Week 2 – Training Commences and Our First Puppy Development Adviser (PDA) Visit!

It’s been another lively week as we continue settling Ulani into her new home and establishing a routine. She’s becoming more relaxed and is now sleeping through the night without any toilet trips — a small victory that feels huge! Her crate has been a real success; having her own cosy space with a blanket and a few toys has proven invaluable. We’re usually greeted at 6:30am by our furry alarm clock, which conveniently matches our usual wake-up time — so we’re feeling slightly less exhausted these days!

Early Training Adventures

We’ve begun the early stages of training, focusing on toilet training, playtime, and good manners. Toilet training, however, is proving to be quite the challenge! We’re working hard to encourage Ulani to go outside consistently, but she doesn’t give much warning. Some days are great… others, not so much. A particularly amusing new trick Ulani has developed is the “fake wee.” She’s quickly learned that going to the toilet earns her a treat — so now, she’ll sometimes assume the position without actually doing anything, then look up expectantly for her reward! She’s definitely a clever (and cheeky) little girl.

The garden is a magical place in Ulani’s eyes, full of exciting distractions. To help her focus on the task at hand, we sectioned off a smaller area using temporary fencing — a game-changer! Before that, we were constantly rescuing her from the flower beds and removing mysterious “treasures” from her mouth. Puppies truly do explore the world one bite at a time — and yes, that includes big, squishy slugs!

Playtime and Teething Troubles

Ulani loves to play and chew — everything and anything! We spend plenty of time redirecting her energy with toys and teaching her what’s fair game for chewing. A long rope toy has been our saviour to protect our fingers, though we’ve still sacrificed a few pairs of socks and endured some sore hands thanks to those razor-sharp puppy teeth. Her favourites so far? The snuffle mat, olive wood chews, and rice bones — we can’t recommend them enough for anyone welcoming a new fur baby!

Training Progress and Treat Motivation

One of the parts I’ve been most excited about is diving into formal training. As we quickly discovered, treats are everything! It didn’t take long to realise that Ulani’s regular kibble just didn’t cut it as a “high-value” reward. Like a true Labrador, she loves her food — but she knows when she’s earned the good stuff! We started with name recognition, which she picked up quickly. Then came ‘sit’ and ‘down,’ using treats as a lure to guide her into position. After plenty of repetition, we began fading the food lure and replacing it with hand signals. The final step is to introduce verbal cues while phasing out the gestures — and so far, we’ve just about mastered ‘sit’ and are working steadily on ‘down’. Watching her progress is incredibly rewarding — she’s eager to learn and clearly enjoys the challenge.

Our First PDA Visit

Our first visit from our Puppy Development Adviser was a huge help. These first couple of weeks have been both rewarding and challenging, so a one-to-one home session with an expert was just what we needed. We’d built up a long list of questions and were keen for reassurance that Ulani’s behaviour was normal (and that we were on the right track!).

I’ll admit, there were moments when we felt out of our depth — but after a two-and-a-half-hour session packed with advice, demonstrations, and encouragement, we felt far more confident. Our PDA described Ulani as sweet-natured, clever, quick to learn… and a bit of a diva! We couldn’t agree more.

One key takeaway? We’d been far too stingy with treats! Apparently, we need to be a little more generous with the rewards to really boost her learning — a lesson we’ll definitely remember.

Looking Ahead

Our homework for the coming week is to continue working on toilet training, mouthing, and cue training. We’ve also introduced Ulani to her lead, and we’ll begin practising walking calmly on my left-hand side. It’ll take time, patience, and plenty of treats, but we’re excited for the milestones ahead — full steam ahead for Team Ulani!

I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead. It looks like we’ll be facing a few extra challenges with the rainy weather forecast here in Solihull — wish us luck keeping those little paws clean!

Tiny paws, big purpose! xx