Recommended
Nothing sponsored. Nothing aspirational. Just the stuff that's in our kitchen, in our crate area, and in our treat pouch every day. These are the tools that make our approach work.
Our kitchen pen. Gives Marlowe a defined, safe space during awake time without restricting her to the crate. Essential for the first few months.
We use a 36-inch height. Tall enough she can't climb out, open enough she doesn't feel enclosed.
The crate is for daytime regulation. A quiet, dark, covered crate tells the nervous system it's time to rest. We use a blanket over the top.
Get one size up from what the breeder recommends. They grow fast.
Our most-used enrichment tool. Peanut butter, yoghurt, or pumpkin spread thin and frozen. Licking activates the parasympathetic nervous system. It literally calms them down.
We freeze them overnight and rotate two or three.
Stuffed and frozen. Takes 20 to 30 minutes to work through. We use it before naps or when we need 20 minutes of calm. Layer the filling: kibble, then wet food, then peanut butter seal.
Scatter feeding on a snuffle mat engages the nose, slows eating, and promotes calm focus. A five-minute snuffle session is more tiring than a 15-minute walk.
Essential for recall training in open spaces. Gives freedom while maintaining safety. Biothane doesn't absorb water, doesn't tangle, and wipes clean.
We use 5 metres. Long enough for real recall practice, short enough to manage.
Treats need to be accessible instantly. Not in your pocket, not in a bag across the room. A treat pouch on the counter or clipped to your waist means you can capture calm the moment it happens.
Small, soft, smelly. The treat should be consumed in one second so you don't break the behaviour. We use freeze-dried liver or small cheese cubes. Nothing crunchy.
A specific mat that becomes the settle cue. We started with a towel, then upgraded to a thin portable bed. It travels with us. Restaurants, friends' houses, the car. Marlowe's portable calm zone.
Releases synthetic calming pheromones. Not a miracle fix, but part of the environmental setup. We have one near the crate area. Subtle background support for regulation.