Adaptive Behaviour

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Adaptive Behaviour

Helping dogs and humans learn, adapt and thrive with science and kindness. I will adapt and modify to ensure you can achieve your goals.

I provide knowledgable, kind and committed behavioural and training help, especially for:
- New puppies and rescue dogs
- Life skills/manners training
- Socialisation
- Reactivity

Join a small-group class or sign up for a private program tailored for maximum success. To find out more, book a free 30minute discovery call at https://adaptivebehaviour.co.nz/discovery

Why work with me? I possess un

iversity education in both zoology and psychology and have a PhD specialising in learning and behaviour. I have skills and experience gained from 10+ years of working with animals and dogs in a variety of settings. I have experience and specialist training in communication and teaching humans as well as dogs. I can break down complex ideas in ways that are simple to understand, and will do my best to ensure you are heard, and understood. My programs are flexible and designed to suit your and your dog's needs and lifestyle. My support is not limited to our face-to-face sessions; I provide learning guides and am available for help every step of the way so you can move through the training process with trust and confidence - I've got you (and your dog)!

26/11/2025

Some doodly double dog chinrest training, because who doesn't enjoy a bit of chaos while teaching a puppy a new trick 🤪

Things to note:
1. This is Miki's second mini chinrest session - does she know what she's doing? Not really! We are working on solid placement of chin in palm and a teeny tiny bit of stillness... 🤞
2. Forte has a solid chinrest but he won't put his chin in my palm since he even though he insists on participating, it is with only a minimal amount of exertion (sighthounds 🙄😅🤣). I'm happy to compromise and meet him in the middle, but If he were more sensitive about handling, I wouldn't be moving to hold his chin (because of greater risk of overwhelming/startling him).

How's your dog's chinrest looking? Do some practice today!

24/11/2025

We had a fun life skills walk on the weekend with two superstar puppies, Atlas and Fifi 🥰 They've been working on their manners over the course of their memberships and really showed off what they've learned in this busy downtown environment!

I'm so proud of Fifi for keeping her cool around all the people and bikes (which can be a little scary) and Atlas for being such a great support buddy.

Walks with friends are a great way to (low-key) meet our dog's social needs and practice some skills! I love being able to set these opportunities up for my clients 💕 (especially when they're such cute pups! 😁).

16/11/2025

Don't mind us, just loose leash walking a 6 mth old puppy in a brand new, extra-sniffy walk spot! 😎😁

Not an easy feat and full credit to Fifi's humans for all the hard work they've put in building the relationship and communication that makes this possible.

Fifi is playing a pattern game to provide a bit of structure and predictability that makes moving without getting too excited or distracted a lot easier. Also, by waiting for Fifi to offer attention before going anywhere, we can be confident she is calm, done processing what's going on around her, and ready to move together to somewhere new.

I love watching dogs and their humans enjoy moving through the world as a team without needing tight leashes or constant nagging - often a good dose of patience, effective support when our dogs start to struggle, a strong spirit of (mutual) cooperation (and some handy tricks) can make all the difference! 🤗

13/11/2025

We have another (temporary) new addition! Miki has been with us for a few weeks and is settling in great (her cheeky side is coming out now 😅). Keep an eye out for more pics and training videos! If you are looking for a sweet, lovable, slightly odd duck 😁 to add to your family, check her out at

30/10/2025

Email issues fixed! 🥳 Please feel free to resume regular communication.

After this experience, I am really appreciating clear and informative feedback, and had some dog training-related thoughts about this...

(TLDR: no reward/error signals are annoying and unhelpful if they aren't backed up with support to get to the right behaviour)

Trying to log into my account (multiple times - classic frustration response 😅), all I received was a generic error message:
"𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻". There was no information about what went wrong and no way to contact support to find out what could be done, which meant I had no control over the outcome. This was not stressful but also incredibly rage-inducing - I really wanted/needed to get into my account, but couldn’t and had no idea why or how to fix this problem.

Now contrast this with my broken dishwasher last night (yes, technology is not my friend right now) - it stopped working, showing a specific error code. With a little investigation I determined that this meant it wasn't draining, and how to fix it - the problem was solved much more efficiently, with less stress, and I felt confident and capable afterwards. I also now have extra knowledge that may come in handy in the future. Overall, a much more productive and less unpleasant experience (even though both issues were resolved in the end)

All of this this reminded me of the corrective No’s or No-Reward Markers (NRM) that people often use in training. One perspective for using these is to communicate when our dogs have made a "mistake" ❌, i.e. expectations (or reinforcement criteria) have not been met and womp womp , no reinforcement is coming👎.

However, how effective is this in teaching our dogs to do what we want them to? Yes, NRM's can inform that that behaviour failed to earn reinforcement, but this in turn creates frustration, stress and now future uncertainty about how and when to get the next reinforcer.

I think a better approach is to:
not just use a generic "wrong, try again" cue, then leave your learner to figure it out with trial and error,
BUT
𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦

𝘈𝘕𝘋/𝘖𝘙

𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳
𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵.

Can you relate? Do you use NRMs? What do you think?

29/10/2025

My tech woes continue - Google has kindly decided to lock me out of one of my work accounts for the foreseeable future so please email [email protected] or text (for current clients), or message on Facebook if you need to get in touch.

Apologies for any inconvenience! Am doing my best to get this resolved ASAP.

06/10/2025

I'm back and looking forward to catching up with all my clients!

My phone was broken while adventuring so I have slightly limited functionality for the next few weeks - responses to messages and social media posts might be a little delayed while it gets sorted. If you need to get in touch, e-mail is preferred for any non-urgent matters. Thank you for understanding 🤗

Didn't manage to snap any cute dog pics while away, but here are a few approximations...

18/09/2025

I'm disappearing for a few weeks to enjoy some non-work related reinforcement 😎🤗

Responses to messages and emails will likely be delayed over this time, but I'll be back, recharged and rarin' to go from Sunday Oct 5.

12/09/2025

The pursuit of perfection can sabotage training. When we're fixated on getting everything right, we might freeze and refuse to try for fear of failing, or get too stressed when outcomes differ from expectations.

Dogs can experience this too! If dogs have been punished or anticipate negative consequences for mistakes they often:
🙅 Are reluctant to engage in novel tasks
💢️ Hesitate when faced with ambiguous cues
😧 Exhibit stress-related behaviors (avoidance, freezing, silliness) that interfere with training

The truth is that successful training isn't about doing everything flawlessly —it's about gradual improvements through productive (positive) practice!

Mistakes provide valuable feedback that:
✅Identifies effective strategies/choices for both handler and dog
💡Highlights areas requiring change
🗓 Informs subsequent training decisions

Let’s embrace the sometimes messy process of learning: if we can objectively observe and evaluate our training choices and their impact on behaviour, and adapt our approach accordingly, we can achieve our training goals faster and with less frustration.

How do we shift from perfectionism to productive practice? Check out these tips to help you and your dog learn effectively, even when things don't go according to plan!

13/08/2025

Twins! Forte found a brother from another mother 💕

Pokey is a new-ish transplant who's a little shy and not very keen on other dogs after some bad experiences when he was young, but Forte won him over with his low-key charm.

It's been several years since Forte has hung out with another Silken (there aren't many in NZ), and he was really excited to see one of his extended family.

Spending time with others of the same breed/similar breed type can be great as they tend to communicate and play the same, so interactions are easier. These two are much too sophisticated for shenanigans at the paddock but were down for politely begging for treats in tandem.

05/08/2025

Spotty update!

I've had more than a few people asking about wee Spot, and I'm very happy to say he has found his forever home with the most amazing family down south 🥰.

He is settling in really well and they are keeping up on (and with) his tricks! 😁

Thanks for helping another special doggo find the best home. Took almost a year, but we got there in the end 😅!

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Website

https://bio.site/adaptivebehaviour, http://iaabc.org/, http://apdtnz.org.nz/, http://www.companionanimals.nz/

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