Have you ever felt pressured to take your puppy or young dog everywhere in hopes of helping them adapt to new experiences? It’s a common concern among dog owners: “If I don’t expose them now, will they ever get used to it?” If this sounds familiar, let me share a story that might change your perspective.

One of my goals for my dog, Budweis, was to include him in our school runs. Budweis is a young Border Collie, and while he doesn’t have major environmental concerns, he is sensitive to chaos, fast-moving things, and spatial pressure (as many border collies are!). Despite these challenges, I’m happy to say he now enjoys those school runs with us! But we didn’t achieve this by simply throwing him into the chaos and hoping for the best.

Instead of overwhelming him with everything at once, we broke down the school run into manageable elements. We focused on specific pieces of the school run puzzle, including:

1. People are boring: we worked on helping Budweis remain calm and composed around groups of people, teaching him that he doesn’t need to jump on every passerby.
2. You can ignore moving vehicles: Budweis needed to learn how to behave around bicycles, scooters, and other fast-moving items (see: car chasing blog!). This meant gradually introducing him to these distractions in a controlled way.
3. You can walk on a loose lead, even around distractions: we practised walking on a loose lead while encountering various distractions, with the criteria being not dragging me around/being wild.

By isolating these elements, we were able to create a positive experience for Budweis. It’s much easier to work on each challenge individually, rather than trying to tackle everything at once. This approach allows dogs to build confidence and learn at their own pace.

As you observe your dog in different environments, take a moment to evaluate their behaviour. Are they relaxed and confident? Or do they seem anxious or overwhelmed? If they’re not currently showing you the behavioural picture that you’d like to see, know that simply exposing them repeatedly may not lead to improvement. It’s perfectly okay to step back, break down the challenges, and work on them one at a time before reintroducing the full context.

If you’re feeling stuck or need guidance with your dog’s training, I’m here to help! Together, we can create a customised plan that addresses your dog’s unique needs and helps them thrive in any environment. Schedule a free call today, and let’s get started on this journey together!