Puppy development

Teaches your puppy the fundamentals of manners and control. It opens healthy communication and a positive relationship with your puppy. Between 10 to 14 weeks is the most critical time for puppies to be socialized.

After training, the puppy feels more relaxed, less stressed, and more secure. This strengthens the bond and trust between a puppy and its owner.

I work with clients through all stages of puppy development and molding to ensure each client has a well-adjusted puppy. Training puppies early on ensures a well-adjusted and pleasant companion in the long-run.

Key benefits

Healthy communication

Open up healthy communication with your puppy and develop the leader-follower relationship.

Teach your puppy properly

Teach your puppy right from wrong without being aggressive toward your puppy.

Control your puppy

Have control of your puppy when other people are around. Control puppy in a new environment to keep it safe.

Walks with your puppy

No leash pulling behavior means the puppy walks beside you or near you.

Puppy is a loved member of the family

Your puppy is integrated into your family, ensuring your puppy is a loved member of the family.

A happy and well-adapted puppy

Your puppy feels relaxed and isn't stressed constantly because it is well adapted to its environment.

Your companion

Your new puppy is a companion with you when you are out.

Lifetime puppy training support

Training you how to train your puppy is a crucial element of your puppy’s development. Even the strongest of “owners-trainers” need support from time to time. Knowing that you have me to support you over the life of your puppy is a reassuring asset.

Puppy Development Training Schedule

14 to 16 weeks

Two things happen at this stage:

All puppies go through a fear period during those 2 weeks. It is not due to lack of socialization. It is hardwired and not environmental. As owners, we must be very supportive and create safe space for the puppy to learn and develop in.
The puppy can start learning more complex patterns.

Examples of more complex patterns are:

Going from a sit to a down position
Doing a moving recall from a distance and the puppy staying focused on the handler.

Attention span for learning a behavior must be given within 1.5 seconds or the puppy will not understand the behavior you are marking (rewarding). Their long-term memory is surprisingly lengthy.

What your puppy will learn in Puppy Development

Puppy Development Training provides puppies that are between 10 to 14 weeks of age with the socialization skills they need to adjust to their environment, handle stressors better, and successfully interact with their owner .

Between 10 to 14 weeks, is the most critical development window of time for a puppy to be socialized so it’s able to better handle the hard-wired fear period it goes through from 14 to 16 weeks of age.

Exposing your puppy to socialization training early on prevents puppy shyness, excessive barking, chewing, anxiety, and depression (yes your puppy can become depressed).

When this time passes, if a puppy hasn’t been socialized, it will require some type of behavior modication when it’s an adult because it didn’t learn fundamental skills during its peak social development period.

Gary’s Dog & Puppy Care Basics

Gary covers the do's and don't of puppy socialization and adult dog obedience training including how dogs communicate and creating safe-space.

Why is socialization so important for my puppy’s health?

The goal of socializing a puppy is to help a puppy develop a stable temperament and strong nervous system.

Establish engagement with your dog

You have developed your love relationship with your dog. Now let me teach you how to establish yourself as pack-leader.

Hear from our clients

						I wish we had met Gary years ago, we have had several German Shepherd and his training is simply amazing. Our rescued 1 year old German Shepherd Olivia LOVES Gary. His training program has greatly helped Olivia's issues. She can now walk nicely on a leash, great down/sit, and I could go on and on. He is the very best. Highly Recommend.			
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Nancy M.		
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Nancy M.

I wish we had met Gary years ago, we have had several German Shepherd and his training is simply amazing. Our rescued 1 year old German Shepherd Olivia LOVES Gary. His training program has greatly helped Olivia's issues. She can now walk nicely on a leash, great down/sit, and I could go on and on. He is the very best. Highly Recommend.
						Within 15 minutes into our initial consultation, Gary was already showing us what was possible to achieve with our puppy. Gary has extensive experience and is fun to work with. We just finished our 6-week class and only wish we had started sooner. We highly recommend Gary!			
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Rudy H.		
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Rudy H.

Within 15 minutes into our initial consultation, Gary was already showing us what was possible to achieve with our puppy. Gary has extensive experience and is fun to work with. We just finished our 6-week class and only wish we had started sooner. We highly recommend Gary!
						I reached out to Gary for help with my dog Peaches and her leash reactivity, and he was extremely prompt in responding. The initial consultation went very well, and I learned so much about dog communication and how to better support Peaches. I also learned that she is a highly anxious dog, which explained many of the challenges I had been concerned about. We enrolled in Gary's six-week program and finished with the tools and knowledge needed to keep Peaches on the right track toward recovery. Just like humans, dogs rehabilitate at their own pace, and over those six weeks Peaches made significant progress. We're looking forward to enrolling in advanced training once she's ready so she can enjoy more freedom off-leash. Gary is not like other trainers we've worked with. He doesn't rely on obedience-based shortcuts or gimmicks. Instead, he teaches you how to work through real situations and explains the theory behind his approach so you truly understand what's happening and how to handle stressful moments. Most importantly, Gary teaches you how to become the focal point for your dog, which has made a lasting difference for us.			
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J C.		
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J C.

I reached out to Gary for help with my dog Peaches and her leash reactivity, and he was extremely prompt in responding. The initial consultation went very well, and I learned so much about dog communication and how to better support Peaches. I also learned that she is a highly anxious dog, which explained many of the challenges I had been concerned about. We enrolled in Gary's six-week program and finished with the tools and knowledge needed to keep Peaches on the right track toward recovery. Just like humans, dogs rehabilitate at their own pace, and over those six weeks Peaches made significant progress. We're looking forward to enrolling in advanced training once she's ready so she can enjoy more freedom off-leash. Gary is not like other trainers we've worked with. He doesn't rely on obedience-based shortcuts or gimmicks. Instead, he teaches you how to work through real situations and explains the theory behind his approach so you truly understand what's happening and how to handle stressful moments. Most importantly, Gary teaches you how to become the focal point for your dog, which has made a lasting difference for us.
						Gary was incredibly responsive when I reached out for help with my dog Peaches and her leash reactivity. The initial consultation went great, and I learned a lot about dog communication and how to better support her. I also learned that Peaches is a very anxious dog, which helped explain many of the challenges we were facing. We enrolled in Gary’s 6-week program and saw real progress. Peaches has come a long way, and we now have the knowledge and tools to keep her moving in the right direction. Just like people, dogs recover at their own pace, and we’re excited to enroll in advanced training when she’s ready. What really sets Gary apart is his approach. He doesn’t rely on obedience-only methods or gimmicks. Instead, he teaches you how to work through real situations and explains the “why” behind everything, helping you become the calm focal point your dog needs. Highly recommend.			
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Christian E.		
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Christian E.

Gary was incredibly responsive when I reached out for help with my dog Peaches and her leash reactivity. The initial consultation went great, and I learned a lot about dog communication and how to better support her. I also learned that Peaches is a very anxious dog, which helped explain many of the challenges we were facing. We enrolled in Gary’s 6-week program and saw real progress. Peaches has come a long way, and we now have the knowledge and tools to keep her moving in the right direction. Just like people, dogs recover at their own pace, and we’re excited to enroll in advanced training when she’s ready. What really sets Gary apart is his approach. He doesn’t rely on obedience-only methods or gimmicks. Instead, he teaches you how to work through real situations and explains the “why” behind everything, helping you become the calm focal point your dog needs. Highly recommend.
						We just completed both the introductory and advanced training programs with Gary and we could not have had a better experience. Gary helped our high energy dog (GSP) and more importantly, helped us to understand the fundamentals of training and dog behavior. We are now able to take our dog on off leash hikes with total faith in his recall which we couldn't have dreamed just a few months ago. Thank you so much Gary!!!			
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Andrew B.		
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Andrew B.

We just completed both the introductory and advanced training programs with Gary and we could not have had a better experience. Gary helped our high energy dog (GSP) and more importantly, helped us to understand the fundamentals of training and dog behavior. We are now able to take our dog on off leash hikes with total faith in his recall which we couldn't have dreamed just a few months ago. Thank you so much Gary!!!
						We worked with Gary Maria for six weeks to help our 3-year-old rescue, Giorgi, who struggles with fear and anxiety. Honestly, Gary was incredible. From day one, it was clear he knows his stuff and loves what he does. A lot of the time, Giorgi was too overwhelmed to participate. On day 1, Giorgi hid under a table the whole session. But that’s ok because Gary was really training us. By the last session, Giorgi was walking around, watching other dogs and people walk by, and still listening to commands. Gary taught us how to help Giorgi feel safe, calm him down when he’s stressed, and build trust. We’ve already seen such a difference at home. Gary is knowledgeable, patient, direct (in the best way), funny, and available when you have questions. He celebrated every little win with us! You can tell he truly cares about the dogs he works with. We still have more work to do, but thanks to Gary, we know how to keep moving forward. If you have a dog with anxiety or fear, seriously, go to Gary. He’s the real deal.			
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Amber L.		
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Amber L.

We worked with Gary Maria for six weeks to help our 3-year-old rescue, Giorgi, who struggles with fear and anxiety. Honestly, Gary was incredible. From day one, it was clear he knows his stuff and loves what he does. A lot of the time, Giorgi was too overwhelmed to participate. On day 1, Giorgi hid under a table the whole session. But that’s ok because Gary was really training us. By the last session, Giorgi was walking around, watching other dogs and people walk by, and still listening to commands. Gary taught us how to help Giorgi feel safe, calm him down when he’s stressed, and build trust. We’ve already seen such a difference at home. Gary is knowledgeable, patient, direct (in the best way), funny, and available when you have questions. He celebrated every little win with us! You can tell he truly cares about the dogs he works with. We still have more work to do, but thanks to Gary, we know how to keep moving forward. If you have a dog with anxiety or fear, seriously, go to Gary. He’s the real deal.

Our training programs

Puppy development