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Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett

Training Tips From Susan: Understanding The Stages Of A Dog’s Development

Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett

DogsThat

Education, Puppy, Recallers, Animalbehaviour, Dogs, Kids & Family, Pets, Dogtraining, Dogsthat, Petmanners, Susangarrett, Pets & Animals

4.8679 Ratings

🗓️ 30 July 2025

⏱️ 6 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Message From Susan


Hey everyone, it’s Susan, and you’re about to hear one of my training tips and tidbits. These are quick, actionable strategies to help you and your dog in everyday life or for dog sport. Often our short videos with tips are created from your most popular segments of podcast episodes. So, let’s dive in!

 

Understanding The Stages Of A Dog’s Development


Understanding the stages of your dog’s development is the key to lasting success in both training and your relationship. Every dog is a lifelong learner, and when your training aligns with their developmental needs, you create clarity, build confidence, and strengthen a connection that lasts a lifetime.

 

Watch the full video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNnvP8QtMLA&t=2s

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You have to train based on the stage and the age of the dog.

0:12.0

Let's talk about the stage and the age and what that requires. So I've broken down a dog's

0:17.6

life stages to six categories. You could maybe squish them into five, but let's say

0:22.9

six. And let's assume you're getting a puppy, but if you get a rescue dog, it's very similar.

0:28.0

The first little while in your home, that puppy or rescue dog is going to have somewhat of a

0:33.9

honeymoon period. It appears that they're doting on you, that they love you,

0:38.2

that they're really attracted to you. But really, they're seeking the safety level of this new

0:43.8

environment, especially if they're a rescue dog. But for a puppy that's been taken from the

0:49.4

litter, they're unsure of what's safe to do. So, what appears like the honeymoon period, which can

0:56.4

last anywhere from a couple of weeks to maybe even a full month. So, if you get a puppy at eight

1:01.1

weeks, it might go up to 11 or 12 weeks of age where that puppy seems to do everything you

1:07.8

want and they seem to follow you everywhere because you're giving

1:11.1

them attention and you're giving them reinforcement and they still are seeking that psychological

1:16.0

safety to know what they can do and what they can't do. That's the honeymoon period and

1:20.4

when you get a rescue dog it will be the same. But the honeymoon ends very quickly.

1:26.2

Let's call the next stage, the honeymoon is over or the

1:29.8

world is very interesting. And here's where that dog or puppy, if they haven't got a schedule

1:36.4

of strategic reinforcement from you, where they understand and they have expectation of

1:41.8

how their life is going to roll out. If you've done that,

1:45.2

then things will just keep progressing, that lifelong learner, that data processing little

1:49.5

four-legged fluff ball. They're doing as keeps sopping up all that good information from you.

1:54.6

But if you were fooled by the honeymoon and you go, wow, I got this great little dog and I

...

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