The Weekly High Five 🐾

One Quick Win 🙏 One Video to Watch 👀 One Post I Loved

Hey Reader,
​
5pm hits. Your dog goes from zero to chaos.

Jumping. Barking. Zooming around. Demanding attention. Acting like they've lost their mind.

You think it's just how they are. High energy. Bad behavior. Whatever.

But here's the truth: chaos isn't personality. It's missing structure.

Energy builds all day with nowhere to go. Then it spills over the second you stop being busy.
​
This week I'm showing you how simple evening sequencing creates calm instead of chaos, why consistent bedtime routines change everything, and what to do about that 5pm witching hour.

​
One Quick Win 🙏

This week's Quick Win focuses on "The First 10 Minutes Home Protocol":

1. Before anyone walks in the door, decide where your dog should be and what they should be doing (on their mat with a chew, outside in the yard, in a specific room with a toy).
2. Set them up in that spot BEFORE the chaos of arrivals begins.
3. For the first 10 minutes after anyone comes home, completely ignore the dog. No eye contact, no talking, no petting.
4. After 10 minutes of them being calm in their spot, then greet them calmly.
5. Repeat this exact sequence every single day at the same time.

The first 10 minutes set the tone for the entire evening. When everyone comes home and immediately engages with an excited dog, you're rewarding chaos.
​
When you create a predictable structure where the dog settles first and gets attention second, you're teaching calm. Simple sequencing. Huge difference.

​
One Video To Watch 👀

Why does your dog act crazy every evening? In this week's video, I reveal the secret tips that prevent evening chaos when routines change or kids come home from school!

Learn why afternoons and evenings are when attention-seeking spikes, discover the first 10 minutes home rule that changes everything, and find out how to structure quality time so your dog isn't bouncing off the walls.
​
This isn't about wearing your dog out more. It's about creating order so energy has somewhere to go besides chaos.

​

One Social Post I Loved 🧡

​This week's post from @arlo_the_field_golden shows a complete bedtime routine that takes less than 5 minutes and happens consistently every night at 8pm!

​
What I love here is the proof that dogs don't just naturally settle. They thrive on structure. Arlo puts himself in his crate at 8pm and waits patiently because the routine is consistent.
​
It seems like a lot of steps, but it's quick and it works because it's the same every single night. This is what evening structure looks like in action.

Evenings don't fall apart randomly. Energy accumulates all day. Without structure, it has nowhere to go except into jumping, barking, demanding attention, and general chaos.

The fix isn't more exercise. It's simple sequencing. A consistent protocol for arrivals. A predictable wind-down routine. Clear expectations about what happens when.

Dogs aren't chaotic by nature. They're chaotic when structure is missing. Give them order and watch the chaos disappear.

Questions about creating evening structure or handling the 5pm chaos? Hit reply. This is one of the most common issues I work on with families.

Here's to calm evenings!

​
Pam,
CPDT-KA
​​
​PS. Struggling with evening chaos and need help creating a routine that actually works? Let's talk about what's happening in your house and how to fix it. Click here to book your Free Call with Me.​
​
​Enjoy this Weekly High Five? Please forward it to another Dog Owner. My goal is to positively impact as many dog owners as possible.