Jojo the Puppy Learns to Follow Her Owner’s Rules

Jojo is a four-month-old Morkiepo puppy. Her owners called me to help with a few minor problems and to make sure she learned proper rules, boundaries and limitations.

When I arrived she was so excited to see who the visitor was she had a little accident. After we cleaned that up, I demonstrated a leadership exercise to help Jojo look to her owners for guidance and leadership.

Because she is a quick and tiny dog, it took quite a bit of dexterity on my part as she attempted to go around me to get the reward. But I stayed determined and blocked her each time she tried until she surrendered. As soon as she did I praised her and gave her the reward.

I repeated the exercise a few times to make sure she understood what I wanted before coaching her owners and their grandson through it. As a puppy, it took longer than usual, but she made the connection quickly. You could tell she was proud of herself for the accomplishment which is always a good thing to see. Having a dog that has a sense of pride can lead to confidence which is crucial when any dog is growing up.

Next we discussed a few potty training tips and how important it is to control feeding time. Because dogs usually have a regular digestive track, feeding dogs at a specific time can help us narrow down the times an accident is most likely to happen. So when we know its time for the dog to go, we can take it outside as well as keep it under careful supervision until after it eliminates.

By the end of the session Jojo was laying on the floor dozing off as I answered few more questions from her owners. Because of her intelligence and medium energy level, Im confident her owners are going to raise her to become a calm balanced dog who understands the rules and boundaries her owners want respected.