ImPAWsible Possible

21/06/2025

Kibble Art with my Therapy Tails Level 4 class this morning!

19/06/2025

More chair shenanigans last night in Therapy Tails Level 2. Why sit on the floor when you can sit on a chair!?

11/06/2025

One of the most challenging things for me given the magnitude of impact that Mouse had on my life trajectory and work, has been to articulate what exactly I learned from Mouse. This is my latest attempt to do just that, as I prepare for a summer "sabbatical" that will include publishing the theory that emerged from what Mouse taught me (that is operationalized in Pooch Peacekeeping). Creating the new and improved Pooch Peacekeeping which will be called Pooch Peacebuilding (details coming soonish), preparing presentations for the IAPCT and Behaviour, Eh, reinvisioning ImPAWsible Possible to better align with everything that has happened and co-authoring a book with Brian Fleming ! While this is exhausting to even think about, I am seriously so excited and also amazed at everything that has unfolded, all thanks to Mouse.

"One of my greatest teachers was Mouse (see photo), my late rescue dog who came to me in 2011 with separation anxiety, reactivity, and aggression (that’s the short list). My goal was to “fix” Mouse with all my scientific tools and protocols, but Mouse had a bigger lesson for me. Mouse taught me to truly see him and the interconnected web connecting both of us.

Mouse showed me that behaviour doesn’t exist in isolation; it is part of an unfolding story between dog, human, and world. I came to understand that my world and Mouse’s were inherently different. As Gomez-Marin & Ghazanfar (2019) say, “all animals share a common world, but not all animals share a world in common.” The inherent tension held in this difference that is present in every relationship can either catalyze growth or become a destructive force.

The most profound lesson I learned from Mouse was about identity. Who we are and who our dogs are is made real in relationship. And within every relationship there is an inherent paradox. The simultaneous desire to assert our independence and to integrate (Gatlin, 1972). Unity comes from the continuous ebb and flow between these opposites (Capra, 2020). This is illuminated in the Zulu greeting Sawubona (“I see you”) and the response Ngikhona (“I am here”). Until we are truly seen, we don’t fully exist. As Cabrera (2021) writes, Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu “A person is a person through other people.” Identity emerges out of relationship.

Mouse passed away in August 2024. His legacy of love lives on in all of my work."

09/06/2025

Super excited to share that I’ll be presenting with my friend and colleague Brian Fleming at this year’s International Association for Perceptual Control Theory (IAPCT) Conference in October!

We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to speak and share our work and passion with some of the most revolutionary thinkers and scientists of our time.

I’ll be sure to share more details as they become available for anyone interested in participating (it’s free to attend online!).

A huge thank you to all of you who have cheered me on from the sidelines as I’ve relentlessly and obsessively pursued new paradigms for understanding these beautiful creatures we share our lives with.

Perceptual Control Theory flips the script on all other behavioural theories by taking the subjective, first-person point of view (vs. the third-person observer perspective), allowing us to understand an individual (dog or person) through their own eyes. This revolutionary theory was developed by William T. Powers in the 1950s.

We cannot wait to share what we’ve been working on with you!

P.S. Our book that applies this work is also in the works… stay tuned!

07/06/2025

31/05/2025

Only the best for my canine students. They get the chairs while their awesome humans well erm... 😆 🤣

26/05/2025

I'm out on a walk in Calgary and me thinks a storm is brewing!!!

There’s that palpable tension in the air.
There’s wind, yet also stillness.
There’s heat, but also coolness.
There’s a charge to the air that you can’t see, but you know is there.

Naturally (well, if you know how my brain works anyways) this makes me think of conflict and the gaps (differences) that create the potential for conflict.

Gaps between what a dog experiences and what they want (or need) to experience.
Gaps between our dogs and us, who they are and who we want them to be.
Gaps between dogs and other dogs, people and other people.

That space "between," held in the gap, is full of potential for growth, connection, learning, and evolution. Or it can be a destructive force.

As behaviour consultants, guardians, humans, we feel that energy all the time.
We say something to a client, friend or family member and there is tension.

We can feel the tension between us and a dog, or between a dog and another dog. Sometimes it can be subtle i.e., you want to go in one direction on your walk and your dog wants to go in the other (see my entire relationship with Mouse for details..😆 🤣)

In that moment, in the middle of the gap, in that place that holds tension, we have a choice.

We can lean into it and harness it as a catalyst for transformation (and just in case in the abstract-ness of my post this is unclear - I do not mean letting the dogs just work it out!)
Or we can run from it, push it down, distract from it, and miss the opportunity and we can get caught up in the storm.

Tension isn’t the enemy. And neither is conflict.
It can be a powerful catalyst for growth.

20/05/2025

*FULL! PLEASE CHECK WEBSITE FOR NEXT INTAKE

Great news! I've been able to open up another round of Feisty Fido Breakthrough, starting Wednesday, May 28. The first class is an online, human-only session, followed by four 2-hour, in-person outdoor classes.

Last round sold out in just a couple of days, so if you're interested, grab your spot right away! Check out the link in the comments for all of the details.

19/05/2025

Had the absolute privilege of presenting at the L.E.G.S in Motion Conference yesterday in Concord, New Hampshire with my colleague and friend Brian, who I had never met in person until 3 days ago. Brian and I met nearly 3 years ago and started a nerdy and continuous dialogue all born from our deep desire to better understand and help dogs and humans. Our presentation yesterday introduced an entirely new paradigm for dog behaviour that takes the an inside-out perspective (through the eyes of the dog or human) on training and behaviour (all other paradigms are outside-in perspective (through the eyes of the observer). We were able to present pre-published work out of Duke University on this topic. In the next few months we will be publishing a book introducing this paradigm into the field (it will be geared for both professionals and dog owners so stay tuned!). I promise more details as this all unfolds but wanted to officially share this with you all and to again thank each and everyone one of you for your continued support ❤️

11/05/2025

Can’t believe I forgot to post these from last Saturday’s Therapy Tails Level 3 – Public Skills graduation! These cracked me up. They were taken within a few seconds of each other. Basically, from the party bus to the silent retreat bus in two frames 😆 🤣

A huge thank you and congratulations to all of these teams for their incredible work!!!

10/05/2025

Friendly Fido's days are the best days! I seriously love this group of dogs and people who amaze me everytime we meet with their dedication to working through some of the most difficult behaviours and rough patches a person can ever experience with a dog from reactivity to aggression to social awkwardness and everything in between. I am truly so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the journey with this crew.

❤ Cat 🐈