Cold Nose Canine, LLC

29/10/2025

Thank you to Tails & Trails for hosting the nose work workshop last night!! A sniffing good time was had by all!!

22/10/2025

I enjoyed sharing ideas with the staff at Tails & Trails!! I am grateful for the opportunity!!

Thank you to Holly Lewis from Cold Nose Canine for meeting with our team this week during our lunch ‘n learn! As a team, we’re always looking to further our knowledge on dog behavior, health, and training. Holly’s expertise in the training and behavior field and passion for helping dogs and their families provided us with helpful insights, tools and knowledge for continuing to provide the best service we can to our pups and their families 💕

13/08/2025

All the "F's"

WHAT THE F? –
Stress responses in dogs

Fight or flight are well known reactions to fear or stress, but these other “F” words are also important to understand and be aware of as they may not always look obvious.

Freeze, Fawn, Fidget and Fool around are also responses to stress or fear and are also commonly seen in people.

Some dogs may have a genetic predisposition to one type of response while some react based on previous or a learnt experience - what has worked before or what hasn’t.

Some dogs will have different reactions depending on the specific context.

Recognising and taking note of situations or circumstances where these responses are seen is important to understand how our dogs are feeling.
Take note and be aware of what an individual dog’s signs of stress look like and try to avoid exposing them to situations where they feel stuck or trapped.

Try to give dogs as much appropriate choice as possible. Look at using positive reinforcement to help dogs form new, neutral or positive associations.

When we take the time to recognise a fear or a stress response, we are able to intervene and advocate for our dogs before the situation escalates or becomes a learnt pattern.

31/07/2025

30/07/2025

Know what positive reinforcement really means!

“I tried positive reinforcement, but it didn’t work.”
That’s a common phrase, but it’s actually not accurate. Just because you give your dog a treat does not mean you are using positive reinforcement!

⭐ Positive reinforcement is an OUTCOME, not a methodology, as far as behavior principles are concerned.

A behavior that has been reinforced is a behavior that, after a particular outcome (aka, result or consequence), occurs more frequently. Learning is about behavior patterns, and the only way we, as trainers and behavior specialists, can determine if a behavior has been learned in the way we intended is to observe whether the behavior increases or decreases in frequency. In other words, what does the animal do next?

A reinforced behavior is one that gets repeated. A behavior that gets repeated is one that has been reinforced.
And here’s the important part: that reinforcement is often not tied to what you, as the trainer, thought you were teaching or “reinforcing.”

If you're trying to reinforce Behavior A in a specific situation but Behavior B keeps happening instead, then positive reinforcement isn’t being used effectively.
In fact, reinforcement is happening, just not for the behavior you intended.
How do you know? By simply watching your pet’s behavior patterns.
What happened after you tried to reinforce Behavior A? What behavior showed up next? That’s where the real reinforcement lies.

At Synergy, whether we are working with aggressive behavior or training in scent work, our trainers always consider this question: What is reinforcing this behavior?
It is almost always about an animal attempting to meet their emotional and physical needs. Once we answer this question, we are then able to help meet this animal’s needs in a way that also meets the human’s needs- and because we understand the principles of reinforcement, we never have to utilize pain or fear to accomplish this goal.

Reinforcement drives behavior!

28/05/2025

No judgment, just support—that’s what it should be all about when it comes to training. Every dog and every owner has their own unique journey, and the last thing people need is to feel like they’re being criticized. You will find no judgement when working with Cold Nose Canine!!

26/05/2025

Puppies are absolutely adorable AND a lot of work!! Thankfully the cuteness factor makes up for the struggles!! Let us support you on your journey with your puppy and make things even easier!!

24/05/2025

Middle is a great way to help fearful dogs feel safe! Bowie is concerned about people. She knows while she is in the middle position she will be protected and safe!

21/05/2025

Sweet Lola is a young girl with so much joy for people!! She loves them! We are working on polite greetings so she doesn't bowl anyone over!

21/05/2025

Positive training works for EVERY breed/species. There is no question!

19/04/2025

This is such a timely enrichment idea!! (Be sure to only use paper egg cartons.)

Dog Enrichment Ideas | Dog Owner Tips 4 DIY enrichment Activities For Dogs Using Egg Cartons ByCaitlin May 3, 2023February 17, 2024 For those that don’t know, I have a dog named Annie who is a cattle dog/aussie/pointer mix who is too smart for her own good! Now, don’t get me wrong, her being sma...