Hi,

Day 15 with Schmoo, I realized I was pushing too hard. He had the drive, he wanted to work, but I was asking for too much too soon, and it was starting to show. I had to back off completely and let him just be a puppy again.

THIS ISSUE'S INSIGHTS:

Your puppy is 2-3 weeks in and you're frustrated. You've been working on basic commands. You're trying to get the puppy to sit, down, come & stay. But the puppy isn't getting it. Or worse, the puppy was doing okay at first and now seems less interested.

You see videos online of 12 week old puppies doing perfect obedience and you think your puppy should be there too. So you push harder. More reps. Longer sessions. Higher expectations.

Here's what's actually happening: you're teaching your puppy that training isn't fun. And once a puppy decides that, you've created a learning disability that takes months to fix.  It doesn't have to be that way!

People focus way too much on flashy moves and perfect obedience in the early weeks. They see a trainer online showing off a young puppy doing advanced work and think that's the goal.

It's not!

I've been training dogs for over 20 years. I've worked with thousands of dogs including pets and shelter dogs. And I was heading toward this mistake with Schmoo. The first two weeks, I was trying to get him to engage, to lure, to learn positions. By Day 15, I looked at what I was doing and realized I was overdoing it. He needed space. He needed to just be a puppy.

The first 30 days should be less about teaching the puppy skills and more about teaching the puppy how to enjoy learning. How to want to engage with you. How to see training as something fun instead of something you force on them.

Most people try to teach sit, down, and stay in the first week. They're pushing the puppy's butt down, shoving the shoulders down, getting frustrated when nothing works. All they're doing is teaching the puppy that training is something to avoid.

Stop focusing on commands. Stop worrying about whether your puppy can sit on command by Week 2. That's not what matters.

What matters is this: Does your puppy want to be with you? Does your puppy get excited when you grab the leash or the treat pouch? Does your puppy come running when you call, not because he knows the command but because being with you is the best thing in his world?

If the answer is no, you're overdoing it.

Back off. Spend time just playing with your puppy. Hand feed meals. Go for walks with zero expectations. Let the puppy explore. Let the puppy decompress. Build the relationship first.

When I realized I was overdoing it with Schmoo on Day 15, I stopped all structured training for a few days. We just played. We just hung out. I let him be a puppy. And when I came back to training after that break, he was ready. He wanted to engage. He was willing to try.

That's the foundation you need before anything else works.

Puppies aren't trying to be annoying. They're not trying to be obstinate. They're just being puppies. If you can't give them space to be puppies, you're not doing what's in their best interest.

By the end of 30 days, your puppy shouldn't have perfect obedience. That's impossible. But your puppy should be ready for the journey. Ready to learn. Ready to want to train. That's what the first month is actually for.

The First 30 Days course shows you exactly what happened on Day 15 when I had to back off with Schmoo.

You'll see the mistakes I made pushing too hard, the adjustments I made, and what the recovery process actually looked like.

It's the real thing, unfiltered, with all the frustrations and breakthroughs included. [Learn more about the First 30 Days course here →]

Until next week,
Robert Cabral

P.S. If your puppy is shutting down or seems less interested in training than they were a week ago, you're probably overdoing it. Back off.

Let them be a puppy. The commands can wait.