June 19, 2025 • 10 mins
Do you have a puppy that bounces, barks, or grabs for anything they want? You're not alone! In this episode of Paws & Reflect, host Amy Jensen from BAXTER & Bella dives into one of the most important life skills we can teach our dogs — patience.
Discover why puppies struggle with impulse control, how waiting leads to better behavior and safety, and exactly how to teach your puppy to pause before good things like meals, leash walks, and play. Amy shares easy-to-follow steps, positive reinforcement techniques, and fun games like “Treat on the Floor" and “Doorway Wait” that make learning enjoyable for both you and your pup.
Perfect for new puppy parents or anyone who wants to raise a calm, polite, and thoughtful dog. 🎓🐾
➡️ Resources, training guides, and weekly live classes available at www.baxterandbella.com/learn-more
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
On today's episode, we are talking about something
that puppies don't have rightaway, but they definitely need
it, and here's how to teach it.
Stay tuned.
Welcome to the Puppy TrainingPodcast.
I'm Amy Jensen, founder ofBaxter and Bella, the online
puppy school.
Here we are all about helpingyou create the best possible
(00:22):
experience raising a puppy, fromtraining tips to practical
tricks, all aimed at fostering ahappy, well-behaved dog who
truly feels like part of thefamily.
So if you are ready to enjoythe journey and strengthen the
bond with your dog, let's getstarted.
Hey everybody, welcome to thePuppy Training Podcast.
(00:44):
I'm Amy Jensen.
I started Baxter and Bella withmy husband, scott, 10 years ago
, this summer.
Isn't that crazy, superexciting, and we appreciate all
of you for listening,participating, being clients,
just wanting to do good things,wanting to train your dog, learn
how to do it in a positive way.
So thank you for your support.
(01:06):
Today we are talking aboutpatience.
Puppies don't have a lot of it.
In fact, most come with zeroamounts of patience, and so we
have to teach them how to waitfor something, and I want to
dive into that topic today,because when you're getting a
new dog and that puppy isjumping or biting or barking for
things, it's because they're adog and they want something.
So that's how they get it.
(01:27):
And if we can teach them that,actually, if you wait for good
things instead of jumping,barking, grabbing or demanding,
that's when good things happenin the human world.
So if you've ever wondered whyis my puppy so impatient, or how
do I stop my dog from jumpingevery time I pick up the leash
or try to pour out their food,this episode is for you.
(01:47):
Why does patience matter?
Puppies, you guys are liketoddlers.
They live in the moment.
When they want something, theywant it right now.
But here's the thing Lifedoesn't always deliver what we
want right away.
And learning to wait is notonly important for good manners.
It's really important foremotional regulation, safety and
long-term behavior success.
Think about waiting at doorwaysinstead of rushing out, waiting
(02:11):
for food instead of jumping onthe counter, waiting before
dashing into a car, off-leashpark or greeting a new person.
Patience equals self-control,and that's a skill we can
absolutely teach our dogs withpositive reinforcement.
Now the science behind it whenwe train puppies to pause, we're
engaging their frontal cortex,the part of the brain
(02:34):
responsible for decision-makingand impulse control.
This part develops withpractice over time, just like
muscles do.
It takes those repetitions.
By setting up gentle, structuredopportunities for our puppies
to wait and then rewarding themfor calm behavior, we're shaping
a future adult dog who thinksbefore reacting.
We are creating a pattern ofpatience.
So how do we teach it?
There's certain building blocksthat you're going to need to
(02:55):
know.
Let's break it down into threesteps.
First, predictable routines orpatterns.
We want to start by setting uppatterns in our day where our
puppy begins to understand if Iwait, good things happen.
For example, before meals wecan ask our dogs to sit and then
we set the food bowl down,reward for calm behavior and say
okay, and then they can go eattheir food right.
(03:16):
I like to even have my dog do asit or a down as I'm scooping
the food and pouring it into thebowl.
So they're doing a nice calmbehavior.
You can just drop them onelittle tiny food reward every
few seconds to every few minutes.
Eventually you can build outthat duration that you're
rewarding them but they'relearning.
Oh, I just sit here calmly or Ilay here calmly while Amy loads
(03:38):
up my food bowl and sets itdown for me.
Another instance would beputting on the leash.
Maybe your dog gets reallyexcited to go on a walk Instead
of the chaos happening.
Wait for them to sit or laydown.
You can even, in the beginning,lure them into these positions
to show them what you want themto do, and over time they just
will start to do it on their ownbecause they understand this is
(03:59):
part of the pattern.
So if they jump or paw, justtake a breath, reset and try
again.
You can even back away and thenlet them calm down or do a
downshift in behavior, I like tocall it, and then, once they're
calm again, then we moveforward and put the leash on.
Now, as I mentioned, you mightneed to feed them as you
initially attach that leash.
So at the same time you'refeeding them, you clip the leash
(04:21):
on and then pretty soon you'llbe able to clip the leash on and
then offer the food reward.
They're learning.
Okay, this is how I behave whenthe leash goes on and I get
paid for that.
Number two is use a release cue.
So teach your dogs what itmeans or what it sounds like
when they are released from abehavior.
So if my puppy knows that theyhave to wait for something, how
(04:45):
do they know when the waiting isover.
We like to use a very clearsignal, so I often use the words
like okay or free as a releasecue, and you guys can pick a
word that works for you.
We could practice this byasking our dogs for a sit.
Wait for one second, then sayokay and toss a food reward.
Gradually build the timebetween the sit and the release.
This builds delayedgratification, a concept that
(05:08):
helps your dog understandwaiting equals a reward.
Number three is play waitinggames.
Learning is more effective whenit's fun.
If I can turn something into agame, I'm doing it.
Here are some easy games youcan start playing today with
your dog.
Game number one is the treat onthe floor game.
I want you to place a foodreward on the floor and cover it
with your hand If your puppytries to grab it.
(05:28):
Keep your hand down the momentthey back off or look at you
instead.
Say yes and give them the foodreward.
Progress to uncovered treatsthat they can just see, but
they're waiting, they're lookingat you for you to say yes and
then the food reward comes, andyou can build this up to longer
and longer durations of waiting.
This teaches impulse controlthrough real world temptation.
(05:49):
Game number two is a doorwaywait.
Stand at a door and ask yourpuppy for a sit.
Begin to open the door slowly.
If your puppy moves, I want youto gently close the door and
reset.
If they stay seated, open itfully.
Then release them with an okay.
This is great for safety and itprevents door dashing or
bolting into busy streets.
If your dog just gets used to Iwait at the door for my okay,
(06:10):
then I can go out.
Game number three has to dowith greetings.
Have your puppy sit next to youwhile they're on a leash and
then ask somebody a guest or afriend to walk towards the puppy
to be greeted.
Now the puppy's in charge.
If the puppy sits and waits,the person can come a step
closer.
If the puppy gets up and getsreally excited, I want the
person to turn and go back tostart.
(06:31):
You can feed your puppy food,rewards for the good waiting as
they're learning this gamebecause we want to set them up
for success in any game we play.
We want them to win enough thatthey want to keep playing.
Have you ever played a game andyou're just really bad at it
and you kept losing?
Do you want to keep playingthat game?
Or how often do you want to gettogether with your friends and
be like, yeah, let's play thatgame.
Not so right.
(06:51):
We only really like the thingsthat we're good at.
Let's be honest, puppies arethe same way.
If they're not good at it,they're like I don't want to
play anymore, I'm done.
So let's help our puppies winto the point as your puppy is
being successful at waiting.
Feed them a food reward andthen, yeah, we build out some
(07:14):
duration.
Feed them another food reward.
Build out some duration.
Feed them another food reward.
And we don't want that to bereally predictable.
We want it to be a little bitrandom, so that they're guessing
when's my next food rewardcoming?
This all helps make these gamesexciting, and they're willing
to wait one second more for thatnext food reward to come.
For more games and activities,check out our website,
(07:34):
baxterandbellacom.
Once you become a member, youhave access to our members only
area and we have a games andactivities page inside there.
This page contains games andactivities all about patience
and impulse control.
Here's a few tips for success.
Number one be patient withyourself.
Your puppy is learning.
I find that just having theexpectation and knowing that my
(07:55):
puppy has zero patience to beginwith helps me be more patient.
The next tip would be to keepsessions short.
Remember they don't have a lotof patience and that means very
short attention spans.
We want to keep trainingsessions three to five minutes
throughout the day, so we're notdoing one big long training
session in the morning andcalling it good.
It's three minutes here, twominutes here, five minutes there
(08:16):
, spread throughout the day.
Whenever we see an opportunityto practice some of these good
patterns that we're trying toestablish with our dogs, we're
taking advantage of those times.
Always use positivereinforcement.
This could be food, praise,toys, whatever your puppy loves
and that might change throughoutthe day.
So whatever your puppy findsexciting and rewarding, let's
(08:36):
use those things to help themwant to keep playing these games
.
And the last tip if your puppygets frustrated, that's okay.
Go back to an easier version ofthe game and build slowly.
Maybe you need to show themwhat you're wanting them to do
before just expecting that theyknow it.
Some final thoughts would bepatience, again, is not natural
for puppies, but it's somethingthey can learn beautifully with
(08:58):
the right guidance.
Teaching your puppy to waitisn't about control.
It's about building trust,clarity and confidence in your
relationship.
Remember, what you reward, youget more of.
So sometimes it's us justtaking a step back and taking a
deep breath and us waitingbecause we might be in a rush to
do this or to get out the doorto.
We want our dog to do thisright away.
(09:19):
Or I need to open this door andwe need to go outside right now
.
If you can just take a deepbreath, wait, allow them time to
figure it out.
Like, oh, I need to sit and bepatient here, I need to lay down
and be calm here before thatdoor opens, they figure it out
(09:40):
faster.
So let's reward calm,thoughtful behavior, starting
now.
If you'd like a step-by-stepguide or video demos, or you
just want to join one of ourweekly live training classes,
head to Baxter and Bellacom.
We are here to help you everystep of the way.
We want you to be successful attraining your dog.
Thanks for being here today.
You guys have a wonderful weekand happy training.
Thanks for tuning in to thepuppy training podcast.
I hope today's tips help youfeel more confident and excited
(10:02):
about raising your dog.
Remember, with a littlepatience and consistency, you
can create a loving bond and awell-behaved pup who's a joy to
have in your family.
If you found this episodehelpful, be sure to subscribe,
leave a review and share it withfellow puppy parents.
For more resources, visitBaxter and Bella online.
Until next time, happy training.
On today's episode, we are talking about something
that puppies don't have rightaway, but they definitely need
it, and here's how to teach it.
Stay tuned.
Welcome to the Puppy TrainingPodcast.
I'm Amy Jensen, founder ofBaxter and Bella, the online
puppy school.
Here we are all about helpingyou create the best possible
(00:22):
experience raising a puppy, fromtraining tips to practical
tricks, all aimed at fostering ahappy, well-behaved dog who
truly feels like part of thefamily.
So if you are ready to enjoythe journey and strengthen the
bond with your dog, let's getstarted.
Hey everybody, welcome to thePuppy Training Podcast.
(00:44):
I'm Amy Jensen.
I started Baxter and Bella withmy husband, scott, 10 years ago
, this summer.
Isn't that crazy, superexciting, and we appreciate all
of you for listening,participating, being clients,
just wanting to do good things,wanting to train your dog, learn
how to do it in a positive way.
So thank you for your support.
(01:06):
Today we are talking aboutpatience.
Puppies don't have a lot of it.
In fact, most come with zeroamounts of patience, and so we
have to teach them how to waitfor something, and I want to
dive into that topic today,because when you're getting a
new dog and that puppy isjumping or biting or barking for
things, it's because they're adog and they want something.
So that's how they get it.
(01:27):
And if we can teach them that,actually, if you wait for good
things instead of jumping,barking, grabbing or demanding,
that's when good things happenin the human world.
So if you've ever wondered whyis my puppy so impatient, or how
do I stop my dog from jumpingevery time I pick up the leash
or try to pour out their food,this episode is for you.
(01:47):
Why does patience matter?
Puppies, you guys are liketoddlers.
They live in the moment.
When they want something, theywant it right now.
But here's the thing Lifedoesn't always deliver what we
want right away.
And learning to wait is notonly important for good manners.
It's really important foremotional regulation, safety and
long-term behavior success.
Think about waiting at doorwaysinstead of rushing out, waiting
(02:11):
for food instead of jumping onthe counter, waiting before
dashing into a car, off-leashpark or greeting a new person.
Patience equals self-control,and that's a skill we can
absolutely teach our dogs withpositive reinforcement.
Now the science behind it whenwe train puppies to pause, we're
engaging their frontal cortex,the part of the brain
(02:34):
responsible for decision-makingand impulse control.
This part develops withpractice over time, just like
muscles do.
It takes those repetitions.
By setting up gentle, structuredopportunities for our puppies
to wait and then rewarding themfor calm behavior, we're shaping
a future adult dog who thinksbefore reacting.
We are creating a pattern ofpatience.
So how do we teach it?
There's certain building blocksthat you're going to need to
(02:55):
know.
Let's break it down into threesteps.
First, predictable routines orpatterns.
We want to start by setting uppatterns in our day where our
puppy begins to understand if Iwait, good things happen.
For example, before meals wecan ask our dogs to sit and then
we set the food bowl down,reward for calm behavior and say
okay, and then they can go eattheir food right.
(03:16):
I like to even have my dog do asit or a down as I'm scooping
the food and pouring it into thebowl.
So they're doing a nice calmbehavior.
You can just drop them onelittle tiny food reward every
few seconds to every few minutes.
Eventually you can build outthat duration that you're
rewarding them but they'relearning.
Oh, I just sit here calmly or Ilay here calmly while Amy loads
(03:38):
up my food bowl and sets itdown for me.
Another instance would beputting on the leash.
Maybe your dog gets reallyexcited to go on a walk Instead
of the chaos happening.
Wait for them to sit or laydown.
You can even, in the beginning,lure them into these positions
to show them what you want themto do, and over time they just
will start to do it on their ownbecause they understand this is
(03:59):
part of the pattern.
So if they jump or paw, justtake a breath, reset and try
again.
You can even back away and thenlet them calm down or do a
downshift in behavior, I like tocall it, and then, once they're
calm again, then we moveforward and put the leash on.
Now, as I mentioned, you mightneed to feed them as you
initially attach that leash.
So at the same time you'refeeding them, you clip the leash
(04:21):
on and then pretty soon you'llbe able to clip the leash on and
then offer the food reward.
They're learning.
Okay, this is how I behave whenthe leash goes on and I get
paid for that.
Number two is use a release cue.
So teach your dogs what itmeans or what it sounds like
when they are released from abehavior.
So if my puppy knows that theyhave to wait for something, how
(04:45):
do they know when the waiting isover.
We like to use a very clearsignal, so I often use the words
like okay or free as a releasecue, and you guys can pick a
word that works for you.
We could practice this byasking our dogs for a sit.
Wait for one second, then sayokay and toss a food reward.
Gradually build the timebetween the sit and the release.
This builds delayedgratification, a concept that
(05:08):
helps your dog understandwaiting equals a reward.
Number three is play waitinggames.
Learning is more effective whenit's fun.
If I can turn something into agame, I'm doing it.
Here are some easy games youcan start playing today with
your dog.
Game number one is the treat onthe floor game.
I want you to place a foodreward on the floor and cover it
with your hand If your puppytries to grab it.
(05:28):
Keep your hand down the momentthey back off or look at you
instead.
Say yes and give them the foodreward.
Progress to uncovered treatsthat they can just see, but
they're waiting, they're lookingat you for you to say yes and
then the food reward comes, andyou can build this up to longer
and longer durations of waiting.
This teaches impulse controlthrough real world temptation.
(05:49):
Game number two is a doorwaywait.
Stand at a door and ask yourpuppy for a sit.
Begin to open the door slowly.
If your puppy moves, I want youto gently close the door and
reset.
If they stay seated, open itfully.
Then release them with an okay.
This is great for safety and itprevents door dashing or
bolting into busy streets.
If your dog just gets used to Iwait at the door for my okay,
(06:10):
then I can go out.
Game number three has to dowith greetings.
Have your puppy sit next to youwhile they're on a leash and
then ask somebody a guest or afriend to walk towards the puppy
to be greeted.
Now the puppy's in charge.
If the puppy sits and waits,the person can come a step
closer.
If the puppy gets up and getsreally excited, I want the
person to turn and go back tostart.
(06:31):
You can feed your puppy food,rewards for the good waiting as
they're learning this gamebecause we want to set them up
for success in any game we play.
We want them to win enough thatthey want to keep playing.
Have you ever played a game andyou're just really bad at it
and you kept losing?
Do you want to keep playingthat game?
Or how often do you want to gettogether with your friends and
be like, yeah, let's play thatgame.
Not so right.
(06:51):
We only really like the thingsthat we're good at.
Let's be honest, puppies arethe same way.
If they're not good at it,they're like I don't want to
play anymore, I'm done.
So let's help our puppies winto the point as your puppy is
being successful at waiting.
Feed them a food reward andthen, yeah, we build out some
(07:14):
duration.
Feed them another food reward.
Build out some duration.
Feed them another food reward.
And we don't want that to bereally predictable.
We want it to be a little bitrandom, so that they're guessing
when's my next food rewardcoming?
This all helps make these gamesexciting, and they're willing
to wait one second more for thatnext food reward to come.
For more games and activities,check out our website,
(07:34):
baxterandbellacom.
Once you become a member, youhave access to our members only
area and we have a games andactivities page inside there.
This page contains games andactivities all about patience
and impulse control.
Here's a few tips for success.
Number one be patient withyourself.
Your puppy is learning.
I find that just having theexpectation and knowing that my
(07:55):
puppy has zero patience to beginwith helps me be more patient.
The next tip would be to keepsessions short.
Remember they don't have a lotof patience and that means very
short attention spans.
We want to keep trainingsessions three to five minutes
throughout the day, so we're notdoing one big long training
session in the morning andcalling it good.
It's three minutes here, twominutes here, five minutes there
(08:16):
, spread throughout the day.
Whenever we see an opportunityto practice some of these good
patterns that we're trying toestablish with our dogs, we're
taking advantage of those times.
Always use positivereinforcement.
This could be food, praise,toys, whatever your puppy loves
and that might change throughoutthe day.
So whatever your puppy findsexciting and rewarding, let's
(08:36):
use those things to help themwant to keep playing these games
.
And the last tip if your puppygets frustrated, that's okay.
Go back to an easier version ofthe game and build slowly.
Maybe you need to show themwhat you're wanting them to do
before just expecting that theyknow it.
Some final thoughts would bepatience, again, is not natural
for puppies, but it's somethingthey can learn beautifully with
(08:58):
the right guidance.
Teaching your puppy to waitisn't about control.
It's about building trust,clarity and confidence in your
relationship.
Remember, what you reward, youget more of.
So sometimes it's us justtaking a step back and taking a
deep breath and us waitingbecause we might be in a rush to
do this or to get out the doorto.
We want our dog to do thisright away.
(09:19):
Or I need to open this door andwe need to go outside right now
.
If you can just take a deepbreath, wait, allow them time to
figure it out.
Like, oh, I need to sit and bepatient here, I need to lay down
and be calm here before thatdoor opens, they figure it out
(09:40):
faster.
So let's reward calm,thoughtful behavior, starting
now.
If you'd like a step-by-stepguide or video demos, or you
just want to join one of ourweekly live training classes,
head to Baxter and Bellacom.
We are here to help you everystep of the way.
We want you to be successful attraining your dog.
Thanks for being here today.
You guys have a wonderful weekand happy training.
Thanks for tuning in to thepuppy training podcast.
I hope today's tips help youfeel more confident and excited
(10:02):
about raising your dog.
Remember, with a littlepatience and consistency, you
can create a loving bond and awell-behaved pup who's a joy to
have in your family.
If you found this episodehelpful, be sure to subscribe,
leave a review and share it withfellow puppy parents.
For more resources, visitBaxter and Bella online.
Until next time, happy training.
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