I am not training Herc for his future service-dogging. I mean, it’s all I can do just to teach him that he should do his business outside. But Agate has explained that he is in the middle of his “fear imprint stage.” That’s when puppies leave their den and their mother shows them what things in the world are safe and what things are scary. If they see something and get scared of it, they might be scared of it for life. But if they don’t see it, later they might not be able to trust that it’s safe. My job is just to be Herc’s mom and stick close and keep him happy and show him as many of the
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