Puzzle Dog

09/04/2024

NEW BLOG!

‘Puzzle feeders’ are a hit on social media! Do we need to make mealtime enriching for our dogs? What is the idea behind that and why is that

09/03/2024

September Sensory Rooms are fully booked, but there are plenty of spots left in October and November!

We will be on many different locations in NS and PEI is on the schedule again too!

Reach out by email to book your spot!

09/02/2024

We just got home from our camping trip and before she went to sleep Puck wanted to do some simple snuffling first! 🧩 🐕

She wants to thank everyone who donated treats yesterday and today for her BFF Boukha ❤️🐾 We really appreciate your generosity 🥰
We are getting some positive news about Boukha, which makes us very happy!!

Emergency surgery and being hospitalized is incredibly expensive (like a second hand car expensive) and his mom will need some time to recover from that.

Puck tries to help her by fundraising treat money. Can you help her a bit? Thank you! 🙏🏼❤️🐾
https://buymeacoffee.com/puzzledog

09/01/2024

The last couple of days we have been worrying about Boukha, Puck’s BFF. ❤️‍🩹

He was admitted in the hospital, underwent emergency surgery and is now recovering, which goes with ups and downs.

This afternoon I got this video: Boukha sniffing for treats ❤️ My heart jumped! It definitely tells us he is feeling a bit better. He’s still in the hospital, so please send some healing vibes to him, he needs them!

This ‘awful adventure’ has been very costly 💰 and we trying to help with that a little bit. Puck already found a way to let me donate some money and together with some friends we are also putting together a raffle basket (or 2). If you can help donating something for that, please let me know. We need this guy home healthy and his mom not left completely broke 😵‍💫

Puck will donate all her treat money to Boukha this month! https://buymeacoffee.com/puzzledog

08/30/2024

I thoroughly enjoyed the 4 days of going live with in the Puzzle Challenge group!

It was very special for me, because every day as soon as I started talking to the camera, she got up from her bed, ready to get to ‘work’ 🥹

This is extraordinary these days (she still is ‘off’ and we still don’t know why). Seeing her enjoy her puzzle sessions is so wonderful 😍🥰

I think I chose the right challenge for her this passed week and I hope the dogs that got to do the challenge too enjoyed it as well.

Although I have ‘quite some’ 😉 puzzle experience I always learn a little from these challenges too. Every dog has their own approach and gives us new insights.

Not a member of the free challenge group yet? Let me know in the comments and I’ll give you the link! You can still participate.

08/29/2024

SOLD OUT!

Canine Professionals, the brand new course 'Sensory Room for Canine Professionals', is starting October 1st!

In this course you will learn all about the ins and outs of the Puzzle Dog Sensory Rooms and you will develop your own setup. Of course we will focus a lot on observations during the course!

The first cohort starts October 1st. I'm accepting max 10 students and 9 spots are already taken 😳, so there is ONLY ONE left! And since that was taken so fast I just opened up ONE EXTRA SPOT!!! And that is sold now too!

You can enroll here: https://professionals.puzzledogacademy.ca/courses/sensory-room-for-canine-professionals

08/28/2024

5 days left!!
Get 25% discount on all Puzzle Pattern booklets in our webshop!

Enjoy some sewing in the air conditioning this summer ☀️
Or start sewing when winter hits ❄️

No coupon code needed, the discount will be applied automatically!

Find the booklets here: https://www.puzzledog.ca/shop

08/27/2024

Starting today: the 4 day Puzzle Dog Stroll Puzzle Challenge!

Where: LIVE in https://www.facebook.com/groups/puzzledogpuzzlechallenge
Time: 3pm AST (2pm EST) - that is 2 hours from now!

How: and I do a short live to demo and explain the challenge of the day. You do the challenge of the day with your dog, upload your video and answer the questions (not mandatory of course!).

Note: please answer the membership questions when you join the group, otherwise your request can't be approved.

08/26/2024

Happy (inter)national dog day!
Let celebratewith some Sensory Room BOOPS! 🐾❤

08/25/2024

Another wonderful day in the Sensory Room with mostly young dogs 😃

They always show us beautifully when their ‘cup is full’: they start goofing around and using the objects as toys 😁
Time to take their pawrents home! 😜

Thank you all for visiting the Sensory Room!

08/25/2024

All set up for a new day of Sensory Rooms at The Paw Pad Retreat!

08/24/2024

We got a BOOP in the Sensory Room today!
Thank you Bru!
Sounds like you even touched the camera! 🤣

08/24/2024

Here they are: the wonderful dogs I got to observe today!!

Small, big, shy, confident: dogs of all sorts enjoy their session in the Sensory Room.🥰

Thank you for their wonderful owners for booking spots and observing with me ❤️

08/24/2024

Look what I’m doing today! 🥰 🐕

I’m all set up at Keep It Simple Dog Training!
Can’t wait to welcome the dogs for their sessions today.

08/23/2024

Featuring the Puzzle Dog Academy!

Puzzle Dog has wonderful online courses for dog owners.
Learn from the comfort of your own home!

Soon we'll be adding the guided 'Puzzle Fun' course again!
The course has been taught from the Hersenwerk for Dogs platform the last couple of years (Hersenwerk InSight), but it will now come back where it started: in the Puzzle Dog Academy ❤

Keep and eye out!

08/22/2024

PEI friends!
The Sensory Room is coming your way again October 19/20!
25% of the spots are sold already! 🥳

After a very successful Sensory Room weekend on PEI last year, we decided to come back! Spot On Dogs is hosting us in their new facility in Charlottetown!

08/21/2024

I have a confession to make: pain is annoying!
It makes you cranky, exhausted and on edge 😱

That is exactly what is happening to me at the moment, I have a wrist injury (right arm) and a shoulder injury (left arm). My energy level is very low and it's hard to be creative. Which makes me nervous, because I have some course writing to do!

And you know what?
When our dogs are in pain it has impact on their mood and energy level too! So if you see sudden changes in behaviour or energy level, please consider a pain factor.

When you and your medical team can't seem to figure out what the problem is a Dynamic Dog assessment might be helpful. I can do that for you ❤

08/20/2024

Did you discover our blogs yet?
These are written from our ‘spicy’ perspective on canine enrichment!

No blog no dog! Enrichment has so many aspects, Puzzle Dog tries to cover them all.

08/19/2024

EDIT: SOLD OUT!

New Brunswick followers!
A spot opened up in Fredericton, Saturday September 21st 11 am 🤩
Check the website for more info and email me to book! ([email protected])

🐾 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙢 🐾

The Sensory Room - in person (Nova Scotia, NB, PEI, .... your location?...)

The Sensory Room is a wonderful 'body&mind experience' for ANY dog: young, old, adolescent, funny, normal, active, fast and slow - and anything in between.
My heart always jumps when a reactive, anxious or a dog with ‘issues’ enjoys their private time sniffing around. They often experience so much stress in the world and the Sensory Room gives them a chance to be away from the stress and relax.

We see dogs getting more confidence and be brave enough to explore things that are a little scary. They don’t have to, it is their choice, which often is exactly what they need.

The Sensory Room is a sensory experience for dogs designed by Puzzle Dog. It's based on and a combination of all the knowledge gained through Hersenwerk for dogs, FreeWork and Dynamic Dog.

The sessions give dogs freedom to engage with their environment freely and make their own choices. The dog can engages with and gathers information from the environment at their own pace.

Walking through the Sensory Room all senses are stimulated: taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight, proprioception and vestibular. And all systems are 'activated': the musculoskeletal-, digestive-, olfactory-, nervous- and lymphatic system.

What happens in the Sensory Room:
During the session, it will be just your dog, you and me in the room. Each and every dog and their owner will have their own private experience in the Sensory Room. We don’t have expectations or goals. The dogs will have the time to explore, and the humans take the time to observe calmly.

Interested to book a spot?
Scan the QR code to find the current schedule!

08/19/2024

Did you check our website yet?
Puzzle Dog has so many cool services, our website has information about them all!

Guided Sensory Rooms & Puzzle Sessions you and your dog will both enjoy. Start seeing your dog's behaviour and movements differently.

08/18/2024

Kathleen and Penny tested our brand new puzzle program for dogs with physical limitations. And they had a blast! ❤ 🐾

Interested?
More info in the comments 🥳

👉 Kathleen's review:
Working with Tessa through specialized 1-on-1 guidance for dogs with physical limitations was such a game changer!
My dog, Penny, has so much energy that sometimes I think the best outlet is walks/hikes, but because of her past injuries and now joint issues, I'm always looking for alternative ways to engage with her.
Because of this program I now have a new understanding of puzzle theory, I know how to incorporate a variety of household items in a creative and novel way, and I can recognize the most comfortable body positions for Penny.
All of the personalized feedback from Tessa has me excited to experiment with even more!
-Kathleen (and Penny!)

08/17/2024

Local peeps: save the dates!
November 9 -16 it’s going to be a ‘Puzzle Dog week’ ❤️

A week full of…… TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT!

I was thinking:
💭 Sensory Room(s) (November 9th for sure).
💭 Escape Room
💭 Puzzle hours - try ’s puzzles!
💭 Dog / Human Sensory trail
💭 Puzzle Workshop
💭 Privates with the subject of your choice

Location: Keep It Simple Dog Training (Avonport / West Brooklyn, NS).
Times: depending on the activity there will be time slots available throughout the day and evening.

Let me know what you would love to do with your dog! 🐕

08/16/2024

We’re back home from our camping trip!

We all had a great time ❤️

is still ‘acting differently’. We support her with some medication and treatments. That makes her feel better, but we also have to accept that our old day routine is not working for her at the moment.

But she still asks for puzzle sessions! Not as many as she used to ask for, but still some good sniffing going on here!

And of course we accept her wishes! 😍

08/15/2024

UPDATE 2: August and September SOLD OUT!
(email me if you want on the waitlist).

UPDATE!
Only 1 afternoon spot left in Eastern Passage September 7th 😃
All other dates and locations SOLD OUT!

The schedule for October/November/December can be found on the Puzzle Dog website.

HRM, NS and Fredericton, NB:
the Sensory Rooms scheduled for August and September have a few spots left!

The Sensory Room is great for ANY dog: a private session, where they get to explore freely, engaging their senses and activating their 'systems'.

Do you have a 'special' dog?
Senior, crazy adolescent, physically limited, reactive: they will enjoy it even more!

The great thing for you as an owner is that you get to sit back, relax and observe. I will share my observations with you during the session. Those observations are eye-opening sometimes! If you want to get to know your dog even better then you already do: this is for you!

Check out our website for all details or email me to book your spot!
I can't wait to meet you and your dog!

The complete schedule for the fall is posted on our website: we will come to several (new) locations across Nova Scotia: Amherst, New Glasgow, Granville Ferry, Avonport, Eastern Passage and Timberlea are on the list. And in October we will also set up in Charlottetown PEI!!

08/14/2024

Puzzles with dogs with physical issues

"Enrichment" is often the one word recommendation for dogs that have physical issues: before or after surgery or chronic issues.
In itself it's a good advise, keeping those dogs entertained can help a lot.

BUT!

Imagine your dog just has gone through a major surgery and they re-injure themselves! That's not what you want to happen, but it can happen when inappropriate enrichment activities are offered.

For example: offering a treat dispensing ball (on a slippery floor) to a dog that just had knee surgery is pretty risky!

The Dutch Hersenwerk method is the perfect method to use for dogs that have physical issues. Calm, connection & customization are the key factors that help safely offer puzzles.

Want to know more?

August 19th I will open up four spots in the new 1-on-1 customized and guided puzzle program for dogs with physical issues.

The goal of the program is to help you offer DIY Puzzles to your dog safely and have fun together! We will look at what materials to use, how to offer them and how to adapt to your dog's limitations.

The offer:

👉🏻 3 months access to a course in the Puzzle Dog Academy that will be customized to your dog’s situation.
👉🏻 The course starts with theory to explain the basics of puzzle sessions - Puzzle Dog uses the wonderful Dutch ‘Hersenwerk method’ for offering puzzles, a method that focuses on teamwork, calmness and adapting to the dog. And in this case safety is very important too.
👉🏻 After the theory you will get assignments to do with your dog so we can customize the puzzle sessions for your dog and adapt them to his physical limitations.
👉🏻 When the assignments are done you’ll get access to more puzzle ideas and inspiration.
👉🏻 Included is a total of 60 minutes of private guidance in the form of written personal feedback on max 15 min. of video of your assignments.
👉🏻 Price of the program: CA$199.

Interested to register for a spot?
Send me an email ([email protected]) and tell me a little about your dog. I'll reply August 19th. It will be first come, first served! If you're not one of the lucky four who gets a spot August 19th I'll put you on the waitlist, I intend to open up new spots bi-weekly.

Can't wait to work with you!

(this is a brand new (but well tested!) program and it can’t be found on the website yet, sorry!)

08/12/2024

In October the Sensory Room will be set up further from (my) home!
I’m so excited to meet the dogs and their owners who will visit!

I’ll be in New Glasgow and Amherst Nova Scotia and I will also be setting up in PEI again!
And to add to that I have November 2nd scheduled for Granville Ferry NS (close to Annapolis Royal).

There are plenty of spots available right now, so if you book now you can choose whether you want a morning or afternoon spot!

Email me to book a spot, check the website for more info!

08/10/2024

Is your dog on crate rest, injured or does he have ongoing chronic issues?

Are you struggling with keeping him calm and content?

Let me help!

August 19th I will open up four spots in the new 1-on-1 customized and guided puzzle program for dogs with physical issues.

The goal of the program is to help you offer DIY Puzzles to your dog safely and have fun together! We will look at what materials to use, how to offer them and how to adapt to your dog's limitations.

The offer:

👉🏻 3 months access to a course in the Puzzle Dog Academy that will be customized to your dog’s situation.
👉🏻 The course starts with theory to explain the basics of puzzle sessions - Puzzle Dog uses the wonderful Dutch ‘Hersenwerk method’ for offering puzzles, a method that focuses on teamwork, calmness and adapting to the dog. And in this case safety is very important too.
👉🏻 After the theory you will get assignments to do with your dog so we can customize the puzzle sessions for your dog and adapt them to his physical limitations.
👉🏻 When the assignments are done you’ll get access to more puzzle ideas and inspiration.
👉🏻 Included is a total of 60 minutes of private guidance in the form of written personal feedback on max 15 min. of video of your assignments.
👉🏻 Price of the program: CA$199.

Interested to register for a spot?
Send me an email ([email protected]) and tell me a little about your dog. I'll reply August 19th. It will be first come, first served! If you're not one of the lucky four who gets a spot August 19th I'll put you on the waitlist, I intend to open up new spots bi-weekly.

Can't wait to work with you!

(this is a brand new (but well tested!) program and it can’t be found on the website yet, sorry!)

08/09/2024

Friday, pizza day! 🍕

We have two pizza puzzles and decided to do them both today!

What puzzles do you do today?

Have a great weekend!!

08/07/2024

Update: only 2 (afternoon) spots left!!

Book your spot for the Sensory Room in Timberlea today!

👉🏻 An enriching experience for your dog
👉🏻 A great observation opportunity for you!

I’ll share my observations during the session: we look at posture, movements, choices, confidence building, resilience and more!

In 35 minutes you learn to look at your dog differently!

Reach out through email to book your spot: [email protected]

More info can be found on our website.

08/06/2024

Sniffing and foraging is such a healthy thing for dogs to do! Engaging their nose, activating the seeking system, lowering the heart rate.

enjoys an easy snuffle puzzle as much (or more!) as she enjoys more difficult puzzles.

Especially when we are camping she prefers the easy snuffle games. So that’s what we do!