Meet Archie

Meet Archie!

What was the reason you contacted Stephanie for training?

The more we worked with Kirby the more we realized some needed changes to our pack dynamic, which included Kirby’s big brother, Archie. Thankfully, Stephanie already knew Archie from Kirby’s lessons making it easy for her to create a plan for Archie to address his and Kirby’s relationship.

Archie has always been an excitable dog but the more Kirby learned how to calm himself, the more we realized Archie didn’t know how to do this! Archie also has some resource guarding issues with his toys and food, which we thought was just him being the typical big bro dog.

How has training helped Archie?

Archie started lessons later than Kirby but he previously attended Petsmart Puppy Training and Beginner Foundational Training, so he had the foundational commands of sit, stay, lay down, and shake. However, if Archie gets too excited for a high value toy, like a ball, it’s impossible to get him to focus or settle down and wait. This was one of the first things Stephanie addressed with him to start teaching him ways to settle down and wait until it’s playtime.

What’s the most valuable training you and Archie have received from Stephanie?

Having both solo lessons for Archie and Kirby, along with combined lessons, has really helped us see their dynamic in different ways. We’re continuing to address their jealousy issues in healthy ways as well as working on their reactivity.