The Mindful Pupper

15/12/2024

Just some personal wins: after a long break from Rally to help build up Detmer, I decided to sign her up just to see where she was at training wise.

Well, over 3 trials we finished our RN. We consistently places in first or second and I could t be more proud.

It’s a little intimidating trialing a dog who didn’t grow up with dogs shows being a normal part of their experience, so we continue to take things slow and build confidence.

Shout out to my wonderful partner who is learning to take photos of animals/trials/in weird lighting. I absolutely adore these images.

12/12/2024

In-person class signups are available!

Woof Wisdom - Dog Training and Behavior Consultations and I have been having a blast meeting more community members and support other small businesses .

We are offering a FREE meet the trainer event this coming Tuesday at SteamDonkey Brewery in Aberdeen.
Join us for dog related crafts and enrichment and share all about your dogs!

Compassionate Canine Collective

04/12/2024

Noticing some changes? Our new class options are up on the website!

We have some super exciting additions happening and even more fun collaborations with other trainers (who can turn down teamwork?)

Take a look at our new courses for Tumwater and Aberdeen locations.

27/11/2024

Adolescent brains do some funky stuff! When you add mental and physical development to the mix, it’s not good enough to just do it once or twice.

Spotted these stairs in the wild, and even if I don’t have to go the second floor, I’m not gonna miss an opportunity to work on my dogs depth perception and body mechanics.

What are some cool things y’all have seen recently that you wanted to go back and work with (whether you could or not)?

27/11/2024

Setting Holiday Boundaries Service Dog Style!

I'm coaching some clients on how to handle the first holiday season with a service dog, so I thought I would share some thoughts.
1) Setting expectations: both internally and externally- what do you hope your SD to get out of this, what do you want to get out of this, and what do you want to share with others?
2) Take strategic breaks: even if things are going well! I encourage people to practice moving away and coming back just to help keep everyone as regulated at they can.
3) Make a list of common talking points: think about your answers ahead of time. Questions about your disability, specifics about your dog, what they are training for... it's okay to set limits on how much you share.
4) Plan calm break areas: preplan some opportunities for your SD to chill or be out of the way and relax. These can also be a signal for others to leave them alone (mat time, a bone or kong, a nap in a different room are all great practice opportunities.

26/11/2024

Clients have been sharing their concerns with me about how to talk to family members who have different training philosophies.

I think that is such an individual situation and so important to guage and preplan to defuse conflict. That said, if it's specifically about having your dogs around during the holidays, either visiting someone else or others coming to your home, here are some ideas to help make things go a little smoother.

24/11/2024

In October, I spontaneously signed up my lab for our first Rally debut, and she did not disappoint. Our focus for the past years have been on growing up, service dog skills, public manners, and adjusting to my own disability shifts. My dreams of Rally kept fading into the background.

I've been really enjoying teaching my rally classes for the past six months and it's been a huge reminder of how much I miss being in the ring with my own dogs. Because Detmer wasn't raised as a showed dog we are catching up to some core training and exposure to all things dog trials. That said- she blew me away- I love those moments where your training comes together and the next steps become clearer and more realistic.

My partner was able to join me (with some bribery) to get a few lovely pictures of us in the ring.

11/11/2024

Why do I use foundations of mindfulness to inform my dog training? Because it's so important to acknowledge what isn't working and the feelings driving that. As opposed to just forcing things to work. And hey, maybe some things do work but they don't feel good.

This last week was rough, in a variety of ways. I know I was personally already exhausted and I hate it when I am left with more questions than answers.

So join me in holding space for some training moments that left me frustrated and angry.

[image description: Center square text reads "Mindfulness is not about focusing on positivity. It’s about sitting in the moment honestly, without needing to find resolve." Top left square is image of Dog not pottying in a dog relief area at the airport before a 6hr flight. Top right is black lab sitting and watching obedience ring from a distance to help work on big dog feelings for sports. Bottom left is Paul sitting helplessly in a chair on the side of a private rally course feeling mad and disconnected from black lab partner, bottom right is Paul sitting on the floor with smooth collie looking at them after barking from frustration in a training session.]

25/10/2024

What a great demonstration!

You ever try to have someone explain a new concept AS you are going through the steps? Frustration,mental fatigue, general confusion can and does affect how we remember the problem.

Making small changes to the environment and training setup is going to help improve learning ability.

23/10/2024

I used to hate dog clothes and costumes, but then I got a 7lb chihuahua that easily freezes if the sun isn't out... and then I got a collie who thinks the attention he gets with putting on costumes is hilarious. On top of that you add in Service Dog training, where these dogs need to be okay with thinks touching them.

There is a lot of solid overlap as to why your dog might like costumes, or why you might want to use costumes in training. The goal is to make sure you are actually training them through it.

02/10/2024

okay I love this.

I have been thinking a lot more intentionally about public expectations and interactions with dogs. Specifically when people require participation in an interaction in order for their dog (normally "friendly" dog) to be able to co-exist with mine or clients.

I really like the way this is phrased though.

Ever been walking your dog and you see a person walking their dog heading straight towards you, so you try to calmly lead your dog away and they shout "Its okay he's friendly"! They may even speed up to catch up with us as you desperately try to get away.

Ahh the four words that make us cringe and grit our teeth! The thing is, it doesn't matter if their dog is friendly, your main concern is how your dog feels. Their confident dog is not going to make our nervous dog feel any better, anymore than a confident spider would help my arachnophobia. ( I need the spider to be far far away)

Now I don't ever shout back "mines not friendly" because reactive dogs are friendly, just not with every person or/and every dog they meet and that's okay. I calmly shout my dog is nervous and walk away. When walkers or guardians of reactive dogs walk away from other people or dogs, they are not being rude, they are trying to keep their dog below coping threshold, in order to progress with their training. Using a random person and dog in a busy place and a narrow environment with restricted choices, is not the ideal place to set up a training session, and lets face it most people that say their dog is friendly have a dog that is impolite and boisterous. Usually, they are over-friendly and likely the reason our dog is reactive in the first place.

So if you have or walk a reactive dog, don't feel bad for walking away and doing what is best for your dog. Keep up the good work, because management of stressors is a crucial part of building your dog's resilience. If you are an onlooker of this situation, recognise that guardians and walkers are working hard to keep their dog feeling safe and calm, and maintain your distance. It is nothing personal; it is part of management and ensures the success of their training.- Holly Leake

18/08/2024

It happened again, as it does every week, I was out with Detmer and someone started up a conversation and eventually asked how they can certify their dog as a service dog.
Then again in our reactive dog class someone asked how they can make their dog brewery dog.

I'm playing around ways to answer these questions while framing work boundaries (having business cards helps). I try to frame it as 1) have you engaged in this level of training before? and 2) does your dog want to do that? Guaranteed, the responses are how much their dog loves them and will do anything for them.

The nuances are many. The background knowledge and experience those of us who have been doing this professionally for years and work in multiple venues is invaluable to the conversation.

I cannot say if a dog loves someone or not, that is complicated, but I can say that in my experience there are a number of reasons dogs will do things they don't actually want to do. And that is not a long term sustainable dynamic.

So how do you know if they want to? Well that's based on the team, but the training relationship part of that comes first. And that's where I come in. I want to help you build up that training relationship to at least test these goals. I am opening up private lessons again and planning some group courses around environmental stability, trust building, and opt-in (or out) options for service dogs.

25/07/2024

I am often accused of avoiding training, when I hide my reactive dog behind a tree or a car, as another dog passes, but in reality I am trying to ensure we continue to progress with training. Not every situation or environment is conducive to learning. In order, to ensure training is successful, we need to prevent opportunities for the behaviour to be practiced, between structured sessions to modify the behaviour. If we don't implement management and we allow our dog to go over their coping threshold and display reactive behaviour, it hinders training progress, regardless of how well the sessions are going. It can be a case of one step forwards and three steps back.

Therefore, if a dog is off-lead, if the dog's proximity is too close or the environment is too distracting, I will avoid that dog, block my dog's vision or lead him away with an emergency cue and treat. I will wait until the circumstances and environment are safe and appropriate for training. Doing this, prevents trigger stacking and ensures my dog is beginning to build up a history of positive experiences with other dogs. Other management for reactive behaviour may include:

- Choosing walking environments carefully.
- Avoiding busy times for dog walkers.
- Blocking visuals in the window or door in the home.
- Eliminating stressors where possible.
- Increasing the distance between your dog and others.
- Changing direction or routes to avoid dogs.
- Scatter feeding as a distraction.
- Having breaks from walks.
- Providing enrichment for decompression.

Management comes in many forms and should be used to address a variety of behavioural struggles. It is a necessary part of training and behaviour modification. Its why we call it 'the magic of management.' It is not the avoidance of training but the preservation of progress! - Holly Leake

20/07/2024

Back home with a fully schedule but FIRST I got to temperament test this litter of nuggets.

18/07/2024

Spent a few days doing some personal adventuring before headed home after the CU conference.

I’ve been able to do some minor reflection and am looking forward to building on to the talks from this weekend.

In the meantime: this was Detmers longest flight, longest travel, first conference… really the list goes on. She did amazing but when I planned I didn’t account for things going wrong. We rallied so much and were able to hold onto some brains for the trip home.

Keep an eye out for things that we did to help ensure a safe travel day home.

15/07/2024

Presentation complete! You all were so nice in the video comments.

This was such an amazing weekend and I am so thankful for the opportunity.