to pick up new toys or bones, then weekends are also the time we go to our local pet health food store. This is a great opportunity for training and exposure in a more distracting environment. Lowe's is also in the same shopping center, so often I will pop over to Lowe's to practice some obedience as well. By this point, Caos has been engaged in play, training, or a mixture of both for around 3 hours, so he is exhausted and sleeps until around 1pm when he gets his lunch. We then go out for a potty break and a short walk, return home, and Caos sleeps until around 3pm-4pm. At this point, I will spend another couple hours playing tug and ball with Caos, working on his obedience, and we will go on another short walk. I will ask Caos to "settle down" when we are done, he receives his dinner at 5pm, and we will go on our last walk at 8pm where we practice off-leash training, just as we do during the work week. And that's about it! As you can see, Caos's day is very structured during the work week, with multiple 30 minute walks throughout the day and either a long run or training/playtime in the evening. On the weekends, Caos receives an immense amount of stimulation and exposure in the mornings, followed by a long period of rest, and training/platime in the evening. So that's a typical day in our lives! As always, this is me, running with Caos.

In this post, I will be discussing everything I did to prepare for Caos's arrival, what I brought with me on the journey to pick him up, and what to expect during the first 24 hours with your new puppy. Preparing for your new puppy It's pretty common to put down a deposit on a puppy before the litter is born, which is exactly what I did with Caos. This allowed me PLENTY of time to prepare for the moment I would finally bring Caos home. There's so much to think about and with your level of excitement quickly rising, I'm here to help you gather all the necessary items to have before bringing home your new puppy. Here is a list of items I purchased BEFORE my puppy came home: Collars. Now, I went a little overboard in this area and had 4 different collars for Caos before he even came home. And even with 4 collars, none of them fit because he was smaller than I had expected. So make sure to have a couple cheap collars in different sizes, so you can be prepared for your puppy. Harness. Some people choose not to purchase a harness, however they seem to have gained a lot of popularity over the years. Initially, I wasn't planning on purchasing a harness, however I found this amazing tactical harness on Amazon (I'll be writing a post all about my favorite puppy products and linking them in the future) that I couldn't resist. Not only did it have velcro on both sides for patches (Caos had his name on one side and "In Training" on the other) but it also had a handle on the top, which came in really handy for picking Caos up without having to bend all the way down. It was almost like he was a little purse! Leash. This is pretty self explanatory. I bought 2 leashes in case I couldn't find one or needed a backup. Food and water bowl. There are a TON of cute food and water bowls, but remember, you will most likely need to purchase a larger set of bowls as your puppy matures. Toys. Lots of toys! Remember to get a variety of soft toys, hard toys, and something kind of in the middle. Puppies are going to gravitate towards the softer, plush toys in the beginning, but they grow FAST and their preferences will change just as quickly. Dog bed. I went ahead and spent the money on a higher quality large dog bed that Caos could grow into, but you can always buy a smaller dog bed for your puppy and purchase bigger beds as your puppy grows. Treats. It's pretty common for puppies to have sensitive tummies, but if you want to pick up some treats to try out, go for it! Puppy food. Be sure to ask whoever you are getting your puppy from what brand of food they are feeding the puppy. You may want to switch brands down the line, but it's extremely important to transition any puppy/dog's food over time, and like I said earlier, puppies are notorious for having sensitive tummies. Potty training. If you're going to use puppy pee pads or something similar, you'll want to make sure you have those items ahead of time. If you're going to teach your puppy to go out in the yard, maybe you want to hang some bells by the door and teach your puppy to ring the bells when they need to go potty. Because I live in an apartment complex with other dogs, I opted to use "Doggie Lawn" to potty train Caos. If you want to learn more about the Doggie Lawn, check out my post about my experience with potty training Caos. Dog crate. Again, this is an item not everyone decides to use. However, if you do decide to utilize a crate, remember to get a crate just big enough for your puppy to stand and turn around in. If the crate is too big, your puppy will potty on one side and sleep on the other. Now I get it, crates are expensive. So if you plan on utilizing a crate and want to buy one that your puppy will be able to use when it is full grown, just make sure to section off the crate and only allow your puppy room enough to stand up and turn around. Some other items you may want to purchase before your puppy arrives are; Brush Toothbrush and toothpaste An ID tag Nail clippers or a nail grinder Blankets personally for your puppy Treat pouch Portable dog bowls for traveling or long hikes And if you're into clothes or bandanas for your pup, add those in too! Picking up your puppy and the first 24 hours Alright, the time has finally come to go pick up your puppy! You have all your essential items ready for when your puppy finally gets home, but now we need to prepare for the drive. Whether you only need to travel 10 minutes or 6 hours (like me), you're going to want to have the following items with you on your journey: Collar/harness and leash. If you're traveling many hours like I had to, you will need to stop for potty breaks, so having a collar and leash will be essential. Now, for some of you who only have a short journey and will be carrying your puppy, I would still recommend to bring a collar and leash because you never know what may happen. Blankets. I knew I wanted to cuddle Caos the entire journey home, so I made sure to have plenty of blankets at the bottom of my seat and on myself so he would have a comfy place to rest. If you plan on crating your puppy for the journey home, blankets in the crate will offer a comfy, soft space for your puppy to sleep. Crate. Some people choose to crate their puppies on the journey home. So if that's you, make sure to safely place the puppy's crate in your car and have it nice and secure before your journey home. Towel, paper towels, wet wipes, and a natural cleaning spray. It doesn't matter if you are driving 10 minutes or 6 hours, puppies tend to get car sick. If this happens, you're going to want to be prepared to clean up any accidents that may arise. Other items you may decide to bring are extra water, portable dog bowls, toys, food, or treats! Welcome Home! You finally have your puppy and you're about to walk through the front door. How exciting! Here are a couple things to keep in mind when you bring your new puppy home, especially during the first 24 hours. Other pets. Now, ultimately this is your puppy and how you choose to raise him/her is up to you. However, your new puppy is experiencing a lot right now. Your puppy has just been taken from his/her littermates and mother and has embarked on an entirely new journey where everything is new, and sometimes scary. By keeping your other dog(s) and cat(s) in another area of the house when you bring home your new puppy, it allows your puppy to adjust to all the new smells and surroundings without being over stimulated by other animals. Puppy proofing! Puppies are notorious for getting into trouble by getting into things they aren't supposed to. To prevent any accidents from happening or your puppy getting into something he/she shouldn't, make sure to block off any areas you can't see. This will allow your puppy to have the chance to explore and run around in a controlled environment. In some cases, you may want to attach a leash or long lead to your puppy in case you need to redirect them at any moment. Also, be sure to put up any wires or cords that may be enticing and harmful to your puppy. And finally, potty breaks! Puppies have an extremely small bladder and need to be taken potty A LOT if you want to prevent accidents. Just remember to take your puppy potty after every nap, after eating and drinking, and after playtime. It's better to be safe than sorry, so frequent trips outside will not only minimize accidents, but you will begin to identify your puppy's potty schedule. There's a reason people always say, "getting a puppy is like having a baby," they require A LOT of time and attention and your sleep will definitely be compromised. If you want to know more about how I potty trained Caos and the methods I used while living in an apartment, I will have a post about that up soon. As always, thanks so much for following along! This is me, running with Caos.

So here we are. I finally have the puppy of my dreams and training begins day one. Now, I got Caos at 7 weeks old. Yes, I already know that someone is going to mention that a "good" breeder will keep the puppies until 8 weeks and a "great" breeder will keep the puppies anywhere from 12-14 weeks, but we're not going to get into that right now. Anyway, from week 7-9 it was all about bonding. I took 2 weeks off of work so that I knew I would be able to put 100% of my time and undivided attention into Caos. Now, puppies sleep A LOT, so Caos was sleeping about 20 hours a day at this point. He would sleep for a couple hours, wake up for 15-20 minutes to play and potty, sleep again for a couple hours, wake up to play and potty, etc. Every meal time, and I fed 3 times a day, was utilized as a training opportunity. I would take Caos's portion of food for his meal and began "luring" him into the positions I wanted (ie., down, sit, stand, come, heel, etc.). I always made sure these "training" sessions were fun and the most enjoyable part of his day. The other 10-15 minutes he was awake were dedicated to potty training and playing. Weeks 9-12 At this point I'm naming commands along with luring. The commands I'm focusing on are Sit Down Left-side heel position Right-side heel position Come Place Leave it Look at me Caos is catching on EXTREMELY quickly, and at this point knows "sit" without any luring. Potty training is also going better than I could have ever predicted and Caos hasn't had any accidents. *If you're interested in how I potty trained Caos, I will be writing a blog post about our experience* I'm also taking Caos with me to work for half my day, while the other half I work from home. Caos is still sleeping around 18 hours a day, which made having him at work extremely easy, minus the fact that all I wanted to do was watch him sleep. Furthermore, Caos has started to develop his own schedule; for the most part he sleeps until about 3pm, with intermittent periods of waking up for about 20 minutes. Then from 3pm-6pm he is awake and raring to go! As for overnight potty breaks, he's waking up around midnight, again around 2am-3am, and then again around 4-5am. By the end of 12 weeks, Caos knew sit, down, left-side heel, right-side heel, leave it, and come with little to no luring. Weeks 12-16 I'm continuing to practice Caos's basic obedience, as well as going on short walks and exposing him to the outside world. At first, Caos was scared to venture out of any environment that he didn't know, but each day he would venture out further and further. We also hit a "reactive stage" around 14 weeks. This reactivity was aimed towards bikes, scooters, skateboards, motorcycles, cars, other people, and dogs. I believe this "reactive stage" was in part to me exposing Caos to the outside world too quickly, ultimately over stimulating him and creating the reactivity I was seeing. However, Caos was also growing and learning INCREDIBLY quickly from week to week. During this time frame, it seemed like every weekend I had off, more and more commands would begin to "click" and Caos would suddenly just "get it," because I was spending so much 1:1 time with him. Now, I also wanted to comment on the reactivity. I definitely exposed Caos to a lot, which I believe to be the cause of his reactivity looking back; he is my first puppy that I'm raising completely on my own after all. The problem I found, was because Caos was so eager to learn and so quick to pick up on commands, my expectations began to exceed his capabilities. Whenever I found myself getting frustrated, I had to remember, "he's only 12/14/16 weeks." I had to continue to remind myself of the comments I was receiving about how well behaved Caos was, ESPECIALLY for being so young. I had to really take a step back during some moments and remind myself that Caos is still so young and we both still have so much to learn. I decided to take a couple steps back and go back to the basics. I went back to working on quality over quantity during our walks and really focusing on, "look at me," whenever Caos would get distracted or too overstimulated. If I ever got to a point where Caos was beginning to become overstimulated and would no longer look at me when asked, I knew that I had to end the walk and/or training session. Caos is so incredibly food motivated and will do anything for a treat, so if we ever got to a point where he no longer worked for a treat, I knew the environment was too overstimulating for him and it was time to stop. This helped tremendously in two ways; First, I was able to better gauge where Caos's threshold was in distracting environments. This allowed me to continue to work in distracting environments, but only where I could still keep Caos's full attention. Second, it helped me from becoming frustrated at Caos when it wasn't his fault. Like I mentioned earlier, I got to a point in training where I found myself expecting too much of Caos and then ultimately getting frustrated when he didn't listen. What I wasn't taking into account, was the fact that I was skipping steps, while continuing to expect Caos to listen under unrealistic expectations. By taking steps back in training and slowly building Caos's threshold for distractions, our training began to excel once again. Another point I wanted to mention, if you're currently training or raising a puppy, it's normal to feel frustrated and like your training isn't progressing. Training sessions are not always going to be perfect and progress isn't linear. There are always going to be setbacks and that's okay. Just remember to be present and know when it's time to stop. Oh, and always end on a positive note, even if it's small! And that wraps up my first 16 weeks with Caos! If you're interested in how I prepared for bringing Caos home, are interested in what the first 24 hours was like with a new puppy, how I started potty training, or how I incorporated Caos into my work life, I will have blog posts about those subjects coming soon! Have any questions or want me to write more in depth on a specific section of this post? Leave it in the comment section down below!