Dottie’s Diary

Inspiring the brilliance and joy of puppyhood - for puppy and parent!

A JOURNEY THROUGH PUPPYHOOD

Meet Dottie, the newest member of the Dream Team. There are many things to learn from puppy classes… but SO MUCH of puppy parenting is in the little (but so big!!!) moments in your day-to-day life. Your puppy is learning from you every second you are interacting with them. Pet parenting is rarely as simple as Sit, Down, Stay, Come when called…

What are you doing to set up for success? What are you doing to MOTIVATE your puppy to choose you? To bring out the brilliance and the joy in your relationship? Most importantly… are you & your puppy having fun? Do you feel like your puppy is a chore? Feeling drained from undesirable behaviour that repeats itself? What are realistic expectations? Do you want to know more about puppy parenting, building confidence and relationship, understanding canine communication, integrating your puppy into your current house of dogs, off-leash freedom, companionship, teamwork built on trust, and prep for performance sports?

The truth about puppy parenting.

I am so excited to share Dottie's journey through puppyhood with you - and not just a “highlight reel”. Through this diary, I aim to give insight into life as a puppy and shine light on reward-based and fear-free puppy parenting. Are you brand new to being a puppy parent? Looking for the most up-to-date, humane, evidence-based positive and fear-free approaches to companionship with canines? Or have you had dogs your entire life but want to strengthen your relationship, learn new skills, and participate in some REAL TALK about being a puppy parent? Or perhaps you would love to attend an in-person class, but your schedule does not accommodate it.

This is my first time having a puppy in nearly 6 years! The amount of fun we are having highlights to me that so many puppy parents, who come week after week to my classes with nothing but complaints… would benefit from a change of perspective. I hope to show how to ENJOY puppyhood and cherish all of these moments with your special companion, while setting up for a lifetime of success. How to be positive while teaching key life skills and integrating into a household with 1 dog-social and 1 not dog-social dog, plus the little (but oh so big!!) things I teach with the goal of doing dog performance sports together (like agility, tricks, scent detection, maybe frisbee & dock diving... whatever interests Dottie the most!) together, building resiliency, confidence, and so much more.

“A bundle of joy with four tiny feet. One of the most enduring friendships in history. Puppies are learning from you every moment you spend together. What are they learning today?”

— Zoë Hunter

Follow along Dottie’s journey through puppyhood.

Patrons of Dottie’s Diary will have the unique opportunity to ask questions and have dialogue about various topics as we journey through puppyhood, including undesirable behaviour, canine communication & body language, breakdowns of my training program and thought processes, and so much more.

This will help YOU, but also ME!! To inform me about what YOU - my audience, clients, friends, the next generation of pet parents - want to know! My long-term hope is that with your help and participation in this diary, that this will evolve into a puppy prep and puppy training eBook (maybe!! who knows?!), roadmap, guideline, aid, and support on modern fear-free puppy parenting using ethical and humane decision making backed by current scientific literature.

Dottie’s Diary features monthly membership, with two package options to suit your needs. You can cancel your membership at any time.

  • The patrons in this tier will have access to:

    • Puppy Prep: be prepared for your puppy’s arrival

    • Dottie’s Diary: highlights of what we are working on throughout various developmental and socialization periods, training goals & priorities, navigating household boundaries and expectations, and teaching key life skills

    • Crate training vs enrichment land

    • Modern socialization: socialization or flooding?

    • Cooperative Care: fear-free veterinary visits and home-care routines

    • Play nice with the other kids! A guide to safe dog-dog interactions and play

  • The patrons in this tier will have access to:

    • Everything in the Basic Package

    • Bonus Content: training tutorial videos

    • Unlimited Questions  

    • Dottie’s Diary Exclusives: up close and personal! View uncut video, dog-dog interactions, training sessions, hear my thoughts/analysis, and get a glimpse of what I am prioritizing and why.

    • Puppy Sport Prep! Key skills like mindful movement and body awareness, confidence-building, toy retrievals, building value for multiple reinforcers, setup/entrance/exit strategies, and much more!

    • Multi-dog household: integrating a puppy with a playful/social dog and another who prefers space.