Welcome to our first video of 2026! We are kicking off the year by doing what we do best—working with dogs enrolled in our Puppy Montessori program. While our core content will always focus on the real-time progress of our students, I want to hear from you. Let me know in the comments: What topics or questions do you want us to tackle this year?
In this episode, we introduce Tom, who traveled down from Michigan, and his 6-month-old Chocolate Labrador Retriever, Rosie. Rosie is a classic adolescent Lab—impulsive, lacking manners, and struggling to handle social situations with people and other dogs.
In this video: We start by testing them on our basic obedience course, but it’s a struggle. To help Tom understand the standard we are aiming for, I hand him the leash of Shogun, one of our seasoned Mentor Dogs. Once Tom feels what "correct" handling is like, we switch gears.
We believe that you cannot drill obedience into a dog with unspent energy. We let the pack loose—including Rosie, some other Labs, and an English Cocker Spaniel—for some crucial socialization. Then, we head to the "Pre-Adventure Area" (with Tom and his wife in the side-by-side and me on the electric scooter) for a proper off-leash run.
Only after the energy is managed do we return to the kennel to demonstrate how to introduce a puppy to our system. Watch how much the focus improves after the adventure.
00:00 - Introduction & Request for Video Topics 02:23 - Testing Rosie's Current Training Level 14:15 - Letting Our Mentor Dog Train Tom 23:20 - Preparing for Off Leash Adventure! 26:05 - Off Leash Adventure Time! 31:25 - Jesus Is Always Watching 36:16 - Rosie Joins Basic Obedience Class
