Focus on socialisation. Prioritise positive experiences with various people, animals, and environments to promote confidence and reduce fear or aggression later in life. Begin teaching basic commands like sit, stay, come, and leash manners using positive reinforcement techniques. Keep training sessions short and engaging. Gentle handling training. Gradually introduce handling and grooming exercises.

Continue obedience training. This is something we need to do throughout a dog’s life. Reinforce existing commands and introduce advanced obedience skills. Focus on specific skills or sports. Explore activities like agility, rally obedience, scent work, or therapy dog work if desired. Address any behavioural challenges such as separation anxiety, reactivity, or fear, through positive reinforcement-based training methods.

Continue socialisation. Maintain socialisation efforts to reinforce positive interactions and prevent fear or aggression issues. Focus on impulse control. Work on exercises that enhance impulse control, such as waiting at doorways, staying calm during excitement, and self-control around distractions. Reinforce basic obedience skills. Continue practicing and reinforcing basic commands, gradually increasing difficulty and distractions. Increase structured exercise and mental stimulation. Provide ample physical exercise and mental stimulation to channel energy and prevent boredom-related behaviour issues.

Adjust intensity and duration of training considering any age-related physical and mental limitations. Engage in activities that provide mental stimulation, such as puzzle toys, scent work, or gentle obedience exercises. Adapt to changing needs. Monitor and accommodate any changes in the dog’s physical or cognitive abilities, and adjust training methods accordingly.

Lowering and curving the body, blinking, muzzle/ear/lip licking, lowering the head and ears, play bowing, jumping up.

Mouth slightly open, tongue relaxed and hanging out a bit. Avoiding eye contact, approaching from the side. Small body freezes during play. Play bow, turning over, inviting belly rub. Squinty or blinking eyes. Tail wagging fast, either side to side or in a round motion like a helicopter. Ears up, confident posture, walking straight up to another dog to smell their face. Small body, covering down. Moving away from other dogs and people

Head lowering or turning. Averting eyes. Lip licking. Low tail carriage, tail tucked between the legs (fear signal). Curved and lowered body, stomach flip (the dog flips over, exposing their stomach)