This started with this.
Sudden environmental change/contrast (SEC) - refers to any sudden change in your dog's environment - anywhere (inside your home, someone else's home, outside, etc).
This is inevitable in life. Some dogs cope well with sudden changes. For others, it can be a trigger, raising their stress level - whether "good" (excited perhaps) or "bad" (frustration and/or fear). Stress impacts overall behaviour for all of us.
This can make these moments feel "wild" for both individuals.
Jack's response was always apprehension mixed with excitement. So we've worked on it.
He still needs my guidance and may always need some help - especially in close proximity (as in this video).
He would not have been able to do well in that scenario without this process.
It all started with a simple game of pairing a calm marker "niiiice" with something good (food/treat). We grew it from there. Layer upon layer.
To learn more about how you can help guide your dog through moments they currently struggle with, touch base. I'm happy to help in your journey to lower both your dog's stress and yours!
#CanineWellness
#gamesbaseddogtrainer
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#dodoglifedifferently
Having fun together is your foundation ❤️
The most important aspect of teaching our dogs anything is to make sure your dog is having fun and that they feel safe.
The next most important aspect is understanding that all learning - yours and your dogs – is a process in layers of learning. Mine, too. All of us! None of us get good at anything without layers of learning.
In this reel, Jack and I are working on various layers of all different skills – they will all grow into something else – when Jack is ready and that depends on how easy I make it for him to learn each step.
Like building a house, nothing will be supported without a solid foundation.
Sign up for our newsletter (link to website in bio) and stay up to date. You don’t want to miss what’s coming in 2024! 😉
Comment below if there’s anything you see in this reel that you’re curious about teaching your dog…
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Delivery today! Super fun NEW group classes coming in 2024 with a sneak peek coming in Dec!
A 3-class mini-series, Dec 6th, 13th, and 20th. Details coming soon!
Link in bio to visit website and sign up for our newsletter. This will keep you up to date on all our upcoming announcements you don’t want to miss!
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Sniffing ROCKS! 😆
Have a scentastic weekend 😁
#sniffariwalk #sniffari #sniffspot
Do you slow down and linger when your dog does?
Do you ever wonder what scent has them so captivated?
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Supporting community!
For more details about this thoughtful fundraiser by The Dog House in Uxbridge, visit @thedoghouseuxbridge
You could go home with this gift bag contribution I was happy to put together in collaboration with @thrive4lifepetstore.
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Enrichment made easy with @lickimats
There are so many ways to provide enrichment for our dogs using their daily food, which is also key for slowing down fast eaters! I also like to freeze them, making them last even longer.
What are some of your favorite ways to provide your dog enrichment activities?
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#enrichmentfeeding
The next series of group classes start October 25th at 6pm.
Join us for Foundation Games. Explore, laugh, play and learn; together with your dog ❤️
Link in bio to details and to register.
Playing games.
Enriching. Good mental and physical exercise. Fun. Develops an incredible relationship our dog can rely on. Freeing, allowing our dog to just 'be' and us less 'mechanical' while teaching.
All of the above, positive for overall health and wellbeing of human and dog.
What's not to love ❤️
Using tools like @westpawus Toppl, we can provide several great experiences for our dog…
Enrichment – as they have to “work” at getting the goodies out.
Passive calm associations – when doing something like vacuuming or mowing or having a visitor over. It’s great to pair these things up (this is part of socialization for pups!) with something good for puppies (to prevent possible fear associations). It can also be an option for dogs that already have fear associations (when all circumstances are taken into consideration).
A positive focus – if your dog is out with you and responds to the sounds around the neighborhood or goes off and finds something a dog likes to do (like digging), well you can give them another option to digging and/or give them something to focus on if they would normally be focused on responding to other outside sights and sounds.
Acts as a slow feeder.
And more!
You can start with just one toopl, unfrozen first to create an awesome association to the yummy-ness inside it. Then, once your dog loves “this thing” – you can work towards freezing them. I would freeze a little at first and gradually move to frozen solid - depending on your dog’s “determination” to work through challenges.
Some dogs will walk away if it's too hard to get the food out – and that’s ok! That’s information for us! We can make it easier first, then gradually make it harder. In this way, we’re developing our dog’s ability to work through frustration and increasing our dogs “grit” 👍
This dog is sometimes there (but not always) and this is one of the many routes we take to 'mix things up' for us both. So we never know if it will be a quiet pass by or a being barked at pass by.
When we first began this route, Jack would immediately become "alert". His body language would become rigid/tense, he'd have trouble disengaging, his arousal level elevated, it stayed up for a period of time after and he looked back a lot.
After playing games like - DMT, Magic Hand & Orientation from Distraction - he's not affected at all. In fact, I would say in these clips, he's wondering what I'M DOING 😆 He simply notices and carries on. His arousal level is unaffected and to be honest, before I started recording the video, he was focused more on a chipmunk in a tree than the barking dog running out towards us. The barking doesn't even startle him anymore!
Now for some dogs, they're not in a place yet where this is a good thing to be exposing them too. So that needs to be taken into account on an individual basis.
I wanted to share this to demo that through working with games, preparing our dogs for these often 'sudden' changes in the environment, we can equip them by learning how guide them, to a point where they may eventually need little to no guidance at all. They handle themselves just fine. Being there for them when they needed that support, remaining there for them just in case and watching as they navigate what used to be quite a challenge, all on their own.
That's pretty 🆒
My nearest and dearest presence role model. He guides me daily in the practice of being in the moment.
Noticing all there is to notice.
More than a dog, I think they're able to teach us far more than we'll ever need to teach them.
Always fun to prep last class gift bags 😊
Shopped at @thrive4lifeholisticpet for some awesome natural chews... thank you Lucy!
Why teach your dog to catch from a straight drop above them?
It's a simple way to provide value in focusing upward, towards you (among a list of other skills it begins to develop).
And when you begin playing with your dog through these simple games, you're adding to your relationship ❤️
I love watching dogs quite literally 'light up' when their human begins this game with them ✨
We live with our windows open from spring to fall.
So, when new neighbours across the street moved in a few years ago, and then proceeded to get dogs that they leave in their backyard all day every day, the barking began! Barking at other dogs going by, dogs barking in response from their backyard, barking at delivery trucks, neighbours, kids on bikes, barking barking barking...
At first, I found myself frustrated at the "disruption" on the street. Jack naturally wanted to respond with barking, and it had been a quiet neighbourhood before they moved in. I didn't want to close my windows, nor did I want Jack to rehearse barking in the house, out the window, nor in the back or front yard 🤔
So, I had a choice to make. Engage my teaching skills and management to help guide Jack's learning/association/emotional response, and subsequent behaviour, or complain and imagine some "magic wand" would take care of it 🤪
Of course, I took the challenge! The task: could I have Jack (eventually), not care about the barking through using the skills and games I have in my 'toolbox'...
YES! Here's a short clip. Windows open, Jack listening without responding ❤️ This is not a first, he's been doing well for a while now with not even going to look out but rather laying there, simply listening, or an ear twitch then back to his nap. If he has a higher level of arousal overall, or many noises in a short time (e.g., car horn, barking, loud voice), then he may respond but he disengages beautifully and calms easily. So he inspired me to share this as sometimes these things can seem impossible.
Though it is a conscious choice we have to make - to help our dogs achieve something WE desire in behaviour. And we do have to employ management when we're not there to guide them. So if we'd like a particular outcome in our dog’s behaviour, we have to look inward first. Easier said than done sometimes 😉
