Paws in Harmony - Sydney Lupton, FDM

11/15/2024

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11/13/2024

TRIGGER STACKING – WHEN BEHAVIOUR HAPPENS “OUT OF THE BLUE”

We’ve all had those days when nothing seems to go right and one frustrating thing after another happens to us, leaving us feeling wound up, stressed and ready to explode at the next unsuspecting person who dares to ask us something.

This “unsuspecting” person may think we have a serious behaviour problem or need anger management therapy, when the truth is that we’ve just had a really bad day or even a few bad days and don’t usually behave like this at all.

Dogs are no different and a behaviour that seems completely out of character or happens “out of the blue” is often caused by “trigger stacking”.

A trigger may be anything that increases a dog’s stress levels and has a negative impact on their emotional, mental or physical state.

These may be small things that we may not even notice or seem insignificant to us, but they are all adding to an increasing “stack” of events that may culminate in out of character behaviour.

When stress levels reach a certain point, the next stressful event, however small, may cause an explosive reaction that is completely unexpected.

Instead of just focusing on a particular behaviour and seeing it as a problem that needs to be prevented, take a step backwards, look at the bigger picture, look at events, circumstances or environmental factors that may have played a role leading up to that behaviour.

Being aware of potential stressors and allowing your dog time to decompress, relax and unwind for a few days will often mean the difference between “normal behaviour” and a behaviour that seems completely out of character.

11/12/2024

Dealing with Off-Leash Dogs: What You Need to Know

You’re out for a peaceful walk with your dog when, suddenly, an off-leash dog charges at you. Whether it’s an overly excited pup or a serious threat, these encounters can feel like swimming with sharks! 🦈

What can you do to keep your dog safe in these scenarios?

✔️ Situational Awareness – Spot potential problems before they escalate.
✔️ Teach “Get Behind” – A simple technique to keep your dog safer during an emergency.
✔️ Friendly First – Toss treats to redirect oncoming dogs.
✔️ Umbrella Technique – A creative way to create space when needed.
✔️ Spray Products – For emergency use only!

This article covers essential tools and techniques for managing off-leash dog encounters safely and effectively.

Read the full guide for step-by-step instructions and tips to help protect your pup on walks.

Read the full article here ⬇
https://aggressivedog.com/2022/08/23/swimming-with-the-sharks-five-tips-for-off-leash-dogs/

11/08/2024

There's still a few spots remaining for our webinar all about rescue dogs and our cultures love for dogs! This webinar, I'll get a little soppy and talk to you about my experience adopting a reactive dog. I'll also talk about my journey in learning how to help reactive dogs without suppressing their innate needs. Their innate expression.

Want a registration link? Email us at [email protected] or check out the comments!

Let's dive in! I'll see you soon.

11/06/2024

Our live webinar kicks off tomorrow night at 7pm (mst time).

This webinar is a love letter to a dog I adopted named Hemi.
Hemi was a challenging boy who turned my life upside down. When he left this world, I experienced so many 💡 lightbulb 💡moments in my journey to becoming a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - a dream I'd held onto since the age of 14.
This webinar, we'll talk:
💡The nitty gritty of loving a dog with big feelings and big behaviors
💡Ethological perspectives on our relationship with dogs and why it means so damn much to us for them to behave
💡How our mental health struggles parallel so closely with our dogs and how our healing is intertwined
💡 Our journey from an obsession with control, training and obedience to healing for both of us
Registration asks for a payment of $5 (100% of proceeds are donated to the Lucas Legacy Fund).
Audio Accessibility: Captions will be available during the live event and a transcription available for the recording.
Financial Accessibility: If funds limit your ability to participate, please reach out to us and we are happy to supply you with a free link.

HOW TO REGISTER:
1. Click the 🔗 in the comments�
2. The link will open up a booking calendar, go to the date - November 7th and click on it on the calendar.�
3. It will open up a button that says 7:00pm. Click that time! You're almost there!�
4. Complete registration by entering a few quick details and processing payment for the $5 donation.�
5. You will receive an email to the email you registered with upon registration and a few times prior to the event as a reminder. These emails will provide you with the private joining link to get into the event.�
6. Join us on the evening of November 7th live or watch the recording which will slide into your email after we wrap up.

11/03/2024

11/02/2024

An incredible opportunity. This course changed the game in my understanding of dog behavior.

This year, our Black Friday Month Long sale isn’t just about discounts—it’s about Building Up a future rooted in empathy, resilience, and a shared purpose of delivering a “Good Life” for every dog, family, & professional. In the wake of Hurricane Helene and recent industry challenges, we’re reminded of the power of community and the need to rebuild stronger than ever. Through November, we’re offering 50% off the L.E.G.S.® Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation® Professional Course with code BUILDINGUP24, plus an option to donate to support impacted communities.

The L.E.G.S.® pillars—Learning, Environment, Genetics, and Self—form the essential foundation for a compassionate, science-backed, interdisciplinary approach to dog behavior and welfare. This celebrated model is the missing cornerstone of education for all dog pros, integrating seamlessly with any canine career path to exponentially expand the impact of one’s work. From trainers to vets to shelter staff, the L.E.G.S.® course provides a unique pathway to understand each dog as an individual—addressing the epidemic of behavior problems through meaningful, welfare-based interventions. This elevated perspective enables us to move beyond “behavior problems” and to truly improve welfare by addressing root causes, helping deliver the “Good Life” every dog deserves.

As Family Dog Mediators, we’re not only supporting dogs & families through applied ethology but building a compassionate community that values each dog’s individuality and each professional’s contribution. Join us in creating a future where solid education, compassion, and deep understanding are at the core of our work.

Use code BUILDINGUP24 all November to be part of “Building Up” a brighter future. Let’s rise together, support each other, and pave the way for positive change that sets new standards for dog welfare—delivering a “Good Life” our dogs truly deserve.

Sign Up Here ⬇
https://kimbropheylegscourses.thinkific.com/pages/pro-landing-page

10/30/2024

Past clients, community members, friends, family and everyone in between -
I'll be hosting my first ever webinar!

This webinar is a love letter to my first rescue dog, Hemi. Hemi was a challenging boy who turned my life upside down. When he left this world, I experienced so many 💡 lightbulb 💡moments in my journey to becoming a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - a dream I'd held onto since the age of 14.

This webinar, we'll talk:
💡The nitty gritty of loving a dog with big feelings and big behaviors
💡Ethological perspectives on our relationship with dogs and why it means so damn much to us for them to behave
💡How our mental health struggles parallel so closely with our dogs and how our healing is intertwined
💡 Our journey from an obsession with control, training and obedience to healing for both of us

Registration asks for a payment of $5 (100% of proceeds are donated to the Lucas Legacy Fund). If funds limit your ability to participate, please reach out to us and we are happy to supply you with a free link!

We can't wait to see you there!

10/30/2024

We are beyond proud to finally announce that we are officially certified through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, Inc.

This certification has been in the works for us for the past 3 years officially but we've had our sights set on this for upwards of 8 years.

In order to earn this certificate, professionals must document 300 hours of hands-on training experience, complete and pass a three hour intensive exam, receive continuing education credits every 3 years to achieve recertification and be upheld by rigorous standards of commitment to animal welfare, professionalism and ethical behavior change strategies.

We are celebrating today! This certification is a big addition to our portfolio and we cannot wait to continue helping more dogs in our community and beyond.

Check out more about the CCPDT here: https://www.ccpdt.org/dog-owners/how-to-choose-a-dog-trainer/

10/26/2024

Are you ready for Halloween? Is your DOG ready for Halloween? It can be a spooky time for fearful and reactive dogs. Take a little time now, to prepare your dog, and it won't be so scary when Halloween rolls around.

And if you have a fearful or reactive dog, you might want to enroll in our Reactive Dog Toolkit, currently on sale for 75% off: dunbar.info/oct2024reactivity

If your dogs is easily overwhelmed Halloween is probably too much for them to participate in and the best thing to do is to manage your dog’s experience so it’s not an upsetting night. If you do a little preparation, this can be quite easy to do:

START PRACTICING CRATE TRAINING NOW
Start by getting your dog to enjoy spending time in their crate. You can make your dog’s crate into a safe space where they feel totally comfortable and at ease, and where they like to settle down and relax. If you don’t have a crate, you can have them settle on their bed instead, but it really is useful to have a dog that enjoys settling down in a crate, so you might want to consider getting a crate and starting this process.

Set aside your dog’s daily allotment of food and use it to teach your dog to go into their crate, and lie down there. Lure your dog into the crate, lure them into a Down, and then periodically praise them and reward them with food for lying down in their crate. Pretty soon they’ll love lying down in their crate as they get lovingly praised and hand-fed by you!

At first, you don’t even need to close the door. Leave the crate door open so they can leave any time, but only feed them and praise them when they’re in their crate. If they’re not interested in food right now, try again later.

Once they’re happily going into their crate and lying down for good stretches of time, you can start closing the door. Do so for just a second or two at first, and reward them with food and praise when you do. Gradually build up the amount of time that you confine your dog in their crate. If you get your dog tired out before hand, and they use the potty before going in, your dog should be happy to spend a few hours confined in their crate.

Anytime you are going to confine your dog in their crate for more than a minute or two, we suggest you…

PUT FOOD-FILLED HOLLOW CHEW TOYS IN THEIR CRATE
Fill a hollow chew toy, like a Kong or a Snoop with their regular food, plus one or two extra tasty treats and leave it in their crate. Now, if they’re not quite ready for a nap, they have a fun project to work on. They can play with their chew toy and as they do, food will fall out, which will reward them for playing with their toy and for being in their crate.

Once your dog is an expert at extracting food from their hollow chew toys, you can increase the difficulty in a couple of ways. First, you can put wet or moistened food in their chew toy, which will make it so the food doesn’t fall out so easily. If you feed them a dry food, you can soak the food in warm water for a few minutes before stuffing the toy. Second, you can stuff the chew toy with wet or moistened food and then freeze it. Now it will take much longer to get all the food out.

For most of the food you can use your dog’s regular food but it can be fun to add in a few extra tasty, extra smelly treats, to make it even more attractive and interesting. A frozen “Kongsicle” with a few tasty treats hidden inside can keep a dog occupied for hours.

DEFUSE THE DOORBELL
Now that your dog is happy to settle down in their crate for a couple of hours with a food-filled chew toy, it’s time to desensitize them to the sound of the doorbell, or whatever exciting sounds you might expect on Halloween.

Settle your dog down in their crate and then enlist the help of someone to ring your doorbell or stomp up and down your front steps, or play spooky sound effects repeatedly, while you sit next to your dog and reassure them. Ask your dog to Down and Shush.

Try using a food lure to lure them to Down and Shush. Luring a dog to Shush with a food lure is super simple: Just put the food in front of their nose. If they want to sniff, they have to stop barking, at which point, praise and reward with the food. As you get the hang of this, increase the amount of time you ask your dog to be quiet before your give them food. Count out the seconds: “Good dog 1, Good dog 2, Good dog 3, Take it!”

Luring a dog to Down in their crate is similar to luring them to lie down outside, you simply hold the piece of food near the bottom of the crate and wait until they lie down, then praise and reward them.

The first time the doorbell rings, it may be very hard to get your dog to Down or Shush, but stick with it and you’ll get it eventually. Once you’ve got your dog Down and Quiet, have your accomplice ring the doorbell AGAIN. Again, get your dog Down and Quiet. REPEAT until it’s easy for you to quickly get your dog to lie down and be quiet. It might take 10 reps, it might take 20, it might take more. The more you practice, the easier it will get. With each repetition, the doorbell becomes less exciting.

WHAT TO DO ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT ITSELF
When it comes to Halloween itself, you should start by getting your dog real tired out. Make sure they get lots of opportunities during the day to play and sniff, and a big long training session so their brain is totally exhausted and ready to sleep.

Set your dog’s crate up in the quietest room in your home and consider putting a blanket over your dog’s crate to further muffle the noise. You might even want to put on some white noise. You can find white noise on YouTube, you can download an app, or you can plug in a fan. The less your dog hears the sounds of Halloween, the less likely they are to react.

Prepare a couple of food-filled chew toys with a few extra tasty treats to make them extra attractive, including one that will take them a while to empty completely and then put your dog in their crate with their chew toys and tell them to Settle Down.

If you can stay in the room with them and help them remain calm throughout the night, that’s great, but depending on how effectively you’ve prepared, you might be able to entertain Trick or Treaters or other guests.

And if you want to learn more about resolving your dog's fear or reactivity problems, enroll in our Reactive Dog Toolkit, currently on sale for 75% off: dunbar.info/oct2024reactivity

10/22/2024

Since our official certification exam was written at the beginning of September and I spent the summer drowning in behavior books, we’re finally finding time to read about dogs FOR FUN again!

10/19/2024