I Was on the Floor Crying. Here’s What Saved Us Both.

The night before my Day Training program started, I was sitting on the floor of my house, sobbing.

My Cane Corso (my dog, my shadow, the one I’ve poured five years of work into) had just had major surgery on her leg.

Twelve weeks of recovery.

A cocktail of medications I was already struggling to keep straight.

Physical therapy. Vet appointments. A cone. And a dog who weighs almost as much as I do.

I couldn’t get her down the stairs.

I was texting my husband I can’t do this. I was questioning everything. I was genuinely considering calling every single Day Training client, refunding their money, and shutting the whole thing down before it even started.

I was losing it.

And I say that not because I want your sympathy…but because I want you to understand what the next morning meant.

The First Day

I brought her with me.

I set up a crate in my office with an x-pen around it as an extra barrier. Enough space to keep her comfortable and keep the other dog from getting too close. I mapped out her medication schedule. I planned short bathroom breaks throughout the day, some light movement, physical therapy sessions, and icing her leg in between.

It should have been chaos.

It wasn’t.

She walked into that crate like it was the most natural thing in the world. She settled. She rested. She let me ice her leg and work through her physical therapy without a fight. When I needed to put her muzzle on…because she’s post-surgery and uncomfortable and I needed everyone, including her, to be safe…she let me.

She slayed the entire day.

And somewhere between her morning medication and her afternoon physical therapy session, it hit me:

Every single thing that made today bearable…I taught her years ago.

The “Pointless” Tricks That Weren’t Pointless At All

When she was a puppy, I taught her to lie completely flat on her side. Like, fully relaxed, dead-weight on the floor.

Was it necessary? Not at the time. It was just a fun thing to work on. A party trick, almost.

Today, that “trick” is the reason her physical therapy is actually possible. She just lies there and lets me manipulate her leg. No resistance, no anxiety, no fight. She knows how to completely surrender her body because I made it a game when she was small and the stakes were zero.

I started muzzle training her as a puppy too.

Did I need a muzzle for a puppy? No. She was twenty pounds and mostly interested in sleeping and chewing things she shouldn’t.

But I knew I might need it one day.

A dog in pain is a different dog.

Even the sweetest, most bombproof animal can bite when they’re hurting and scared and someone is touching something that aches. The muzzle isn’t a punishment…it’s a bridge. It’s how we keep everyone safe so that the people who need to help her can help her, without anyone getting hurt in the process.

Because I introduced it slowly, with intention, with food and patience and zero pressure…she doesn’t fight it. She doesn’t panic. She lets me put it on and she moves on with her day.

That’s cooperative care. Teaching a dog from the very beginning that handling is safe. That you can touch their legs, their feet, their ears, their mouth and nothing bad happens. That strangers can do it too. That the vet’s table isn’t a threat.

I worked on all of it when it didn’t matter yet, so that when it mattered enormously, we were ready.

Let’s Talk About Crates

I know. Some of you just tensed up.

“I could never crate my dog. It feels like a cage. It feels cruel.”

I hear this constantly. And I understand where it comes from because a crate be cruel. If you take a dog who has never seen one, shove them inside, latch the door, and walk away — yes. That’s a bad experience. That’s not what I’m talking about.

A crate that a dog has been taught to love is one of the most valuable things you will ever give them.

It’s a safe space. A place that’s theirs. A place where the world gets quiet and they can just rest. A place that, when something hard happens, when they’re sick or recovering or overwhelmed, feels like home instead of a trap.

Your dog might be a total angel right now. Free range of the house, never touched a thing she shouldn’t, completely trustworthy. That’s wonderful. But here’s what I need you to hear:

Your dog will likely need crate rest at some point in her life.

Surgery. Injury. Illness. A situation where restriction is the difference between healing and re-injury. And when that moment comes, and for a lot of dogs, it comes, you don’t want the crate to be a new and terrifying thing on top of everything else she’s already dealing with.

Don’t add that to her plate. Teach it now, while she’s healthy and happy and the stakes are low.

Crates aren’t cruel.

Throwing your dog into one without ever teaching her to love it first. That’s where it goes wrong.

And Muzzles

Same conversation.

A muzzle on a dog who has never worn one, in a moment of pain or fear, is a nightmare for everyone involved. It adds panic on top of panic. It makes an already hard moment worse.

A muzzle on a dog who has been taught slowly, positively, with zero pressure…that the muzzle predicts good things? That’s just a tool. A completely neutral, enormously useful tool that keeps your dog safe, keeps the people helping her safe, and removes the guesswork from a stressful situation.

You don’t muzzle train because your dog is dangerous.

You muzzle train because you love your dog and you want every scenario covered.

What I Want You to Take From This

I’m not just a trainer who shows up, teaches your dog to sit, and leaves.

I’m someone who thinks about the dog in front of me and the dog she’s going to be in five years. And the moment five years from now when you’re going to need everything you built together to actually hold.

Some of what I teach you is going to feel irrelevant to why you hired me. You came to me because your dog pulls on leash or jumps on guests or won’t come when called. And yes, we’re going to fix that.

But I’m also going to teach your dog to love her crate. To wear a muzzle without panic. To let you handle her body. To wait before she launches herself out of the car. To settle on her side while you ice her leg at 7am before a full day of work.

Not because those things are urgent right now.

Because one night, you might be sitting on the floor crying, convinced you can’t do this and the only thing standing between you and complete collapse is the work you did years ago when everything was fine.

That work is worth it.

I promise you…it is so worth it.

Common Scents Dog Training offers Day Training, behavior work, and puppy foundation programs built around real life, not just obedience. Reach out here to talk about setting your dog up for whatever comes next.