Koa was a puppy when I worked with him. His owners wanted to learn basic household structures and how to walk him on the leash properly. It only took a few sessions for Koa and his owners to pick up on the suggestions I had to offer, and for them to see a huge improvement in Koa's incentive to listen to them.

I'm always super pumped when people with puppies call me, because I love stopping problems before they even get a chance to manifest. There are different structures to learn for puppies than for adult dogs, though, so it is important to keep contact with a professional dog trainer who can help you as your dog gets older. Puppies need a lot more exercise and discipline than most people think. This is absolutely what sets them up to be balanced and well rounded as adult dogs. Working with Koa I learned that it's not obvious to most people to keep an eye on the puppy and only correct the puppy when they do something wrong.

Many people want to correct the dog for having a burst of energy during a game of play, but this ultimately encourages the dog to play, "catch me if you can". If your dog has a burst of energy during a playtime, maintain the same level of excitement as you had before, wait for your dog to calm down and then direct them into the next activity. This way your reaction is neutral and they don't have incentive to take control of the game next time.