Episode #255 A Thanksgiving Pause — Gratitude for Our Dogs, Exactly as They Are

In this special Thanksgiving episode of the BAXTER & Bella Puppy Training Podcast, we discuss the need to slow down, breathe, and appreciate the dogs who share our homes—not for their perfect behavior, but for the companionship, joy, and connection they bring to our lives.

We also talk about realistic expectations during the holidays — because dogs will be dogs, even on Thanksgiving — and remind us to offer grace in the midst of excitement, guests, and irresistible food smells.

You’ll hear how BAXTER & Bella’s training philosophy weaves naturally into the season: focusing on relationship over perfection, communication over correction, and teamwork over unrealistic holiday standards. Plus, Amy shares simple tips for helping your dog feel supported and successful during a busy holiday gathering.

Whether this is your puppy’s first Thanksgiving or one of many, this warm and heartfelt episode is a reminder to pause and give thanks for exactly who our dogs are — loyal companions who make our lives richer every single day. 🧡🐾

Chapters

• 0:00 A Softer Thanksgiving Focus
• 1:00 A Brief History Of Dog Training
• 2:00 Dogs As Family And Real Expectations
• 3:00 Everyday Joys Our Dogs Give
• 4:20 Relationship Over Perfection
• 5:46 Simple Holiday Success Steps
• 7:00 A Moment Of Gratitude
• 8:00 Warm Closing And Resources

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Here in the U.S., it's Thanksgiving today, so I want to do a little gratitude post for our dogs. Thanks for joining me. Welcome to the Puppy Training Podcast. I'm Amy Jensen, founder of Baxter and Bella, the online puppy school. Here, we are all about helping you create the best possible experience raising a puppy. From training tips to practical tricks, all aimed at fostering a happy, well-behaved dog who truly feels like part of the family. So, if you are ready to enjoy the journey and strengthen the bond with your dog, let's get started. Welcome back to another episode of the Puppy Training Podcast. Today's episode is a little slower, a little softer, and it's filled with something we all could use more of: gratitude. It's Thanksgiving here in the U.S., and whether it's your dog's first holiday season or their tenth, or maybe you're not even celebrating Thanksgiving, we can all be a little more grateful, right? The first recorded history of dog training goes way back to around 127 to 116 BC. There was a Roman farmer named Marcus Varro. He wrote about his way of raising and training puppies for herding livestock. And then you fast forward hundreds of years later until the 1800s, when we got into Ivan Pavlov and classical conditioning and the sound of the bell and associations, be a skinner, all of the dog trainers started to come about and training evolved over time. And today, many of us have dogs that are part of the family. They live with us in our homes. And we, while we try not to humanize them, right? You guys, we often do. We've come to value dogs more in our society and in our homes and families. With dogs so fully integrated into family life, it's natural to have high expectations for them, especially on days like Thanksgiving. So I just want to remind you today that as you're celebrating and enjoying, real life holidays come with real life dogs, okay? They might bark when your guests arrive. They might try to countersurf and still a little piece of turkey. They might forget that you've trained them when there's moments of overwhelm and maybe they won't respond to a simple sit. They respond with instinct, enthusiasm, curiosity, and emotion, all things that we love about our dogs, and that's okay. It's normal, it's honest. So let today be a reminder to offer them grace to them, to you, um, and just enjoy the day. Now, rather than fixating on what your dog isn't doing perfectly today, notice the ways they already enrich your life. For me, I love that my dogs offer me daily companionship. They're always there. In fact, when I'm coming home, I can bet that Bella will be up on the bench waiting to greet me. Baxter's gonna be on the rug with his tail wagging, they hear me coming in through the garage and they know I'm about to open that door and they get so excited, which makes me feel super loved. Right? Their playfulness and joy, it's hard to be around my dogs and not feel joy. So if I'm having a down day, or if my kids are having a down day or a hard day at school, they come home and they want to know where the dogs are. Where are the dogs? I want to pet the dogs, right? Uh, they give us emotional grounding, they give us connection. My dogs provide us with routine. I love routines. So it works out really well, but they get me outside to go on walks. They get me out into the fresh air when I'm inside working, right? A lot of the day. Oh, yeah, you guys want to go outside? Let's go get some fresh air. And I love that about them. They also offer this pure, uncomplicated affection, which I absolutely love. Now, these gifts matter far more than a flawless place, right? Behavior during Thanksgiving dinner. Now, yes, we're going to help you train your puppies. Yes, you've been working really hard, and we hope that today goes well for you. Just a gentle reminder that there's a lot of chaos maybe going on or different routines happening today. And we don't want to expect your puppy to be perfect, right? I'm not perfect, you're not perfect. But we can offer them some grace today. And also hopefully you'll get some successes too. They might surprise you and you'll be like, Oh, I'm so proud of you. We worked really hard on that. So hopefully you'll get some success too. Now at Baxterabella, everything we teach comes back to one thought, and that is that training is about relationship, not perfection. Right? We train with dogs, not at them. I'm not just here to boss them around and tell them what to do, right? So I'm asking, how are you feeling? What are you thinking about the scenario? What are your needs right now? We focus on communication. We are clear, kind, and consistent. We focus on understanding. We try to learn why dogs do what they do and how can we help set them up for success. We focus on building skills gradually, right? We're celebrating the little progress along the way. We're not demanding perfection and we're not getting frustrated when there's mess ups. Uh, supporting real families because most dog behavior challenges happen during real life, right? Not in a quiet training room. So we focus on, we recognize you guys are a real family doing real life, and we want to help your dogs be successful in that. We also focus on teaching humans and dogs to work together as a team, which goes back to that relationship that we talked about. So days like Thanksgiving highlight this philosophy beautifully. Your dog doesn't need to be perfect to be a wonderful part of your family. They just need support, structure, and compassion. And so do you, right? Now, when we remember that training is a lifelong partnership and process, it's not a holiday performance. Everything gets a little easier and far more joyful. Now, a few simple steps can help set both you and your dog up for success today during the holidays. Offer a little extra exercise before festivities begin. Maybe you create a relaxing safe space, a quiet room or a cozy corner or a crate where your dog can retreat and get some good nap time. That's important. Keep a stuffed um toy, so like a freeze bone works great, or a stuffed Kong or a puzzle feeder ready for mealtime so that your dog's more mentally engaged in that mealtime. That will help with some of that excess energy due to the excitement. We can explain food and greeting rules to guests. It can be as simple as we taught our dog how to sit to say please. So when they come up to you, either help them sit with a target hand or wait for them to sit automatically, and then you can get down and say hi to them. Just that simple little explanation can go a long ways to make your day better. And then we want to catch and reward call moments as they happen. So again, not perfection, but just a little thoughtful support. Before we close, take a breath. I want you to think of your dog, but think of their quirks, think of their personality, their companionship. Think of one way they blessed your life this year. Maybe they made you laugh. Maybe they helped your child, like I talked about. Maybe they encouraged you to slow down or get outside and get fresh air. Maybe they simply just are there by your side. That's what we're going to honor today. So, from all of us here at Baxter Bella, thank you for allowing us to be part of your journey. We consider you family and we hope you have a wonderful holiday if you're celebrating. If not, then know that we are thankful for you. And we are so impressed with your commitment to training, for showing up for your dog, and for embracing both the progress and the messiness along the way. We are grateful for you, we're grateful for your dogs, and we're grateful for the beautiful history that brought us together. Have a warm, joyful, dog-filled Thanksgiving. We'll see you next time. Thanks for tuning in to the Puppy Training Podcast. I hope today's tips help you feel more confident and excited about raising your dog. Remember, with a little patience and consistency, you can create a loving bond and a well-behaved pup who's a joy to have in your family. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow puppy parents. For more resources, visit Baxter and Bella online. Until next time, happy training.