As you know, it's going to be a loud weekend, especially if you live anywhere near fireworks. While our goal is to help our dogs become more confident around loud noises through gradual desensitization, it's important to remember that fireworks are loud and can be physically uncomfortable for both humans and dogs. Even the best-trained dog can be startled by a sudden, unexpected boom, so this weekend is all about safety first. 🐶 Before the fireworks begin: ✅ Exercise your dog early in the morning or earlier in the day (while being mindful of the heat). ✅ Feed your dog and give them plenty of opportunities to potty before fireworks typically begin. The goal is to have everyone settled in for the evening before the loud noises start. 🎆 During the fireworks 🐾 Keep your dog indoors whenever possible. 🐾 If you need to take your dog outside, always use a leash—even if they're normally reliable off leash. 🐾 If your dog goes into a fenced yard, double-check that all gates are securely closed. A startled dog isn't making thoughtful decisions—they're simply reacting. Their instinct is often to run first and think later, which is why so many dogs go missing around the Fourth of July. 🏷️ Make sure your dog can find their way home ✔️ Collar with current identification tags. ✔️ Microchip registered with your current contact information. Hopefully you'll never need it—but it's always better to be prepared. 🏠 Make inside the fun place to be Rather than focusing on the fireworks, give your dog something more exciting to do! 🐾 Play a training game. 🐾 Practice a few fun tricks. 🐾 Play with their favorite toy. 🐾 Enjoy a chew or enrichment activity. 🐾 Turn on music or the TV to help soften outside noises. If your dog is crate trained, leave the crate open so they can choose to relax in their own safe space if they'd like. ❤️ If your dog is worried... If you notice signs of stress, try not to make a big deal out of the fireworks themselves. Instead, calmly redirect your dog's attention to something positive, like a toy, training game, food puzzle, or gentle affection if that's comforting for your dog.

One of the most important parts of raising and training a future service dog is desensitization. Desensitization simply means exposing a puppy to the sights, sounds, smells, surfaces, equipment, people, animals, and environments they may encounter in everyday life—and pairing those experiences with positive reinforcement. The goal is not to force the puppy into situations that are scary or overwhelming. The goal is to help them learn that new things are safe, normal, and nothing to worry about. In this video, Cole is working on several different types of desensitization at once: ✔ Learning to work around other dogs without needing to interact with them. ✔ Becoming comfortable wearing his new booties. ✔ Experiencing the sights and sounds of a public environment, including shopping carts, beeping noises, people moving around, and other unexpected distractions. ✔ Getting used to wearing his service dog vest. Just like people need time to get used to a new pair of shoes, dogs need time to get comfortable wearing new equipment. We don’t simply put the gear on and expect them to love it. Instead, we pair it with food, praise, play, and positive experiences! The same applies to public environments. A confident service dog isn’t born knowing that shopping carts, loud noises, other dogs, and busy stores are normal. Confidence is built through positive exposure and repetition. The goal is not just for the dog to tolerate these experiences. We want the dog to be comfortable, confident, and able to focus despite distractions. By introducing these things early and making them positive, we’re helping create a service dog that can confidently navigate the world and focus on their future job of helping their person. Small exposures. Lots of praise. Big and brave 💪 ❓How long does it take you to get used to a new pair of shoes?

@Kenzie Carlson put together a super helpful video showing the difference between a basic service dog vest and a few different service dog custom made capes. She walks through the different wording and patches you can add, along with some tips and tricks she’s picked up along the way! One big recommendation from Kenzie: make sure your cape has pockets — they come in handy! To clarify: in this video, the cape is shown attached to a counterbalance mobility support harness, but capes and custom made service vests can also be ordered for non-mobility purposes. If you’re looking for a custom-made vest or cape, Etsy is one of the best places to find options. A huge thank you to @Kenzie Carlson for creating this video and to @Stepho Wilson for editing it — you are the best! 🐾🙌

The Meat Section! Dogs have an incredible sense of smell… and let’s be honest, one of their favorite smells in the world is meat 🍖 🥩 So when a service dog walks past the meat section at a grocery store, it can be a very tempting situation. But a well-trained service dog learns something very important: Ignore the food and stay focused on the handler! No: • Sniffing • Licking • Jumping • Trying to investigate the shelves Instead, the dog should be calmly walking with their handler and checking in for guidance. In this video, you’ll see Saffy the black lab doing exactly that — walking past the meat section while staying focused and ignoring the food!🐕‍🦺 Great job, Saffy and handler @Julie Kelley Training moments like this help build reliability so service dogs can confidently accompany their handlers anywhere they’re needed. 💬 Question for you: If your dog could choose one aisle in the grocery store to live in, which one would it be? 😂🐾

If you have a puppy and a pool, pool safety is something that is REALLY important to think about 🐶 Having proper pool safety fencing/barriers in place is incredibly important because puppies are curious, fast, and accidents can happen very quickly. One of the best things you can teach young dogs early on is how to confidently find the stairs/exit of the pool in case they ever accidentally fall in. That’s what this video is demonstrating 👇 The process starts by introducing the puppies to the steps and helping them understand where the exit is. Then, little by little, the distance away from the stairs is increased so they can learn how to confidently swim back to safety on their own. A lot of dogs that do not understand where the exit is will instinctively swim to the edge of the pool and start trying to climb out vertically against the wall. Once panic sets in and they lose that natural horizontal swimming position, situations can become dangerous very quickly. Teaching puppies where the exit is ahead of time can make a huge difference in an emergency situation. It also helps build confidence and comfort around water at a young age 🐕‍🦺💦 If you have a dog, do they like swimming? Or are they part of the “absolutely not” club?