Last week we talked about puppy zones and spatial learning, and how understanding those concepts when your puppy arrives home can set your puppy up for success. Today we’ll cover another pillar of training a “Super Pup” – Conditioning. What is conditioning?  Conditioning, according to Brittanica.com, is the behavioral process whereby a response becomes more ...

Last week we discussed how we at Habibi Pup Academy (Go Bears!) spend quite a bit of time and effort to train your puppy to be in a state of calm and quiet as their default mode. We do this to build and maintain a training foundation that we can model further more complex sets of behavioral commands, commands like “sit”, “down”, or even “kennel” for puppy ...

Last week in our blogpost, Retractable Leashes , we made mention that one excellent reason to keep puppy by your side while out walking is to avoid the temptation of puppy to find “goodies” to nibble on without your permission and before you can stop it. You know, things that may seem tasty to puppy but disgusting to us, like (ahem) “kitty roca,” dead roden...

Here at Habibi Bears, we get so many emails from new trained puppy parents who frequently ask the same question- “Does my dog like me? They don’t seem to be excited to see me!” Another frequent remark is “My puppy isn’t jumping up to greet me when I come home.” Dear and gentle readers, if you only knew how many hours we spend making sure your puppy is NOT ex...

How excited we were when we came across this website and article by J.Jeffrey Bragg and his Seppala Siberian Husky website. We at Habibi Bears share a similar outlook and experience with the often closed insular world of the so-called “pure breed” dog world and the problems, both genetic and bureaucratic, that this clique causes.The following is a summary fo...

While out the other morning returning from a trip to the grocery store, a scenario caught my eye that had the potential for disaster and heartbreak. Driving past an apartment complex, a middle-aged man was out on a walk with his small terrier mix dog. Ok, everyday occurrence, nothing scary to see here at first glance. However, as I was passing I heard the lo...

 Bringing Home Your Super Pup Bringing home your trained puppy is an exciting event! After weeks of hard work, your pup is ready to strut his stuff, showing off everything it learned at the prestigious Habibi University Pup Academy (Go Bears!)  Now it’s your turn to keep up with puppy. Here’s a list of Do’s & Don’t’s to help you maintain the standard of beha...

Dog parks have become a growing popular trend, and its one that causes most trainers and behaviorists to cringe when they hear about their clients taking their new puppies to. While it sounds like a wonderful experience for your puppy, the opportunity to play and socialize with other dogs......the reality is the dog park contains way too many unknowns to b...

Adolescence : 5-24 MONTHS We always know when our puppies hit this stage, as we begin to receive emails and questions about our clients wonderful puppies suddenly behaving badly!   Emily and I will look at each other and ask.... are they hitting that phase?  The answer is always yes!  This week we had three families reach out feeling flustered by their dog's...

Have you ever thought , "it must be such a fun job to train dogs full-time"?   Well it is something we are absolutely passionate about, and we do love what we do, or we wouldn't be 33 years strong!  However raising puppies - specifically  TRAINING - young puppies is very labor intensive work.  I am often left in awe - literally with my mouth open - when I l...

I know some of you are always looking for ways to expand the amount of quality time with your dog, and including your dog in your mindfulness practice is a perfect way to deepen and strengthen the bond between you, and increase your effectiveness as a calm Pack Leader. Mindfulness is a word that is used quite a lot, but in the most basic of definitions it is...

We’ve had some inquiries about our previous post, “Doggy Super Heroes” on how best to help our precious pups achieve Super Hero status. It is so exciting for us at Habibi U & Pup Academy (Go Bears!) to assist you every step of the way. Are you ready?  Let’s go!  Be familiar with your puppy’s training routine and educational path.  If your dog has been with o...

Before bringing home your Habibi Bear, it is super important to decide on the exact role that your new dog will fulfill in your family. Is it one of a family pet, or a companion to another dog already in your home, or will it be used as a service animal, providing a specific task to you or one of your family members to improve their day to day quality of lif...

Hello Habibi Family, Litter Updates It's hard to believe that its already time to begin our selection for our Medium (mini) Beatrix Potter   and I know they have been a long time coming!  This is Gemma and Beethoven's last litter and they did not disappoint!  What a wonderful variety of temperaments, amazing assessments for support work...and their markings...

What is dog socialization? Why is it so important? Dog socialization essentially means exposing your dog to a plethora of new sounds, sights, smells, surfaces, environments, objects, people and animals in a way that helps your dog open up to them in a positive way and be calm and confident. It is crucial to socialize a puppy and it can have the following ben...

Spring is here, and we are busy behind the scenes with new litters arriving and training puppies in Habibi Pup Academy.   Our training program has been a wonderful addition to our program, and it has been exciting to hear how well the puppies are adjusting in their new homes.  For those who are on the waiting list for upcoming litters, be advised we now have...

It's an exciting day at Habibi Bears!  Our new site is less than a week old, and we had the opportunity to try out all the fancy new things today for our selection process! I am really excited, I mean REALLY excited... to have a new home on the internet to honor our sweet Habibi Bears.  It's been a labor of love to develop this site, and I am so thankful for...

Fall is in the air, and we are kicking off our busy season with the first litter up for selection! These little bears are a delight, a repeat breeding of Gemma and Habibi.  Their assessments are complete and selection is underway!  New Teacup Litter has Arrived! We have a new litter born that is a week old and they are doing amazing.  This is our Mallory's f...