Woof: Dog Toy Company Trains Dogs in Albuquerque

Alright, alright, the dog toy company, Woof, is not actually training dogs in Albuquerque. BUT, their amazing products along with some dog-behavior know-how is making all the difference for many of my clients. Take a look at these three case studies to learn how.

Disclaimer: I may earn a small commission from sales made through the links provided in this blog article, at no additional cost to you.

Louie

Louie is a 6 year old Border Collie mix who gets excited and/or nervous when guests come to his home. When he's excited, he tends to jump on people and generally invade the personal space of the person he's excited to see. When he's nervous about the guest, he has been known to become tense and defensive.

When I first met Louie, he seemed a bit confused. Like he wanted to be my friend, but he was nervous about it. He'd whine and pace then crawl up on the couch to get his nose and tongue on my face, then go to his crate and whine some more before pacing and getting up in my business again. I could tell he had some big feelings that he just didn't know what to do with.

The next time I met Louie he seemed a bit less confused, though just as energetic. He jumped on me and wanted constant attention from the first person who'd give it to him. Being a smart, working breed, he quickly engaged in learning. But, just as many guardians of working breeds know all too well, he had a difficult time clocking off the job.

Even though Louie loves his crate and is excellent with going in it on cue, I knew that sending this dog to his crate with all that energy would be torturous for him and would work against our goal to help him self-regulate his emotions. When a dog like Louie has big feelings they need an outlet for them, not to suppress them. Enter Woof.

The next time I went to Louie's house I brought a Woof Walkabout pre-filled with a handful of delicious freeze dried treats. Louie's guardians have an excellent management system in place where Louie is in his crate in the living room when a guest first arrives, and then is let out once the guest is ready to meet Louie and the front door is shut. So, when I got into the living room I placed the Walkabout on the floor, and Louie was released from his crate.

He didn't jump on me once. He barely paid attention to us humans during the whole hour his guardians and I discussed training plans. It was a win-win. Louie got to problem solve for yummy treats and his parents and I got to focus on our conversation without needing to appease Louie every 20 seconds.

Now, Louie's guardians have a new addition to their routine with guests. Louie now gets special enrichment activities when people come over. And now Louie puts most of his energy into solving puzzles or chewing on something he doesn't get very often instead of his parents telling him "off" or "crate" a million times when someone comes to visit.

Daisy

Daisy is a 2 year old Cattle Dog mix who really doesn't like strangers in her home. She's also generally nervous about most things - going on walks, going to new places, being separate from her older dog brother, etc.

The first couple of times I showed up to Daisy's home for behavior modification training (basically to help her gain confidence and feel better about things she currently finds stressful), she would take treats that I tossed to her and would even "sit" for me. But she was far from fine with me being in her home. As soon as the treats stopped flowing, Daisy was back to barking at me.

Then I decided to bring a Woof Walkabout for her, in hopes that she'd engage with it instead of focusing on me. It worked! Mostly. Even though Daisy took the the Walkabout immediately, and even continued to focus on it as it bounced around my feet, she seemed a bit more frantic than relieved.

These things don't resolve themselves overnight, or often even over a week. Over the last few weeks Daisy's lovely guardians and I gave Daisy an assortment of Woof products to try - the Walkabout, Pupsicle, and a bully stick in a BullySafe. And over the last few weeks, Daisy has become increasingly relaxed around me and curious with more sniffing and less barking.

While Woof products have helped immensely, they're not the only helpful piece to the Daisy puzzle. Her guardians have helped boost her confidence between our meetings, and we have been working through additional exercises to build trust and facilitate problem solving and emotional regulation.

Luca

Luca is a 2 year old German Shepherd and he's sharp as a tack. Being such, he is prone to boredom. Even though his guardians do a great job at giving him training lessons, games of fetch, and playdates with his Standard Poodle friend, he sometimes finds his own sources of fun. Namely, with gnawing on rocks and chewing the dog door flap.

Unfortunately, Luca's guardians are currently unable to safely walk him. With that avenue for fulfilling Luca's needs being on hold and limitations on his guardians to entertain him beyond their current (and respectable!) efforts, we introduced Luca to some items he can engage with on his own - the Walkabout and bully sticks in the BullySafe.

Luca was immediately enthralled, especially with the Walkabout. One of his guardians remarked that they hadn't seen Luca so playful with an item in a long time. Has this helped reduce his rock crunching and dog door mutilation? I don't have an answer for you yet! I haven't met with Luca or his guardians since he got the fun new toys. So, I'll have to let you know, though I suspect the new enrichment items have helped give him more appropriate outlets for his boredom.

These Methods Won't Work For All Dogs

While Woof products and other enrichment items have helped Louie, Daisy, and Luca, as well as many other clients' dogs, there's a place and time for everything. Knowing a dog's motivations and cognitive abilities in certain situations is crucial. For example, if Daisy wasn't taking any treats, was totally incapable of disengaging from me, and wasn't following cues, it wouldn't have been effective to try and distract her from the stranger danger she was feeling towards me. It's hard to have a picnic when you feel you're in a war zone. And as another example: Grace, a 2 year old Mini Poodle. She absolutely loves people and getting visitors to her home. As much as she loves treats and play, she loves people more, and shows her excitement by jumping all over guests. And so, it has proven ineffective to give her a Flyball full of treats when I come to her home.

Summary

Woof products (and other enrichment items and activities) have been largely effective in helping dogs and their guardians in Albuquerque (and beyond) work through things like excitement, nervousness, and boredom. While not always the most effective choice for every moment, it's incredible what can be achieved with some food, fun, and patience. Taking dogs' needs and perspectives into account can make training less stressful for everyone. Using enrichment makes training about working with our dogs, rather than working against them.