April 7th, 2025

Puppy-hood

People usually fall into two camps when it comes to puppies: those who adore them, and those who… don’t.

Among the puppy lovers, some thrive on raising them, while others quickly realize they don’t enjoy the chaos. Personally, I love it—even though it’s frustrating. You can’t reason with a puppy, and bribery often backfires. Sometimes your only options are tossing them in the backyard or surrendering for some peace and quiet.

But puppyhood is so important. It’s a wild, fun, exhausting ride that lays the

Rylee and Bella on the couch December 31, 2020

foundation for the rest of their lives. Puppies need structure, freedom, and consistency to explore the world safely and confidently.

Raising dogs means raising socially responsible dogs. That starts with giving puppies the tools to make good choices.

I’ve been lucky to have Rylee around for both of my younger dogs. She handled a lot of the heavy lifting—teaching recall, social boundaries, and even how to respect household rules. (Still trying to stop Emma from picking up her poop-sniffing habit though!)

Dog-to-dog relationships are great, but dog-to-puppy ones? They’re the best. Even Bella softens a bit around the babies… a bit.

Happy Training.

Addi and The Girls