Leaps and Hounds Behavior

Brian and Jelly love to pick raspberries together ❤🙌 What’s one activity your dog loves to do, that supports their L.E.G.S. and helps them live their best life? #leapsandhoundsbehavior #LEGS #familydogmediation #adogswellbeing

The “Karl Hack”! Go Sage 🙌🤩#familydogmediation #leapsandhoundsbehavior

Team Archie - Basket Muzzle WIN!

TEAM ARCHIE has recently hit a milestone with basket muzzle training 🙌🤩 Archie’s now wearing it, strapped over his mouth, for short intervals while he gets all the affection and YUMMY liver spray ✅ Admittedly this is but a small glimpse of their progress! Alison understands and supports his L.E.G.S. as an adolescent herder who’s not quite sure ‘how he feels/what to do about’ strangers in close proximity spaces- inside the home. We are SOOO proud of Archie and Alison – the social communication and trust they’ve built with each other is a beautiful sight to see ❤️🙌 *Shared with permission* #leapsandhoundsbehavior #familydogmediation #LEGS #beyonddogtraining #rewardbasedmethods #teachwithkindness #MrRogersHack #basketmuzzletraining #herders #wisconsindogs

Play is a great barometer of a dog's emotional state <3 All about supporting their L.E.G.S.! We can't wait to meet Raul and his human again!!

Our pal Raul has been thriving!! So lovely to see him feeling safe and his inner SELF emerging, thanks to his human creating that space and opportunity for him. They make such an incredible team! 🥰🐕 #MrRogersHack #TreatandRetreat #emotionalsafety #rewardbased #leapsandhoundsbehavior

Yoda and I having more FUN with Do as I Do! We LOVE this game ❤️🙌 Our next online Do as I Do class starts Saturday 2/17. Sign up at leapsandhoundsbehavior.com/scheduling #leapsandhoundsbehavior #sociallearningindogs #LEGS #Minneapolis #StPaul #Minnesota

Excellent progress from week 5 of our Do as I Do class! It’s been so much fun working with Katrina Drake and Lindsay Kinney, they’re so talented and creative ❤️🙌 In this short clip, Katrina and Malus, her brilliant and lovely JRT, are adding a new ‘sit on a platform’ behavior to the game. We just love how Katrina supports his learning here! We are so grateful for the opportunity to support and learn from each other, and troubleshoot on the fly! Side note: Apologies for the video orienting away from Malus and Katrina— technology! 🙃 Video of Lindsay and Mooch Ain't Misbehavin' coming soon! Our next Do as I Do class starts 2/17. Sign up at leapsandhoundsbehavior.com/scheduling

This may not look like much but there’s SO MUCH going here for Luna! Our walks provide her plenty of opportunities to explore in nature and engage in natural behaviors. She couldn’t care less about most of the ‘typical’ rewards on walks, including chicken! But give her all the time to sniff and search the field for mole holes… WELL… that’s just HEAVEN ❤️ #affordances #sniffaris #huntingtogether #leapsandhoundsbehavior #LEGS #familydogmediation

Yoda practicing more Do as I Do! With some key adjustments to support his L.E.G.S., we are back in the groove! We even threw in an entirely new ‘leg kick’ behavior at the end for him to copy. And his brain told his body to kick those front legs— fantastic effort buddy 🥰 🙌 HOO-AH!!! Our next online Do as I Do class is on Saturday 2/17. Sign up at leapsandhoundsbehavior.com/scheduling

Just a few ‘Do as I Do’ thoughts, from yours truly the “headless” trainer 🤣👏 We’ve added a couple prompts/cues which has been helping Yoda maintain focus and positioning for a bit longer. It gives him more information and prevents some of that frustration from creeping in. We’ll be incorporating this in our DAID curriculum moving forward! HUGE shout out to the wonderful Lindsay Kinney for the inspiration here, as she was doing this with Mooch Ain't Misbehavin' in our last class. My take-away this week: learning is a two way street, an open and interactive dialogue 🎓🌍🧬🐕 #leapsandhoundsbehavior #sociallearningindogs #DoasIDo

Happy New Years, Friends! We wish you all peace, joy, and well-being in the new year. Above all else, may you embrace your inner self and shine brightly <3 #leapsandhoundsbehavior

Rocco our orange tabby recently learned a new pattern for going outside… YAY! He understands the context of “here we go” with the herd lining up at the back door after breakfast ==> we go outside in NATURE and there’s plenty of exploring in our fenced-in backyard 🌻☀️🐈🐾 Question is, what about the context of going back inside? As you can see from the video we’re still working on this pattern… almost there! There are many affordances outside 🤣☝️ A few questions to ponder :-) What do your animals daily routines look like (I.e. family “wind down” time, visitors or family arriving/departing, family meals and feeding time, potty time, walks on leash, indoor/outdoor play and activities, etc…)? What might the conditions and context of each of these routines tell them about the meaning of “the moment”, what’s coming next, and how they need to respond? Do they have predictability, security, consistency, and stability in these routines? If not, what predictable patterns can you create? How might you implement and narrate new patterns to ensure they’re highly contextual, consistent, stable, and structured? For support with creating new patterns for your dog or with a specific behavior concern, we’re here to help! We offer consultation in-home and remotely. Learn more at leapsandhoundsbehavior.com/behavior-consulting #leapsandhoundsbehavior #LEGS #familydogmediation #beyonddogtraining #certifiedfamilydogmediator #meetingalltheirneeds #teachwithkindness #Minnesota #Wisconsin #woodbury #invergroveheights #hudson #stillwater #cottagegrove #twincities #stpaul #minneapolis

Plentiful sniffing is essential to a dog’s well-being! #leapsandhoundsbehavior #exploringwalks #longlines #dogwalking

In working with a wonderful family and their dog the other day we were ever-so reminded of the POWER OF PLAY! We’d been doing some counterconditioning prior to that, pairing food enrichment with the arrival of visitors. It was helping but our little friend was still overly stressed. So we switched gears! Out came her bucket o’ toys , within a few minutes she was prancing around, playing and chasing her soccer ball… showing off her moves. We still kept our distance and stayed “hands off” so she could continue to play and feel safe. (Play can be a great barometer for assessing a dogs emotional state and thresholds and helping them feel more comfortable with scary things. See playwaydogs.com/) It was a HUGE WIN, for helping us build communication, trust and resiliency. We’re excited for the next session with this lovely doggo and her family ❤️🐕😁 Short “for tax” video of two other dogs, Yoda and Jelly , after a rough and rowdy play session!!! #beyonddogtraining #leapsandhoundsbehavior #teachwithkindness #familydogmediation #theplayway #amycook

What a lovely trio of furry friends – all in the right ‘place’ at the right time to be rewarded with treats! We had our first session today working with Sirius (black Coton) and his human, to help Sirius feel more comfy when he sees other dogs on walks. He and his human did so well ❤ With his comrades here, Sirius is much more comfy and is especially bonded to his kitty friend Ernie Banks! These dogs sure are happy…tails wagging and relaxed bodies with anticipation of the next yummy morsels! #leapsandhoundsbehavior #familydogmediation #supportingdogsandfamilies #teachingwithkindness #fdm #behaviorconsulting

We LOVE the Mr Roger’s Hack, which is all about increasing communication and trust by narrating the patterns (routines) for our dog so they understand what’s coming next; ex: “here we go” means we’re moving somewhere REALLY exciting! It’s all about informing our dog/providing feedback through social cues (I.e. eye contact, tone of voice, facial and body movement). This all leads to predictability for our dogs! Rocco on the other hand? Well, he has his own ideas 🤣🙌To be fair, he doesn’t typically come outside but lately has been wanting to join the group’s morning routine. So we shall see how things evolve in the next couple weeks. Stay tuned! ❤️

Our lovely pal Willa , showing off her Spanish Water Dog skills at our session today! This gal can retrieve THAT ONE stick hidden in a sea of sticks, in the blink of an eye! We’re honored for the opportunity to spend time with her and her family. It’s warms our heart to see all the opportunities they provide for her to do her life’s work- what she was bred to do! 🥰 #spanishwaterdogs #exploringwalks #LEGS #dogbehavior #dogwalking #leapsandhoundsbehavior #familydogmediation #beyonddogtraining

Simple pro tip: give your dog PLENTY of stop n’ sniff time on walks!! It does wonders for the mind and body 🐕🥰 (provided you’re not stopping in the middle of a busy street 😉☝️) For more info on our Exploring Walks visit leapsandhoundsbehavior.com/dog-walking #leapsandhoundsbehavior #exploringwalks #dogbehavior #dogwalking #behaviorconsulting #supportingdogsandfamilies #minnesota #cottagegrove #woodbury #invergroveheights