tHE DETAILS

Up to roughly five months of age, meaning your puppy can be up to five months old when you start the program.

Is your puppy “too old?” See next question.

We get this question a lot! So we added a feature to help you adapt the puppy program to your adult rescue dog. More on that below.

But the short answer is: Possibly. While the program is designed for young puppies, it can also help an older dog with things like house training, crate training, basic obedience and manners, and getting settled into their new home.

Raising a puppy and a rescue dog are similar, but different experiences. What you really need are bits and pieces of ALL the Academy courses, not just the puppy program.

Good news – when you sign up for the All Access Pass, you get access to all our courses, plus:

The Rescue Dog Roadmap. This will show you exactly which lessons to take from each course, so you can get your new dog settled in. 

Puppy Survival School is not designed to help adult or adolescent dogs with problems related to: fear, aggression, reactivity, resource guarding, poor socialization history, or predatory behavior toward other pets. If you’re still unsure, email me at contact@3lostdogs.com, and I’ll let you know if the program is appropriate for your dog.

Thanks for asking! 

Broadly speaking, our methods fall into the force-free category. We’ve found this to be the most effective way to build a strong bond with your dog and get them to WANT to listen to you, while minimizing the chances they’ll develop aggression-related behavior problems.

Just like toddlers have meltdowns when they’re cranky and overtired, most of the really annoying (or infuriating!) things puppies do is a result of them feeling frustrated, confused, overstimulated, or having a need that isn’t being met.

So the first step in achieving harmony with your little gremlin is to think teamwork:

“I know this is hard, Sparky, but we’re gonna figure it out together!”

Then start teaching them how to ask for what they need, break down training into baby-friendly steps, and structure their routine so they get all their needs met.

We teach you how to properly use positive reinforcement (like food, play, and real-life rewards), to teach your puppy exactly what you want them to do – while avoiding common mistakes dog owners make that cause positive reinforcement to fail.

We also teach you how and when to use enrichment, exercise, redirection, and management to further improve your puppy’s behavior and create good habits.

Where appropriate, we use desensitization, habituation, and counter-conditioning to help puppies build confidence and overcome fear or aggression issues. We go at the dog’s pace and do not force them into situations they aren’t ready for. (In technical terms, we don’t use “flooding”)

All together, this approach will drastically improve your puppy’s behavior. They’ll bite less and listen to you more.

If any of that sounds daunting or made your eyes glaze over, don’t worry – we have a bunch of frameworks, exercises, and games in Puppy Survival School to show you exactly how to do all this. Our methods aren’t just puppy-friendly – they’re human-friendly, too.

We do not use: Aversives like spray bottles, scary noises, collar corrections or physical punishment. Because while those methods sometimes work to stop unwanted behavior in the short term, they often create worse behavior or even aggression in the long term, and make it harder to build a strong bond.

But if you’re already using aversive methods? No worries! When you join our program, we meet you where you’re at and we can help you gradually remove the need for those corrections.

That’s up to you! This isn’t like a puppy class with a set schedule or end date. Work through the courses at your own pace.

There’s enough training material to guide you through at least the next three months of your puppy’s life. And then if you want, you can work on the other included courses to build on their training skills throughout their adolescence.

The All-Access Pass is a monthly or annual membership. When you sign up, you’re covered for 30 or 365 days respectively, and then your membership will renew automatically unless you cancel.

Puppy Survival School consists of multiple self-study courses, each on a different puppy subject. When you sign up for an All-Access Pass, you’ll get immediate access to all of these courses (plus all of the other Academy courses) and you can proceed at your own pace. 

The course lessons are a combination of videos and written instructions. You can go back and rewatch previous lessons at any time.

You’ll also have access to our forums, where you can post questions for us and your fellow students to answer. You’re also invited to our twice-monthly live Q&A/group coaching sessions on Zoom. You can ask questions or just watch.

(Don’t worry, my fellow introverts: your video and audio will be muted automatically upon joining the Zoom sessions. No one has to video chat if they don’t want to!)

To access the courses and forums, you’ll sign in to 3LostDogsAcademy.com with the username and password that you create upon checkout. The site is accessible from any internet-enabled device, like your phone or computer.

When you join, there will be an orientation video to show you the ropes.

Nope! We, too, hate subscription services that make you do things like fill out a form, print it, bury it in a crossroads at midnight and then wait two weeks for them to consider your request.

To cancel, just go to “view/edit membership” in the navigation menu, and hit the cancel button. You’ll have access to the Academy for the remainder of the subscription period, and then it won’t renew.

Sure! Send an email to contact@3lostdogs.com and I will personally get back to you. – Jake