Video 3: How to start getting the hyper bitey puppy behavior under control

(Missed the other videos? Scroll down to watch)

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Video 2: Common mistakes that make puppy behavior worse

(Missed video 1? Scroll down to watch it!)

Let’s talk about some common mistakes dog owners make that can make their puppy’s behavior worse.

If your puppy drives you crazy, jumping and biting and generally being a tiny out of control monster, you’re probably making at least one of these mistakes.

And remember what I said in the last video, which is somewhere on this page if you haven’t seen it yet: Mistakes do not equal permanent damage.

And I don’t want you to feel bad or like all hope is lost if you’ve done any of these things.

In fact, if you have made these mistakes, that’s a good thing, because it means there is a solution to your problem, and this is not just how life with a puppy has to be.

So as long as you change your approach to stop these mistakes from happening and stop the behavior from getting worse, you’re good.

Most of the things on this list are actually things that the dog training industry has been advising for years. So, I’m sorry on behalf of my industry.

Here we go:

That thing where you say ouch or yelp when the puppy bites.

The idea is that the noise mimics the correction another dog might give when bitten too hard.

And it can work – for some mild-mannered puppies.

But for particularly, shall we say, spunky types, it just makes them say “ooh, the human makes a fun noise when I bite them! Cool!”

I raised a Belgian malinois puppy, aka an actual landshark. You can bet that making squeaky noises would NOT have made her stop biting.

There’s also a variation on the yelping thing where you sit in a room with the puppy and every time they bite, you say “ouch!” and get up and leave the room. Then you come back, rinse, repeat. You have to do this like fifty times in a five minute session.

I actually taught this myself in the first edition of our Puppy Survival School program.

We eventually scrapped that method because while yes, it might technically work if you keep at it long enough, it’s such a frustrating experience that it’s not worth it.

So I’m giving you permission to stop doing this. You’re welcome.

Ignoring them” when they bite.

That probably lasted all of three seconds because it’s very hard to ignore a cannonball with needle sharp teeth, sinking those teeth into your flesh.

Too much handling, touching, or carrying.

This can be really disappointing, because when you get a puppy, you just want to hold them and cuddle them and squeeze them. But that can really frustrate a lot of puppies.

When one of our Academy members, Kathryn, first came to us with her puppy Vinny, she could not touch him AT ALL without him biting her. And it turns out that Vinny had come from a rescue foster home where he lived with a four year old who liked to carry him around all the time.

And this puppy was just completely “touched out.” He had learned that human hands approaching meant that he was going to be manhandled and have no say in what happened to him. Which would drive me crazy too.


Exercising the crap out of them in an attempt to get them to calm down.

A tired dog is a good dog, right? Welllllll….

If your puppy gets more hyper after exercise, or if they always seem unable to settle down, throwing more exercise at them isn’t the answer, and it’s probably making things worse. Think of how a three year old kid might have a screaming meltdown after a few hours “exercising” in Disneyland, right.

Of course exercise is important, but the key is in choosing the right kind of activities, and structuring those activities in a way that helps puppies calm down and sleep instead of just getting more crazy.

Walking your puppy like you’d walk an adult dog.

If taking them for a walk is really frustrating and disappointing because they totally blow you off or keep stopping and staring at people, or they bite you and their leash, then I’m willing to bet you’re attempting the traditional dog walk. That is, walking at a brisk pace in a relatively straight line for 15 or more minutes.

Puppies under six months of age, and sometimes older if they didn’t learn the right skills as babies, are just not at a developmental stage where this is appropriate.

And if you force it, it could lead to aggression or fear issues, or an inability to focus as an adult.

The way we teach our students to walk their puppies doesn’t really look anything like a normal dog walk, it’s all about exploring and teaching them about the world in a way that makes them capable of paying attention to you despite distractions.

Scolding them or using physical corrections.

Tapping on the nose, spray bottles, pinning them on their back. Stuff like that. Sometimes it just amps them up more, and makes them growl and bite harder.

But sometimes, it does work to put an immediate stop to the biting or other unwanted behavior, but it creates other problems for you.

For one thing, you can’t control what negative connections your puppy is making, or the emotional conditioning that’s happening.

Your puppy may not associate the correction with their behavior, they may associate it with you.

They may become hand shy, or avoidant, or aggressive, or have a hard time learning to come when called or pay attention to you, or start having accidents where you can’t see them.

Constantly chasing them around to pull forbidden objects out of their mouth.

I’m not saying that you have to just let your puppy eat your shoes or whatever, but if you feel like you’re always saying “no don’t do that” and taking things away from them, something’s gotta change.

Because this dynamic is a big contributor to problems like food aggression and resource guarding, not listening or running away when you call them, and it makes it very hard to build a trusting relationship.

Trying to get them to follow commands or walk nicely on leash when they’re distracted in public.

If your training is primarily about obedience training, like sit, stay, heel, come, etc and your puppy started out doing pretty good but doesn’t listen anymore, or if you have to say the command so many times it turns into white noise, and you can’t get them to listen even if you’re waving cookies in their face…

That’s probably a sign you’re focusing on the wrong things, or trying to level up too quickly. Obedience commands are useful, of course, but to me, they’re a low priority when it comes to raising a puppy.

Again, it’s more important to let them explore the world in a way that makes them capable of listening to you, and you also need to work on some simpler foundation training first.

Trying to get your puppy to listen by practicing commands is like building a house by starting with the walls. If you don’t have a foundation first, your house is going to be on struggle street.

If you recognize yourself in any of these, that’s great! It means there is hope, and maybe you can see how these actions have contributed to your puppy’s crazy behavior.

And again, this isn’t even your fault. A lot of this is just the way we’ve always been taught to do things.

We can help you fix all of these issues inside our program, which you are welcome to join at any point. Al the details are on this page.

Tomorrow, I’m going to share one more video where we talk about the bane of every struggling puppy parents existence: the BITING. 

We’ll cover the number one mistake that everyone makes when they try to stop the biting, and talk about why it doesn’t work. I’ll also share a tactic you can implement that day to start seeing a reduction in the biting and overall hyperactivity. Stay tuned!

Video 1: Worried about making mistakes with your dog?

Are you worried that you’re going to make mistakes with your new dog? Are you afraid that you’re doing all the wrong things and you’re going to screw up your puppy forever?

Let’s talk about this.

Hey this is Jake, on the 17th of January 2024. I wanted to make this quick video for everyone who’s recently signed up to receive our ebook on the “what the bleep was I thinking” phase.

I’m going to make an educated guess and say that you or someone close to you has a new dog and you’re struggling a bit. Maybe dealing with some frustrating or scary behavior issues, and slash or feeling a lot of regret and self doubt about the whole thing.

We work with a lot of people in your position and one of the most common sentiments we hear is this feeling of being terrified to make one wrong move, and that there’s so much pressure to do everything exactly right that you feel like you can’t do this, and you can’t give this dog everything they need, and they’d be better off if you found them a better home.

The internet is bombarding them with this message that you have to do everything exactly right or else their puppy will develop bad habits and pursue a life of crime and wind up in juvie, basically. There is SO MUCH shaming and fearmongering out there. And I want to apologize to you on behalf of my industry. It’s pretty messed up.

So let’s bring some sanity back into this conversation, and talk about mistakes.

Are you going to make mistakes? Have you already made mistakes?

Probably! 

And that’s okay. 

I’m defining “mistake” here as something you do with the best of intentions, that ends up having the exact opposite effect you wanted. Something that ends up causing or exacerbating the problems you’re experiencing.

And a lot of the time, maybe even most of the time, these mistakes are things that you’ve been taught to do. Either because it’s stuff that’s been quote unquote common knowledge or because some expert told them to do it.

An example would be the advice about puppy biting. People tell you to say ouch or make a yelping noise when the puppy bites. But that can actually make puppies bite harder.

There is a LOT of conflicting advice out there and it can be hard to know who to listen to.

And sometimes, we make mistakes that we KNOW are mistakes, in the moment, but we do it out of desperation. Because nothing else has worked, and you’re tired, and at the end of your rope, so maybe you scold your puppy too roughly and then immediately feel bad about it.

So yeah, you’re probably making mistakes. But me saying that is not a judgment. I’ve made plenty of mistakes. When I meet with new coaching clients or new students in our membership program, most of them have been doing things you could call mistakes.

They’re doing things that accidentally make the problem they’re facing worse. Something that for example makes the dog more hyper instead of calm, or causes the dog to lose trust in them or stop listening to them.

And the student might start out feeling shame or embarrassment, but I’m not judging them for any of this.

In fact, I actually like it when I uncover a mistake a student has made, because it means there is a solution. They just have to stop doing that thing, and do this thing instead. 

And I have not encountered one situation where the mistake was irreversible. Even in cases where trust has been broken. If you’re willing to do the work, we can get it back.

Making mistakes absolutely does not mean you’ve screwed up your dog forever. 

You CAN have a happy, well-behaved dog who trusts loves and listens to you.

I’m going to share another video with you tomorrow where I talk about specific mistakes dog owners make that can end up sabotaging their progress.

When you watch that, I just want you to keep in mind that mistakes do not equal permanent damage, and if you’re making any of those mistakes, it’s actually a good thing because it means there is a solution.

Puppy Survival School

Raise a happy, well-behaved puppy without losing your mind

Get the puppy program (all nine courses plus support via forums and twice-monthly group coaching sessions) when you sign up for an All-Access Pass. $24 per month, or…

Limited time offer:

Get an annual All-Access Pass for $99 (normally $147) PLUS a free, private coaching session on Zoom. Use the coupon code “WTF” at checkout.

Use the coupon code “WTF” at checkout when you sign up for an annual All-Access membership. We’ll email you within 24 hours to set up your coaching session with Jake.

Or scroll down to learn more!

A note from a member

“We wanted to extend a heartfelt thanks for your help over the past months. Your videos, and your no-nonsense and humble delivery of information, were invaluable as we navigated raising our sweet but drivey and high-arousal young’un. We’re better parents for it and Olive has a clearer sense of his place in the family and household, and we all made it to the other side in one piece. So, thanks thanks thanks.”

Andrew and Mathi

Do any of these sound familiar?

If any of that sounds like you, don’t worry: You CAN train your puppy, you CAN build a really strong bond with them. Even if you feel like you have no clue what you’re doing.

You can still live happily ever after. 

Puppy Survival School will show you how. We’re here to help you break through the chaos, and actually enjoy life with your puppy.

Imagine having a puppy who:

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

You'll learn how to get your puppy to:

tHE DETAILS

A comprehensive online program for the overwhelmed puppy parent (or puppy parent-to-be)

Puppy Survival School

We know you’re exhausted. You don’t have the time or mental energy to sit through a bunch of dog training theory. You need to know what to do, now!

We start by teaching you a simple strategy you can use to quickly get problems under control and be a lot less stressed.

When you’ve implemented the strategy and gotten out of crisis mode, we’ll teach you everything else you need to know to raise a puppy you can be proud of.

We’ll walk you through pretty much every aspect of training, socializing, and caring for a puppy. So you can spend less time Googling, and more time making progress.

Puppy Survival School is designed for puppies up to five months of age. (Meaning your puppy can be up to five months old at the time of starting the program)

Get this program when you sign up for an All-Access Pass academy membership. We have monthly and annual membership options.

LOOK INSIDE

COURSE LIST

This program contains NINE courses. Including:

Get obnoxious behavior under control and prevent bad habits from developing

THE FOUNDATION FOR A HAPPY, WELL-BEHAVED PUPPY COURSE

This will help you quickly get problems under control. (Haven’t brought your pup home yet? Foundation will help prevent problems and establish good habits from the beginning)

  • The core strategy for successfully raising a puppy
  • How to exercise your puppy in a way that actually wears them out, instead of making them MORE hyper
  • How to train your puppy to love their crate
  • The Puppy Taming Game: a training exercise that gets puppies to calm down and stop being obnoxious
  • How to teach your puppy to politely “say please” when they need something

Potty train your pup with a simple plan that actually works, even if he's had a lot of accidents

THE HOUSE TRAINING COURSE

Make the potty training process as simple and drama-free as possible.

  • A flexible, step-by-step plan that works for all work schedules and all living situations
  • What to do if you’re at work or school longer than the puppy can “hold it”
  • What to do about accidents

Get those razor-sharp little baby teeth under control

THE BITING COURSE

Learn how to survive the crazy biting phase.

  • The three reasons puppies bite
  • How to interact with a puppy in a way that reduces biting
  • How to control the factors that make biting worse
  • What to do when your pup goes into “Hyper Attack Mode”
  • The difference between normal puppyhood biting and aggression
  • What to do about the puppy biting your kids

Learn how to understand your puppy, so you can communicate clearly and reduce frustration

THE UNDERSTANDING YOUR PUPPY COURSE

All about puppy body language and behavior.

  • What to expect from your puppy
  • How to tell when a puppy is stressed
  • Everything you need to know about how puppies play
  • How to tell if your pup is more fearful than normal – and what to do about it

Help your other pets adjust to the new puppy (and get the puppy to stop terrorizing them)

THE PUPPY & YOUR OTHER PETS COURSE

All about creating a harmonious multi-pet household, so you can stop feeling guilty about inflicting a demon puppy on your older dog or cat.

  • Introduce the new pup to your resident pets
  • Help your older dog accept the puppy
  • Get the puppy to be calm around the cat
  • Learn what to do if the older dog corrects the puppy
  • Foster a positive relationship between the pets

Teach your puppy important "life skills" that will save you time and help you get your freedom back

THE PUPPY LIFE SKILLS COURSE

The skills your puppy needs to have in order to exist peacefully in their human household.

  • Get your puppy to stop whining when you leave the room
  • Get them to sleep through the night
  • What to do if they cry at night
  • Prevent food aggression
  • Trim your puppy’s nails with no drama

Train your puppy to listen to you and follow cues

THE BABY OBEDIENCE COURSE

Video tutorials for teaching your puppy cues and basic manners that will make life easier, using fun games and puppy-friendly methods. Learn how to teach your puppy the following skills at a beginner level:

  • Focusing on you
  • Ignoring a distraction
  • Walking on a leash
  • Not stealing food
  • Sit, Lie Down, Drop It, Leave It, Come When Called
  • Plus: footage of our puppies practicing their skills in real-life situations, so you can see how it all comes together in the real world

Teach your puppy about the world in a way that's fun, builds your bond, and turns her into the best dog she can be

THE SOCIALIZATION COURSE

You know your puppy needs to “be socialized,” but what does that even mean? And how do you do it without becoming a giant ball of stress?

  • A chilled-out socialization program
  • How to help a shy puppy overcome their fears
  • What to do about a puppy who barks at strangers or other dogs
  • How to avoid making common socialization mistakes that teach puppies bad habits
  • Plus: River’s “socialization adventure vlogs” that show you how to put all this theory into practice

Make it through the times when self-doubt starts eating you alive

THE WTFWIT PHASE MINI-COURSE

A guide to the critical but often-ignored mental and emotional side of raising a puppy.

The “What The **** Was I Thinking” phase is something that many puppy parents go through. It’s the part where everything is terrible and you think you made a huge mistake by adopting this puppy.

I’ll talk about my own personal experience with this phase, and teach you how to survive it.

Here's what else is included

When you sign up for the puppy program, you also get:
Support on your puppy-raising journey

The courses are self-study, but you don’t have to go it alone.

You’re invited to our twice-monthly live coaching calls on Zoom where you can tell us about your situation, and we’ll give you some tailored advice.

Can’t attend the live session? No worries! Submit your questions in advance and then watch the replay.

You also get access to our forums where you can ask questions, vent about your canine conundrums, and share your wins.

Access to ALL of our other courses and content

In addition to the puppy-specific courses, you also get instant access to our full course and webinar library. 

We cover topics like: 

  • Focus in the presence of distractions
  • Reliable recalls
  • Pulling on leash
  • Building reliably-trained behaviors without relying on food or punishment
  • Introducing dogs to each other safely
Achievement badges!

Raising a puppy can be thankless work. People go nuts over the flashy dog training stuff like tricks or agility, but no one seems to care when you get your puppy to FINALLY sleep through the night, or have fewer potty accidents this week than last week.

Well. WE care.

We know you work hard for this stuff, and it’s just as big an achievement as Roll Over and Play Dead, darn it!

With badges, we aim to give you a fun way to track your progress and celebrate all your wins along the way.

The Rescue Dog Roadmap

The most common question we get about this program is “will this work for my new adult/teenage rescue dog?”

The short answer is… mostly, but not completely. 

Raising a puppy and a rescue dog are similar but different experiences. What you really need are bits and pieces of ALL our courses.

So we’ve created a new feature: the rescue dog roadmap. It’ll show you exactly which lessons to take from each course, so you can get your new dog settled in.

Deluxe membership: The private coaching program is now accepting new clients

Like having your own personal dog training team in your pocket

Don’t want to go it alone? Want us to personally guide you every step of the way? Private coaching might be right for you! 

This package includes:

Goodbye self-doubt and information overload, hello peace of mind!

As a self-study program, Puppy Survival School has all the information you need to raise a great puppy. With the coaching program, you’ll gain even more clarity. 

We’ll guide you every step of the way and show you exactly what to do with YOUR unique puppy, and make things work for your life and family.

Imagine:

  • Knowing exactly what to do and when.
  •  Being able to send your coaches (Jake and Erin) clips of your puppy’s behavior, and getting an answer on whether it’s normal or not.
  •  Not having the nagging voice in the back of your head asking “am I ACTUALLY doing this right, or am I going to ruin my puppy forever?”
  • Having the encouragement and support of someone who’s been there, who gets it, and who will never judge you for having moments of wishing the demon puppy would just disappear.
With us on your team, you can stress less and just focus on enjoying life with your new pup.
What does the private coaching program cost?

$497 USD

Click the button below to learn more and apply for the coaching program.

Feedback from our students:

“Emma is my 4th dog, but my first puppy. To say I was terrified of messing her up and doing all the wrong things, is a total understatement. In my frantic Google searches I found your WTFWIT video on YouTube and knew that your method was for me. I’ve been studying diligently, and were still in the honeymoon phase, but 3 days into getting Emma and she responds to her name, sits on command, sits to say please, has made tremendous potty and crate progress, follows the leader, and is a tug champion.

From watching your videos and reading your material, I feel empowered and knowledgeable and no longer terrified. I know what I’m doing (kinda), I can spot bad advice from well meaning friends and family, and I’m confident that I will have a well behaved, well adjusted puppy.

Thank you to infinity and beyond for helping to make our family a happy one.”

Simone and Jon

“Dear Jake,

I just want to thank you so much for starting the 3 Lost Dogs Academy. My Husband found your courses and pointed them out to me when I was losing my mind. We recently adopted a 5-6 month old Blue nose pit mix and he was a touch more than I bargained for. When I thought ‘This is it? What was I thinking?’ He found your academy and it has given me a clear way forward to understand Kevin and better meet his needs. 

It’s nice to finally be bonding with my boy and not be endlessly frustrated with him. So thank you again, really.” 

Terianne

Danielle writes: Hi Jake! Thank you so much for your time video chatting with me last week. I wanted to follow up and let you know that adding the mental stimulation has worked wonders for Ollie! He is doing so well with the Baby Obedience training, it's amazing how quickly he learns. Thank you again for your help - I would recommend 3LostDogs to anyone with a new puppy! You guys are amazing and have saved our sanity...Ollie is definitely growing into a well behaved and under control puppy! Of course he had his wild moments, but it's so much more enjoyable to play with him during these times when they last for a little while, and not all day long. Thanks again and I will be in touch if we get stuck again!!
Heather writes: Jake & Erin You guys are the best! Went to REI earlier today and picked up the Ruffwear front range harness. With the technique in the training video, roasted chicken and the lick mat, I was able to successfully put Odin's harness on with out any biting or fussing. He was calm and not panting! Thank you so much. We are looking forward to getting started on the rest of our homework 😀 Have a great weekend!

Training designed for real life, developed in real life, filmed in real life

IMG_8747

This project started when I adopted River, a four-month-old Belgian Malinois.

Beginning on day one, I filmed everything I did with River. House training, problem solving, socializing, playing, adventuring, etc.

A few months later, I decided that River needed a friend, so I went back to the shelter and adopted Hazel, a three-month-old lab/pit bull mix.

I filmed everything I did with her, too.

All this footage became the Puppy Survival School.

River hazel play fight

As real-life as it gets!

This is no fancy studio production. These videos were recorded in my messy house, with my noisy housemates, with a resident cat who liked to wander into the shot.

You’ll see these puppies learning, making progress, and growing. I’ll even point out my mistakes.

You won’t have to use your imagination to figure out how all these lessons fit into real life, you’ll get to watch them happen in real life.

Gain the knowledge to confidently tackle puppy raising

 Our aim is to help you feel less like a giant ball of anxiety. (I know some of us will always feel like a giant ball of anxiety no matter what, woohoo #mentalhealth, but still)

I won’t lie, this stuff does take work. Raising a puppy is never exactly a breeze, no matter what. But if you follow the program, you’ll be amazed at the progress you can make.

And I can’t promise that your puppy will become the “perfect dog,” because all dogs are individual, unique living beings, not robots from the Perfect Dog factory.

But if you put in the work, things will get easier, you’ll be less stressed, and you and your dog will be ready for a lifetime of adventures together.

If this sounds like a good fit for you, scroll down and hit the “join now” button, and you can start making progress with your puppy today. 

Get Puppy Survival School when you sign up for the Academy All-Access Pass

No commitment. Easily cancel at any time by going into your account settings. Click here to learn more about the All-Access Pass

Want to apply for the private coaching program? Click here

MONTHLY

$ 24 per month
  • All nine Puppy Survival School courses
  • All of our other courses
  • Forums
  • Twice-monthly live Q&As with Jake and Erin
  • New content added monthly
  • The Rescue Dog Roadmap

ANNUAL

Like getting five months for free!
$288
$ 147 per year
  • All nine Puppy Survival School courses
  • All of our other courses
  • Forums
  • Twice-monthly live Q&As with Jake and Erin
  • New content added monthly
  • The Rescue Dog Roadmap
best deal

The 60 Day Money Back Guarantee

We offer full refunds on All-Access Pass monthly and annual memberships. If you decide the Academy isn’t for you, send us an email within two months of purchase and we’ll refund 100% of your payment, no questions asked.

FAQ

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

MEET YOUR INSTRUCTORS

We’re Erin Buvala and Jake Buvala, a husband-and-wife dog training team. We’re all about providing non-judgy, effective, modern training information to dog owners. 

Fun fact: we met because of 3 Lost Dogs. I (Jake) had been running 3LostDogs.com solo for years. Erin adopted a particularly challenging dog (seriously – ask us about the time he ate an entire couch). She emailed me to get my thoughts on the situation, and 70 emails later, we decided to get married and also work together. Totally normal, right?

We’ve spent time in the dog ownership trenches ourselves. We know what it’s like to feel fed up, exhausted, and even angry when it comes to our dogs and their “issues.” We’ve both had those moments of thinking, “maybe getting this dog was a bad idea,” and “wow I’m literally the worst dog owner on the planet. I suck at this.” 

We know what it’s like, so we’re dedicated to helping other people make it out of that trench of despair, and get to the good parts of dog life.