Leaps and Hounds Behavior

12/08/2025

Upcoming course for expecting families whinhave dogs!!

Alison with Hearts and Paws is an amazing Family Paws Parent Educator and CPDT-KA, and a wonderful friend, colleague, mom, and all around kind human being. And this is being held at Fusion Pet Retreat! I mean, how could this be more awesome! 🤩 👏

Are you or someone you know expecting a baby next year?
Dogs & Storks® is an essential program for new and expecting families with dogs. In this presentation, you will learn how to best prepare with your family dog for your baby’s homecoming. Situations that put young children at risk and cause family dogs to lose their homes can occur even with the best intentions, but these common problems can be preventable with a good plan from the start.
It’s common to have questions and concerns. Should we bring home the blanket? Will my dog be jealous of the baby? Do we have to change where our dog sleeps? How do we introduce our dog and baby? What can we do to prepare? These questions and more will be covered as we discuss how best to facilitate a smooth homecoming for your whole family. In addition, attendees will become familiar with their dog’s subtle communication signals, consider their dog’s learning history and sensitivities, and walk away with tips to get started immediately as they work to set up their homes for success.
This course is designed for expectant families, families who are adopting a baby, and anyone who has dogs and cares for infants up to three months of age. The class is for people only, please leave your dogs at home.

When: Dec 20th 10:30-11:30am
Where: Fusion Pet Retreat
Sign up here: https://fusionpetretreat.com/dog-training/events/

12/04/2025

Dog Behavior and Veterinary Pros! This is an incredible opportunity here to learn from one of our fellow LFDMs, Helen St. Pierre. She has a wealth of experience in 'end of life' and behavioral euthanasia decisions, on so many levels. (That is an understatement

Join Helen St. Pierre to learn how to assess quality of life in aggression cases, navigate emotional conversations, and support families through euthanasia and grief with compassion.

12/03/2025

Yup! Look beyond the behavior and get to the roots, which is both understanding and supporting ALL the needs of the individual dog.

12/03/2025

Our friend and colleague Heather with emBARK makes a great point here! "Chasing quick fixes" often has unintended consequences. And it can really be a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. Instead, we want to be meeting all the needs of the dog in front of us, including their affective state (emotions).

12/02/2025

And they have their beloved four-legged with them

11/29/2025

No time like the present to take the L.E.G.S. Applied Ethology FDM Professional Course! This course filled in so many gaps in my own learning and consulting on dog behavior, and at the same time, it validated where, or why, I was feeling stuck in my trajectory.

And, it's the gift that keeps giving - I learn so much from other pros in the L.E.G.S./FDM community (and even get to revisit the course!).

There's been a noticeable shift since I started incorporating L.E.G.S./FDM - a 'Welfare First' model. I've tracked a growing number of clients/families who are now, for the first time, feeling like they're understanding "the dog in front of them as an individual", and ALL the needs underlying those so-called "behavior problems".

Often, what we uncover is not the "perfect obedient dog" they once idealized, but rather, a dog with unmet needs (L.E.G.S.) that are ever changing. That's so relieving for many families to recognize - the notion of a "good" or "bad" dog, or behavior, often just falls by the wayside. That's the heavy lift for us, the rest is about supporting that individual dog's and family's needs.

It's progress, rather than perfection. (Something I have to remind myself of - as I TOO have a tendency to idealize.) It's been incredibly fulfilling for me these last couple years to see families and dogs start living their best lives (welfare) - and through relationships built on understanding, trust, safety, harmony, and joy. That's what it's all about in my book ❤

“We have to start seeing dogs as captive animals. That’s what they are. They’re captive animals living in human homes, subject to human expectations, with little to no control over their environment or access to natural behaviors.”
— Kim Brophey, Total Welfare Talk

It’s time we faced a difficult truth.

Dogs aren’t just pets. They’re animals with deep instincts and biological needs that rarely fit the world we’ve built for them. We expect them to be quiet, calm, easy, and accommodating. We expect them to nap while we’re gone, ignore their instincts, and adapt to environments that make no biological sense for who they are.

Most pet dogs are living in captivity, unable to freely explore, forage, hunt, socialize, or protect what matters to them. And when those needs go unmet, the fallout shows up as “behavior problems.”

It’s not disobedience.
It’s captivity distress.

The Total Welfare model helps us see this clearly and gives dog pros a practical, science-based path forward. It distills established animal welfare principles into a simple 3-step program:

1. Understand and accept each dog’s unique L.E.G.S.
2. Improve welfare to deliver the Good Life, instead of increasing restrictions.
3. Track progress through behavioral diversity surveys that reflect welfare status.

And soon, the Total Welfare App will bring all of this into one place.

Welfare tracking, case management, and behavioral diversity data right on your phone.

It’s not about control.
It’s about compassion, responsibility, and the future of our field.

You cannot take the first step toward Total Welfare without L.E.G.S., which is why we’re making it easy this November.

The L.E.G.S.® Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation Professional Course, now updated with the Total Welfare Framework, helps dog professionals move beyond behavior management to true behavioral resolution by identifying and addressing welfare deficits at their source.

When we focus on welfare, everything changes. For dogs, and for the people who love them.
✨ 50% off sitewide all November
Code: GRATEFUL50
🔗 https://kimbropheylegscourses.thinkific.com/pages/pro-landing-page

11/27/2025

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends! 🦃🍁🙏

11/23/2025

The families we support are learning all about the POWER of predictable patterns (PPPs) and how to identify and build these with their dogs. PPPs leverage contextual or environmental cues, to convey meaning for our dogs (and us) and inform what's coming next - they're such a critical aspect in our Family Dog Mediation work!

Here's an excellent video from one our fellow FDMs Miss Behavior Training, where she walks through the concept of PPPs and how we can harness them to create predictability, safety, stability, and trust for our dogs!!

Dogs are expert pattern detectors. Whether we plan it or not, our daily rhythms—alarms, shoes, coffee, leashes—create meaning for our pups. In this video, I ...

11/15/2025

Just came across our feed!! This is an excellent FREE resource for supporting the needs and welfare of deaf and blind dogs 🐕 ❤️🙏

Free e-book Your Blind & Deaf Dog: All You Need to Know to Get Started on the Right Path, by Deb Bauer, Blind and Deaf Dog Expert

https://uniquely-paws-able.teachable.com/p/blind-deaf-dog-ebook

11/14/2025

Luna “Looney Tunes” first visit to a rich and beautiful 10 acre Sniffspot yesterday. Look at the pure bliss and joy when she found this bone!! This is the perfect space for dogs to romp and do dog things in nature 🌳🌎🐕