It would also be a great resource for a breeder to share with puppy-buyers, or to include as a gift on the day the puppy goes home with it’s new family.

You’re Lucky You’re Cute Online Class

Reviewed by Kara Graves of the Australian Shepherd Journal, Official Publication of the United States Australian Shepherd Association. To read the full review, click here.

“Great job! We are so excited about this.”

Andrew Luescher DVM PhD DACVB | Director, Animal Behavior Clinic, School of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University

“Absolutely brilliant! Innovative, effective, and a joy to read, The Ultimate Puppy Toolkit is a winner. I really love the focus on socialization and preventative exercises.”

Dr. Ian Dunbar | Veterinarian, Animal Behaviorist and best-selling author

“Janis, who instructs in the Academy with me, and I were going through the UP materials last Wednesday and were pretty dazzled. We’re going to be recommending it to our graduates for their classes and clients.”

Jean Donaldson | Founder of the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers

“The kit arrived yesterday. What a cool thing! Love the positive approach! You guys did great work! I’m going to be showing it around to other trainers that I know and to vets I know. Thanks for your work.”

Barbara L. Stanek | Fox Valley Technical College

“Thank you again for such a great training tool.”

Ann Coffey | Morning Star Dog Training

“Thank you for sending me the Toolkit. I think it is wonderful. This is the first publication on raising a puppy that pleases me so much. It contains every thing that I preach; it is exactly what I would have written if I had the talent, the know-how, and the patience. Congratulations!”

Louise Batien | Le Club Canine V.I.P.

“The Puppy Toolkit is a wonderful tool for puppies starting their lives in the country or the city! The Puppy Toolkit takes the mystery out of puppy-hood: the included well-laid-out wall chart maps out the development stages clearly so that the puppy’s guardian/owner/raiser knows not only what to expect at each age, but also what s/he should be doing in relation to the puppy’s development at each new phase. I highly recommend this training tool for anyone raising their first pup, or for the seasoned dog person, needing a refresher in what to expect from puppies.”

Barbara Handleman M.Ed | Dog Training At Home APDT Member

“I work at the Bright’s Grove Animal Hospital. I have been teaching Puppy Socialization Classes for 15 years and have not seen anything as good as this!”

Debbie Martin | Canadian White Shepherd Club, American White Shepherd Club

“As a trainer of many years experience, I feel that this kit is an essential for everyone who is getting a new pup. When we got our latest puppy last year, we found that the poster outlining the puppy’s development was an essential reminder for us about what social milestones happened when. Even the most experienced dog people can benefit from this well researched and incredibly well laid out program. I recommend this kit to all my students with new puppies, especially if they have raised pups before but not recently!”

Sue Alexander CPDT | Dog trainer, Guelph, Canada, Dogs in the Park

“Yes, I am very familiar with the Puppy Toolkit, and have met with the creator personally. It is a fantastic product.”

Jennifer Messer DVM | Montessaurus Puppy School

“It’s nice to have such a captive audience of trainers to critique something. You know how hard it is to get trainers to agree on anything, and when I asked this group if they would be comfortable using the product, there was a unanimous yes. Pretty astounding accomplishment. Congratulations on a great product.”

Terry Long, CPDT | Editor, Reviewers’ Corner, APDT Chronicle of the Dog

“I belong to the Southern California Dog Trainers Forum, a group of dog trainers that meets monthly to discuss various training topics, reviews books, etc. Terry Long presented your Puppy Toolkit earlier today at our meeting, and we all agreed it was terrific — that, in itself, is unbelievable that a bunch of dog trainers agree on anything!!! Terry will give you more particulars.”

Caryl Wolff, CPDT, NADOI | Miss Doggie Manners, Los Angeles, California. Certified Pet Dog Trainer, National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors, Association of Pet Dog Trainers

“I am a staff trainer at the San Francisco SPCA and just yesterday had the pleasure of looking through your Puppy Kit. I was very impressed! I would like to give them away in my up-coming puppy information sessions. (I also have my own dog training business).”

Mollie K. Harris | SF/SPCA Staff Trainer, Chili Pepper Dog Training. Certified in training and counseling, SF/SPCA, Member APDT.

“The Puppy Toolkit helps dog owners take full advantage of an absolutely vital stage of development and have fun in the process. I love it!”

Jean Donaldson | Founder of the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, and best-selling author of The Culture Clash

“We got the sample of the Puppy kit and think its fabulous!!! We would love to include the kit in our adoptions for puppies.”

Holly Stempien Fink | Adoptions/Merchandise, The San Francisco SPCA

“Hi! Saw your note on Berner-L about socialization. We’re big fans of the “puppy toolkit”. It’s a box full of booklets, poster, etc.. that offers concrete activities, games, advice, and schedules for socializing your puppy. It is easy to follow, has lots of pictures, and best of all—is FUN for you and the pup. We found out about it from the Purdue university veterinary School behavioral clinic trainers. Take a look at ultimatepuppy.com. We’ve even used some of the training tips on our 2 year old berner, and she is paying attention better and we have eliminated a couple of non- serious, but annoying habits she had been allowed (by us!!) to adopt. We heard that some vets and some breeders are providing the kits to new pup owners, but we bought our kit ourselves online. Hope this is helpful.”

Mark Stephenson, Ph.D., Carol Stephenson, Ph.D. | Buckeye Bernese Mountain Dogs Ohio, USA

“I am truly impressed. I am impressed by the professional packaging, the graphics and colors etc. are very eye catching. I can safely say I think you have a real excellent resource put together for puppy owners.”

Carolyn DeFiore | Vizsla Club of Michigan, VCA Rescue Coordinator-Michigan Michigan, USA

“I think the Puppy Toolkit is the solution to my own concerns about people not fully understanding their pups needs. I am so excited about being able to provide comprehensive information for my buyers. The Puppy Toolkit will be a part of the puppy purchase. Not optional. Too many people with good intentions never socialize and train. I believe if the kit is included it will get done! My intention is to sell a pup to a home for life, I believe this will help.”

Carol Campbell | Bull Terrier Breeder South Carolina, USA

“I confidently recommend the Puppy Toolkit to every new puppy owner. The week by week instructions are AWESOME! I emailed everyone the PDF file and they are all excited because that is going to make it soooo much easier to use this excellent kit. I was just amazed when I checked it out. Everyone that I told about it was anxious to get their kit before the pup arrived and read it so they could be prepared. What a great addition to the kits.”

Blossom Cheverie | Lymestone Westies Ontario, Canada

“As a breeder of Bernese Mountain Dogs and Golden Retrievers, and a SPCA Certified Dog Assessor I know how important it is to make sure that new owners have the right tools for training and socializing their puppies. More dogs are surrendered to shelters and are euthanized because of poor social behavior. The Puppy Toolkit is full of positive training methods that are straightforward, sensible and fun. They are well illustrated and even a child can use them. It has been said by Ian Dunbar that teaching proper social behavior and bite inhibition are the two most important and critical skills your new puppy needs to know. The Puppy Toolkit gives you the skills and positive-training methods to make sure your puppy becomes a Good Canine Citizen. I train my dogs for working skills including drafting, agility, and obedience. I especially love the Games booklet as it has many great ideas to motivate and excite your dog and you. Skills learned early (before 18 weeks) will make sure that all the things you want to do with your dog as they get older will be easy as they have developed well grounded habits as puppies. The Puppy Tool Kit is required by all my new puppy owners.”

Melodie Grabner | Bernecho Kennel, British Columbia, Canada

“We have just been made aware of your product and its appeal is very strong. We are Vizsla breeders in B.C. and would be interested in obtaining a kit for each of our new puppy owners. We found out about Puppy from a friend at our Kennel Club who was given the kit by his new puppy breeder on the mainland.”

Hilarie and Barrie Brinkworth | Piroska Vizslas British Columbia, Canada

“As a breeder, I’m always looking for good information for new puppy buyers. I looked over the Toolkit before giving it to a friend to review and use. I was impressed in that it provided a positive approach to training, had great references and was easy to read and use. Not only did it cover everything that I would want a new puppy owner to know, there was nothing in the kit that I didn’t agree with! The friend that I gave it to said “I highly recommend this kit to anyone, or any family that has never had a puppy before as well as to those that have had one, but not for a long time. It was great and fast reading with little or no grey areas and has enabled us, a family that had 2 dogs over and 18 year period, to get re-prepared for the new puppy, especially my son who has never experienced his own puppy.” The TOOLKIT is now REQUIRED READING for ALL my puppy buyers.”

Denise McLean | Greyghost Weimaraners British Columbia, Canada

“Quite honestly, it is one of the best publications I have seen for puppy owners. I am not an easy sell, either.”

Jan Morgan | Dog Trainer & Cairn Terrier Breeder, Pawsitive Puppies Toronto, Canada

“I have had nothing but rave reviews from the last three families who have looked over the Toolkit, and all are excited about owning their own set! None of them seemed at all put off by the number of books, and actually commented that they found them more user friendly.”

Wanda Tait | 2004 Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Canada, National Specialty Chair, Trainer and Breeder Alberta, Canada

“I am very impressed with the Puppy Toolkit you sent me for the Weimaraner Club of America! I love it!!”

Ellen Dodge | Secretary, Weimaraner Club of America

“I love the Puppy Toolkit! I teach puppy classes and I recommend it to EVERY new puppy owner, regardless if it is their first puppy or not. The books discuss all aspects of raising a pup, with up to date gentle methods of training. From housetraining to fun and appropriate games to play with your pup, as well as important aggression prevention exercises. I also love the fact the children can follow along with the pictures, helping them to contribute positively to their puppy’s development and training.”

Aimée Luedey, RVT | Registered Veterinary Technician Ontario, Canada

“The Puppy Toolkit has quickly become as essential component for all our puppy visits. The information is so easy to use, we see an incredible difference in the dogs whose owners have the toolkit to reference to. It’s made our jobs easier – our clients happier, in fact – none of our puppy owners go home without it!!!”

Tanya Zweer, RVT | Hospital Manager Ontario, Canada

“The time is long overdue for a comprehensive tool to help new puppy owners get rolling from day one. The Puppy Toolkit covers the two most vital aspects of raising a puppies during their key period of development. It ties in with our own philosophy of “prevention over cure”. We will be recommending it to all of our puppy clients.”

Rita Peters CVPM | Hospital Administrator, Royal York Animal Hospital, Ontario, Canada

“Both myself and the vets that I work for love it and think it is a fabulous way to educate people right from the start about dogs.”

Jolene McLellan | Woodgrove Animal Hospital, Nova Scotia, Canada

“Read you endorsement from Ian Dunbar. I couldn’t agree more. You both deserve enormous pats on the back for all your efforts in puppy training.”

Victoria Van Wyk DVM | Campbell River Vet. Hospital, British Columbia, Canada

“Your Toolkit is a super idea! Every puppy owner we have will get one of these.”

Rick Swinemar DVM BSc | Woodland Animal Hospital, Nova Scotia, Canada

“The puppy toolkit has helped us a lot in explaining to first time puppy owners that a well behaved dog is not the product of human affection, but that it is WORK that needs to be done at the early phases of a dog’s development. We actually have been able to market our dog training classes better after the client got a kit. Its design is appealing enough to give busy people a quick idea about what counts. Well done…”

Dr. Ernst Marsig | Animal Hospital of Unionville Ontario, Canada

“I would like to purchase a kit as I raise puppies for Disaster Search & Rescue.” 

Hilda Wood | Firefighter/Paramedic Canine Specialist, Florida Task Force 1, Miami Dade Rescue, Florida, USA

“We adopted the Puppy Toolkit to raise the puppies and rescued dogs in our program because it contains all the components we know are required to help achieve well socialized, stable and manageable dogs. You can have the worlds best disaster search dog and not be able to use him if he develops aggression towards humans or other dogs because he was poorly socialized as a puppy. The Toolkit provides our short-term home families with all the information to understand a puppy’s development and to provide the care and training to raise a healthy dog that we can use in our training program.”

Miki Klocke | Canine Manager, National Disaster Search Dog Foundation,California, USA: SearchDogsUSA.org

What a Girl Dog Wants

A bite of cat poo, the allure of rolling on a dead bird, or the opportunity to sniff a butt are a few of the ways our preferences may differ from our dogs. Then there are the less obvious things like home decor.

A Slippin and A Slidin

Sometimes environments that we find aesthetically pleasing aren’t compatible with our dog’s needs. Hardwood and polished tile floors are popular among people but if you were to offer your dog flooring options to choose from it’s doubtful they would pick the slippery options – they would opt for surfaces like stone or rough tile, stay-put rugs or rubber glorious rubber!

Did you know that slipping and sliding is stressful for your puppy? Dogs rely on their ability to move in order to stay safe, to stay alive. When they cannot gain traction or lose their footing they can start to panic.

If you have slippery floors think about places you can add traction so that you make the home more comfortable for your pup to navigate.

Take Action – Use Traction

In order to prevent the slip and slide and the chase and crash please take action and use traction. Sadly people laugh and think it is cute to see a puppy slipping and sliding or chasing and crashing. It’s dangerous and the pup could get injured. Changes are needed.

Yoga Mats to the Rescue

In addition to being more comfortable for a pup, strategically placed yoga mats are an easy way to teach them to settle by your desk or just outside the kitchen.

Chances are the puppy will be attracted to the traction. Then you can teach your pup to settle by feeding treats and offering food-stuffed puzzles and chews on the mat.

This is a win-win. You provide traction, teach the pup to settle, keep them safe and not underfoot, and potentially prevent unwanted puppy behavior. Plus the pup gets the benefit of enriching activities like chewing or food-accessing opportunities with the toys, chews, and puzzles! Yahoo!

It’s Easy to Make it Right!

When we understand it is difficult and uncomfortable for our dogs to navigate slippery surfaces we can make small changes in the environments we share with our dogs to provide them with comfort.

“We used the TOOLKIT with our new puppy and found it extraordinarily helpful. The writing is fresh, humorous and direct, with lots of valuable advice. Also, the authors have been great at providing extra advice through email conversations. I fully recommend this great puppy training tool AND it helped train the owners too!”

David Buley | Nova Scotia, Canada

“The toolkit has provided excellent support in understanding what is driving Stanley’s behavior as he grows from rambunctious pup to adult. The flash cards and books allow me to challenge Stanley with new tasks in a playful environment that benefits us both. I now have a dog who is comfortable at home and at play – in the nursery and the nursing home. It has made us both quite popular.”

Karen Smiley | Ontario, Canada

“Although the one-on-one classes with our coach were an integral part of our puppy training, the Ultimate Puppy Toolkit was the bible by which we lived. The UP toolkit provided us with all the necessary information to raise a well-rounded pup. It’s proactive teachings showed us how to direct and guide our pup in a positive and encouraging manner. As a first time puppy owner, the UP toolkit was a savior. It gave me the knowledge and confidence to guide my puppy through her time of learning so that a harmonious relationship could be achieved.”

Jessica Burns | Ontario, Canada