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Emma (our Labrador Retriever) is almost a year old. We’ve only had her for a short amount of time but she has already made her mark on our family. Positive reinforcement dog training is something I never thought I’d ever learn about. Or, for that matter – anything I’d ever want to learn about. But here I am, writing this post. 🙂

We knew we wanted a dog long before we ever met Emma, we saw the impact our two cats had on Wyatt and it made us want to get a doggie too. I did lots of research about how beneficial animals are to young children, especially children with delays. And when William and I met Emma for the first time, we just couldn’t NOT bring her home. She was adorable, tiny, cute, and had that “puppy” smell. We just had to have her.

emma

But, one thing we never thought about was training. Training a dog is HARD work, people! Thankfully, she loves Nudges and we’ve been able to incorporate them in her lessons. We took Emma to puppy training classes to help us get started with some of the basics. Having a treat to give her that was healthy, free of fillers, made with real meat, these were things that we loved. Plus, they’re made in the U.S.A. They come in a variety of flavors like: health & wellness chicken, beef, bacon, and duck. We buy ours at Walmart and they also have bigger sized bags available too if your dog goes through them like ours! They’re right at the end of the dog food aisle in our store:

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 Emma will literally do anything for one of these treats. Right now I am in the process of training her to walk on a leash. Which, by the way is NOT fun when you have a giant lab that loves to pull you around. It’s definitely going to take some time before she is ready to go on a jog with me (which is what I pictured doing with her when we got her, lol). 

emma

The thing about Emma is she’s crazy. She runs around, jumps on new people, and will want to wash your face for as long as you’ll allow her. But watching her with my boys is priceless. She is sweet, gentle, and so loyal to Wyatt and Levi. She never jumps on them or nips at them – the only thing she ever does is give them a good wash down with her tongue! And when I think about those things – all of the “bad” things she does disappear. Yes, she still needs training. And yes – it will take some time. But, you know what? She’s worth it. All of it. Because she is a part of this family, and we adore her. 

So, here’s to more craziness – and lots more dog training with her favorite treat!