What training they’ve received on commands and other basics, and how much they’re solid in certain training areas. For instance, do they know the command leave it when I take them for walks or will I need to avoid anything they’ll want to pick up with their mouth and possibly swallow? Do they have a habit of eating rocks or sticks, so I can supervise way more closely and retrieve those items if they find their way in the mouth because of mischievous and devious dogs? How do they do with loose lease walking and have you trained them at all on it? Do you utilize any training tools for anything, like a gentle leader to stop pulling when walking? Are you okay with the use of a basket muzzle, the safest of all muzzle types? Certain situations carry risk of biting, even with dogs lacking a history of aggression. This would be if you want me to do anything that would risk me getting bitten. I prefer to be better safe than sorry so your dog doesn’t get a bite record which no one wants! If you agreed, a muzzle would only be used when its something that commonly causes dogs to bite even if they’re never aggressive otherwise, like nail clipping. I would like to stress, I would never use anything your dog or you isn’t comfortable with unless you gave permission and we were on the same page!! Very, very few circumstances would merit a muzzle anyway so it’s not likely to ever be a concern. I’d also encourage you to start using training tools and desensitizing your dog to these tools if you wanted me to walk a really large dog, so we both would have added security knowing there is less chance of anything happening due to their size and muscles.

My favorite thing to do in the evenings with my fiancé is use a 20 foot lead in the field behind my apartment complex and play fetch in the huge area with my puppy. He loves it because he’s got room to run outside and didn’t have to be on a short leash next to me. I always take him for at least 2 walks over 30 minutes and shorter walks every 4 hours at least that are 15 minutes or more. We also like going to a few parks in Broken Arrow or hiking trails when we want a really big adventure, I LOVE hiking and getting him to where he loves it too. We’ll travel for those +3 weekly. I like taking him to stores like Lowe’s or Petsmart every week even if I don’t buy anything so he can socialize with other dogs and he always gets a ton of attention from other shoppers who always want to pet and scratch him. Sometimes I’ll just drive around town with him, he has a tether connected to his harness that goes in the seat buckle to secure him and goggles for eye protection. These let him hang his head out of the window freely without safety concerns. When it’s super hot I’ll get a kiddie pool out in front of my apartment filled with water and water toys for him, it’s a great way to make friends with a few dogs if they are on their walk nearby and see us. We totally share the pool with them because that’s what friends do! I love either making enrichment activities for him to stimulate his brain or use some toys I’ve gotten specifically for that, and those are always at least once a day. That can be as simple as letting him rip up cardboard packaging I save, and I can always get in on this by playing and encouraging him too! I always make a point to recommend the book Canine Enrichment to other dog owners because it’s so overlooked but important for dogs to interact with something that gets their brain juices flowing. Beyond that I always have play sessions inside at least 15 minutes long, x5 or more a day. Those aren’t included with the training sessions I try to do daily with him so he keeps learning more commands, manners, replacement behaviors for any unwanted ones, and impulse control. Training is x1-2 throughout the day in short sessions, along with natural opportunities that present themselves throughout our normal routine we try to take advantage of. I’ll combine playing and training often as well, for example I’ve trained him to choose between 2 choices and I present like different treats or toys. I’ve also trained him to sit while I have him choose which of my hands has a treat, which helps his impulse control since he has to wait for me to give him permission to take it and concentrate on what he smells. I make a point to rotate the excessive amount of toys he has collected so they stay exciting and keep him from boring of them. I make homemade puppy treats that I either bake or mix into pupsicles at least once a week but more often usually, since my boy is getting a lot out of frozen treats that help him cool down in this heat. Since my puppy is a Goldendoodle I can amateur groom so I can keep grooming costs way down and not go every 6 weeks like most owners have to, so I can bath, blow dry, and do really basic cuts with trimmers and shears as well as clip nails, and clean out/pluck their ears.