Watertown All Breed Community

05/27/2026

A good start is so important.

I STILL NEEDED MY MOM

The early weeks of a puppy’s life play a crucial part in laying a foundation for a well-adjusted adult dog.

This foundation influences future behaviour and how well they go on to cope and interact with the world.

Unfortunately, there are still breeders who allow puppies to leave their moms and littermates at only 6 weeks old, often with no regard for the long-term impact this can have on development.

Many new owners blindly trust that breeders must know best and never question this. But while a puppy may no longer rely on mom for food at this age, they are still deeply dependent on their family unit for learning vital life skills, social skills, building emotional security and resilience.

Between 6 and 8 weeks, puppies are in the process of learning:

• Bite inhibition
• Appropriate play behaviour
• Frustration tolerance
• Impulse control
• Communication and social skills
• Confidence and emotional resilience

These are skills that we as people, can never fully replicate in the same way that a pups family unit can.

While 8 weeks is generally considered the minimum age for puppies to leave, many ethical breeders prefer to keep puppies until 10 to 12 weeks, while also providing positive, age-appropriate socialisation and habituation experiences.

Habituation means gently introducing puppies to the world around them in positive, developmentally appropriate ways — different sounds, surfaces, objects, environments, people, smells, and everyday experiences — so they learn that new things are safe rather than frightening.

However, we don’t live an in ideal world and having to care for or rescue pups much younger than 8 weeks is often unavoidable due to different circumstances.

This post is not aimed at those situations - it’s about education, awareness and encouraging people not to support irresponsible breeding practices that place profit and convenience above the wellbeing and healthy development of puppies.

05/13/2026

One of the biggest mistakes people make with a new puppy or newly adopted dog is putting them straight into a crate and expecting them to “just deal with it” or “let them cry it out.” I know the Internet says that dogs love crates because they’re a safe den-like area. But that needs to be something that you create for them, not something that they’ll necessarily automatically feel.

For many dogs, being confined in a crate without any positive conditioning can feel scary, frustrating, or overwhelming. That first experience matters. A dog who panics in the crate on day one can quickly learn that the crate predicts stress instead of safety.

Before expecting your dog to stay calmly in the crate, spend time teaching them that the crate is actually a good place to be. Toss treats in and let them come back out. Feed meals near or inside the crate. Play short, low-pressure games around it. Let them build positive associations before closing the door for longer periods of time.

Additionally, your dog, no matter what their size, should go into the create when asked. Placing a dog in a crate physically can be scary, cause your dog to feel a lack of control about what’s going on, and potentially lead to a bite If the dog is anxious about being physically forced to enter the crate.

Crate training is not just about containment. It’s about creating a space where your dog feels safe enough to relax. Taking the time to condition the crate properly can make a huge difference in preventing anxiety, barking, and crate refusal later on.

04/19/2026

Punishing / supressing the growl is like taking the batteries out of the smoke detector.

Growling is communication. Always just communication. How else are our dogs going to ask for the space they need if we punish them for growling? Take away the growl and they have no choice but to go straight to a bite.

04/11/2026

This is important.

Even though our pups spend much of their day napping, that doesn’t mean they’re getting a good rest. Here’s what you should know.

04/09/2026

FB Memories reminded me that 3 years ago I did something I had always wanted to do. Design and commission an infographic from Doggie Drawings by Lili Chin 🥰🥰

03/14/2026

01/28/2026

This is a handy, comprehensive reference on a topic every dog owner can always use tips on.

Stay warm out there!

Potty accidents are one of the most frustrating parts of living with a dog—especially when we assume they “should know better.” But let’s put things into

01/19/2026

01/14/2026

One of my favorite training reminders: teach your dog what to do, not just what not to do.

If your dog jumps on guests, saying “no” doesn’t actually give them any useful info. They’re excited, they want to say hi, and they need a job in that moment. So instead of focusing on stopping the jumping, teach a specific behavior like sitting to greet. Clear expectations → calmer greetings and a dog who feels successful.

And here’s the part people often forget: you can’t wait until guests walk through the door to start practicing. That’s not a training moment—that’s a performance. The training has to happen as rehearsals first: quiet environment, no guests, low distraction. Build the skill, reward it, and then gradually add more excitement.

By the time real people show up, your dog already knows the routine and has been paid well for doing it.

It’s not about shutting behaviors down—it’s about giving your dog a good option and practicing it enough that it actually works in real life.

If you want help teaching a solid greeting routine I would love to help! You can contact me through my website which is linked in my profile.

01/07/2026

One of the most common things dog professionals hear is, “There are no signs of pain.”

Yet the dog’s behaviour has changed, escalated, or become unsafe.

Here is the key point. Behaviour is how dogs communicate discomfort. Dogs do not use words. They use actions. If behaviour changes, that change is a sign.

Dogs are biologically wired to hide pain. In the wild, showing weakness reduces survival. Research shows dogs often compensate for discomfort by shifting weight, altering posture, avoiding movement, or becoming more sensitive long before obvious limping appears. By the time pain looks “clear,” it is often advanced.

Pain and behaviour are not separate. Pain alters the nervous system, lowering tolerance and increasing irritability and fear. Studies consistently link pain with aggression, reactivity, anxiety, night-time restlessness, avoidance of handling, and sudden snapping (Mills et al, 2020). Treating pain often reduces these behaviours, not because the dog is “nicer,” but because the dog is more comfortable.

A dog can still run, play, and appear happy while in pain. Adrenaline and excitement mask discomfort. Many painful dogs show subtle signs instead, such as pulling on the lead to offload weight, reluctance to sit or lie down, stiffness after activity, sensitivity to touch, lip licking, or increased reactivity in the evenings.

“Mild” findings on scans do not mean mild pain. Research shows pain severity does not always match imaging results. Behaviour reflects the dog’s lived experience, not the appearance of an X-ray.

When pain persists, behaviour often worsens. Chronic discomfort sensitises the nervous system, making dogs defensive and reactive. Training alone cannot fix pain. Addressing discomfort alongside behaviour support leads to better learning, regulation, and welfare.

Behaviour is not separate from pain.
Behaviour is often the symptom.