Front N'Scenter Animal Behaviour & Consulting

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Front N'Scenter Animal Behaviour & Consulting

Specialized training for you and your pet
(4)

06/30/2024

It's scavenger hunt eve - who's excited?

06/28/2024

Rainbow had an injury that we have been working out so we are delayed on admin. He will be fine (just a toe infection), and I am working through outstanding emails.

06/28/2024

Last call for scavenger hunt entries. First clues are being dropped on Monday morning

06/26/2024

We are now opening registration for our skills class for dogs with big feelings. The classes will be held Mondays in Cole Harbour. It will be 4 weeks (July 15, 22, August 5, 19).
Fee is 200 plus HST. There will be a maximum of 4 dogs per class and dogs will be in the class together. We will be making registration choices based on the skills that your dog already has. If I have not already worked with your dog before, I may require a private session with me to determine their suitability for this class. Not all dogs are at a stage that they are ready to work around other dogs.
We will be using visual barriers and pattern games to help teach the dogs and caregivers to manage arousal around other dogs.
Depending on numbers and appropriateness of interest, there will both an evening and an afternoon option.
To submit your interest in attending the class, please email [email protected]

06/23/2024

Researchers are trying to determine what are normal behavioural stages of development for puppies as well as trying to determine simple testing to determine how early it is to identify at risk puppies so that intervention (behaviour modification and/or pharmaceutical intervention) can be implemented to have the greatest chance of the best resolution.
If your adult dog (or puppy) has emotional health issues, how early did you notice something wasn't normal? Also, did you discuss it with professionals (vet, trainers, etc), and what recommendations were made?

06/21/2024

I have 1 working spot in scent left with Elliot Connor on July 27th in Lawrencetown. Audit spots are still available for tracking/mantrailing on July 26 or July 28th in Upper Stewiacke.
Privates for tracking and/or scent available on July 25th in HRM (I am working on scheduling for those). Please email if you are interested in any of these. Working spots for the group tracking are currently waitlisted.

06/20/2024

I started my journey chasing pretty ribbons, (and I still love pretty ribbons), but they no longer reflect success to me. My clients every day let me know what really counts as success. The relationships, the reducing fear and anxiety, the collaboration with many other talented professionals to find what is really going on and helping to find some resolution- that is what success is.
I still like a pretty ribbon and Rainbow and I will try and earn some, but I treasure our relationship every day. My clients and their pets deserve the biggest rosettes for these wins.

06/19/2024

Community votes is open again. Lots of amazing local businesses

Official 2024 Community Voting Awards Platform for Halifax, NS. Where the community votes for their favourites every year.

06/17/2024

It's that time of year again- time for our Scentsational Scavenger Hunt. We will once again have a known and unknown hide stream as well as a beginner and advanced clues.
This has become a summer favourite.
For those who are new - a new hide will be hidden weekly around HRM and you will have 7 days to film your dog finding it. There will once again be bonus entries.
Fee is 40.00/team for the first dog and 15/team for the second dog.
The fun starts July 1.
To enter- please fill out the registration jot form https://form.jotform.com/221756788180062

06/15/2024

Rainbow is demonstrating our current brain power after learning all last week.
We are catching up with admin.
Sensational scavenger hunt and our reactive dog group class will open for registration this week. Stay tuned..

06/15/2024

Rainbow and I are just getting back from Behavior At The Beach on PEI. Rainbow also celebrated his first birthday and wrapped up his final assessment to help determine normal development milestones for puppies as well as to determine when behavioural pathologies can be first identified in puppies (and their was a similar study in kittens). Did you know that the puppies in the study who showed signs of fear and anxiety at 3 months old, only got worse? Contrary to what many vets, trainers, and social media says - the chances are it is is not "just puppy stuff" and they won't grow out of it. The good news is, the earlier there is proper intervention, the better the prognosis for maximum improvement

06/14/2024

We are getting closer to Elliot's return in July. Everyone who has attended in the past have had great things to say about the experience they have had learning from him. Tracking/mantrailing is currently waitlisted, but we have a couple of spots left for scent on July 27th in Lawrencetown, NS. Cost is 275.00 plus HST for the session. Please email [email protected]
I will be working on timeslots for those looking for private sessions next week.

06/14/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/WV9LgZhMc8k1KQR6/?mibextid=qi2Omg

Medicating and cleaning ears and eyes are procedures that many pets will need at some point in their lives. While it is beneficial to start with a young pet or one that has never experienced these treatments before, you can work with a pet that has.
https://hubs.ly/Q02Bq7DM0

06/10/2024

Rainbow and I are in PEI this week at Behaviour At The Beach. He finished his last puppy development assessment with Dr Overall and now I will be learning all week

06/08/2024

Aren't these guys cute? I still need to name them ....
but they will be coming to tomorrow if you find them hiding around the expo and bring them back to us you'll get a prize.

Me and are excited to be there. Stop by booth 19 and see us.
We will have some scratch boards and equipment too.

06/04/2024

It appears that our evening introduction to scent on June 17 in Cole Harbour is full (there are a couple people who I still need to contact who reached out, so if you are waiting, please stay tuned).
There is still some interest and if there is enough interest in an afternoon introduction session on June 17 in Cole Harbour, I can easily add another session.

06/04/2024

June is already a busy month for us. We will be away next week for continuing education, but before we leave, we are teaming up with Fur Ability Animal Rehabilitation Inc. at the Doggie Expo. Stop by to say hello on Saturday.

06/04/2024

I have a couple of spots open for a beginner scent clinic June 17 at 615 in Cole Harbour. Email if you are interested in a spot

06/03/2024

I started working with Wildcard and her caregiver to help make routine things easier. Not only did they work on daily needs, but a cooperative care plan enabled a sedation plan with minimal fear, anxiety, and stress. It made for a successful association for vet visits for Wildcard and her care team. Wildcard is now also able to receive physio care on a regular basis.
We are always so proud of our caregivers and their pets.

06/03/2024

I had the pleasure to passion talk for the EVTA on PEI yesterday on one of my favourite topics (spoiler alert- you can't truly be healthy if you are not behaviourally healthy)

06/02/2024

Rainbow and I are wishing everyone a Happy Pride Month. We wish for safety and acceptance for all those who need it to expand more than a month

06/02/2024

Avonport! It's been too long- see you later today.

06/01/2024

Scentsational scavenger hunt time! Who wants to play this summer?

05/29/2024

A quick update on the July events with Elliot Connor. We have 3 spots left for scent detection on July 27. For tracking/trailing we have 2 spots left on July 26 and 1 spot left on July 28.
I will be working on private session requests soon.
If you submitted a working spot request for scent or tracking- you should have received notification of registration. If you think you should have received one- check your spam and then email me. I have not added audit spots yet.
Invoices will go out later this week.

05/28/2024

We are looking at adding an additional tracking day with Elliot since we filled and there are still people wanting to play...potentially looking at either Friday July 26th or Monday July 29th. Please let me know who would be interested. (If the 26th becomes a tracking day, we will move privates to another day)

05/27/2024

Tracking appears to be currently full..however if you ars interested please submit and i will be seekng what we can do to open more spots. A reminder that i will.be confirming everyone who has submitted already in the coming days (all registrations came in time stamped. There is still some room in scent.
It's here- please submit your registration form here.https://form.jotform.com/233122377901249
Please do not send payment until we have confirmed your spot (we will send directions on that when they are confirmed). We may not send confirmations out until later this week, so please don't panic if you don't hear anything right away.

05/27/2024

Workshops with Elliot will open this evening at 8 pm for registration.
Also - I am adding an intro to scent detection workshop in Cole Harbour on June 17- that will open for registration tomorrow morning for any spaces that are not currently on waitlists. Those on waitlists-i will contact you later today.

05/22/2024

If you were expecting a confirmation for the Avonport scent clinics or the Cyber Scent Work events in Cole Harbour and did not receive a registration confirmation, please email me. Some received the notifications and some did not.

05/21/2024

We will be opening registration later this week but the early details so you can plan ahead.
July 26 will be privates with Elliot
July 27- scent detection at the Lawrencetown Community Centre
July 28- tracking/trailing at Aqua Terra Kennels in Upper Stewiacke (BBQ will be available to purchase ahead of time, Dock Diving Try-it's will be available, and air-conditioned building will be available for crating if needed).

05/21/2024

Who is interested in privates with Elliot when he is here in July. If so are you interested in scent or tracking. Date would be July 26. This is for me to decide on what type of space (if any) is needed for that date.

Address

143 Arklow Drive
Halifax, NS
B2W4J1

Telephone

+19024767934

Website

http://www.frontnscenter.com/

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Videos

Rainbow getting his Cytopoint injection. With Emla cream, some whipped cream cheese, and a foundation already in place, his injection is a non-event. Ask us how we can help your pet cooperate more readily with their care needs. Please note - if your pet already has a strong aversion to procedures, please do not jump straight to distraction. Rainbow can opt out and knows how to, and has had training for injections.

Did you know that you can train your cat to take medications voluntarily? Willow loves cooperative care training days and readily takes empty gel capsules so that she has lots of practice if she ever actually needs medication. The best time to get your pet ready for taking medications is long before they ever need it (start as soon as you bring them home)

And the fan favorite award now known as The Lux Memorial Award

Karen's reaction is the best

How cute is Lily? She has come a long way and proof it takes a village. The first time I met Lily, she was living in a state of over-arousal and fear and would yell at everyone and everything. With the help of her general practice vet, and a vet who deals with behavioural medicine, and her mom's hard work, with a little input from me, Lily is starting to blossom. She is a fun, sweet dog who loves to learn

I quite often see the value of the no being missed when teaching cooperative care. With Rainbow, I acknowledge his no and give him an even bigger reward for his no. This helps ensure that he learns that if he is uncomfortable, he will still get paid. You will see at the end of this video, Rainbow will start to delay his chin rest. The video was trimmed for timing, but our session was ended with a food scatter and a chance to play. I ensure yes and no cues are well established before doing more invasive handling and I always go back to reinforce these basics even if they do cooperate with the more invasive things.

Muzzle conditioning as a fun trick on a stormy day

I am starting to introducing body handling to Rainbow early on and making note of what he is uncomfortable with. He is honest- that a pinch is uncomfortable (why wouldn't it be), and that he is uncomfortable with his ears being handled. He is being paid no matter what his reaction is and I ensure that he is given a chance to go away and chose to (or not) come back to his mat. I am telling him that I am going to touch him and what I am going to do so in the future, he is aware of what these mean. Vet care, and husbandry can be uncomfortable - I mean who likes doctors visits and needles, but I am not lying to him and telling him what I am going to do to help reduce stress down the road.

Trout has been working hard on learning to do his own nails- using a scratch board is much less stressful for him than trims on dremeling.

Baby dog spam, but definitely enjoying purposely calling Rainbow Trout...

So much fun playing with kittens...yes they can learn things too

When you work on handler skills for blind searches and have the owners handler a different dog than they are used to... ("dogs" were looking for a small piece of colored tape)

Enrichment time - dogs dig.. so Trout has his own legal digging spot

Barb Deg's Personal Meeting Room

Trout and I had a long overdue chance to decompress at P & P Pastures Homestead today. While Trout is terrified of the bathroom, it certainly does not stem from a fear of water...the other dogs chose to walk on the shore while Trout chose to stay in the water the majority of the time. Trout also has difficulty with car travel so making decompression trips is not that easy. I suspected there was a motion sickness component and while we had trialed a medication before it was at a much too low dose to have any effect. His behavior veterinary specialist prescribed a much higher dose (4x the dosage that we had been prescribed previously) and we were able to do a multi hour trip with no panting or drooling. Every animal is different, so our dosage and medication may not be appropriate for your pet, but there is hope for these pets. Trout may never love the car and we will still keep road trips to a minimum, but decompression is so good for both of us.

Live With Dr Kathy Murphy and Bobbie Bhambree

Stop by and join as we start to countdown to Dr Murphy and Bobbie touching down in Nova Scotia for the Resilience Rainbow Tour

When a rescue asks if one of their special adoptables can come to scent class to give him some new ways to use his energy for good, you can sometimes make it happen. Meet Jimmy, a handsome adoptable through misfit manor dog rescue. Jimmy is deaf and we were lucky enough to play scent with 2 deaf dogs tonight in Avonport.

What does approximation and shaping look like? Sometimes it doesn't look like needing to have Trout in the tub to break other steps down. For this step the fan is off, but the door is closed and water is running in the tub and not the sink...and yes, he did get another sponge bath for this. #cooperativecarewins

Sometimes splitting criteria means thinking outside the box (or tub). Trout got his first medicated bath today - fan on, door closed and running water. No one said he had to be in the tub or that the running water had to be from the tub and not the sink. Regular medicated baths are going to make him feel so much better

Video is not the best quality, but Trout does medication time without a fuss (he gets food pieces in between his event meds). "Bravery juice" time is very popular with him (this was our event meds for a planned bathroom training session later this morning"

Shortcuts

Specializing in building the bond using your dog’s natural instincts

Barb grew up with a love of all animals, but had a passion for dogs. She loves training dogs of every breed and shape and loves to bring out the best in them.

After struggling to train her irish setter, Skylar, the way it was “normally done” and fighting what was natural to him (sniffing and hunting), she sought out activities that the 2 of them could do together without fighting nature. They both fell in love with hunting and scent detection.

Barb continued to pursue further education in scent detection and it has become her livelihood. She strives to work with each dog in her classes as individuals to bring out understanding and the best in them.

Barb’s dedication to scent detection training has driven her to obtain and train a dog for professional bed bug detection purposes (thought by some to be one of the toughest detection dog disciplines). Camo accompanies Barb to most of her classes, and Barb is willing to share stories of her triumphs and training mistakes with her students.