Play Hard Work Hard K9

22/08/2024

Stay tuned for the announcement of October workshop with Lisa Gorenflo of Mantrailing Global!
Working spots and audit spots will be available.

09/08/2024

The phase of my dog training school I was looking forward to the most was Behavior Modification. It’s the largest phase and largest study load of them all 📚📚📚📚
I couldn’t wait to get here because surely I’ll learn all the secrets the profession holds must be contained within.

I live with dogs who are reactive with high arousal, shy and fearful, have big feelings, and can behave like they have zero manners and cares for societal norms.

Half way through the behavior modification module I finally broke down and told my program director I expected to learn something else. I expected to learn how to help my complex dogs, not dogs that already have social skills and can THINK. My dogs can’t think when their emotions take over. Behavior modification tools are absolutely useless for MY dogs. I had wrong expectations.

As a trauma informed human therapist I am not giving up on my dogs or my studies. When I complete my CPDT-KA it looks like there’s a new gospel to preach: trauma informed canine processing.

I know tools for healing complex emotions exist and I wouldn’t be me if I didnt dig some names up already. But DARN this was not easy! Laura Donaldson is one of them. She is a trauma informed therapist for humans and dogs and she’s got fantastic webinars available on her website (I’ll post link in comments).
FreeDogz is another enlightened therapist in Belgium whose experience in human physical rehabilitation has informed her work with dogs whom she’s now helping with sensory integration. I am relieved to find light and hope that I can after all learn enough to make a lasting difference and transformation.

If you haven’t heard of trauma informed concept, or sensory integration, or Polyvagal theory, well, you can keep checking back here periodically or go listen to Laura Donaldson’s free Trauma Informed webinar.
If you work with complex dogs, rescue dogs, or training behavior modification… you should expand your horizons.
You’ll be glad.

05/08/2024

PET SITTER needed.
Looking for a dog lover person with a strong body, firm boundaries but a very kind heart. That's it, these 3 are looking forward to spending some time with you! If you like cats and can take care of them too, that's a bonus! DM me for a meeting.

04/08/2024

Note to self

02/08/2024

Brilliant, information loaded (neuroscience including!) presentation on aversives in dog training.

SJDAWC 2023 Webinar Serieshttps://awc.upei.ca

30/07/2024

Stress responses in dogs

WHAT THE F?

Recognising stress responses in dogs.

Fight or flight are well known reactions to fear or stress, but these other “F” words are also important to understand and be aware of as they may not always be so obvious.

Freeze, Fawn, Fidget or Fool around are also responses to stress or fear and are also commonly seen in people.

Some dogs may have a genetic predisposition to one type of response while some react based on previous experience - what has worked for them before or what hasn’t. Some dogs have different reactions depending on the specific context.

Recognising and taking note of situations or circumstances where these responses are seen is important in understanding how our dogs are feeling.

When we recognise a fear or a stress response, we are able to intervene and advocate for our dogs.

29/07/2024

One of many studies on Highly Sensitive Dog - a personality trait known in humans and related to many other species, including dogs.

To date we know very little about dogs’ inner lives, how they think or process information they receive from their environment.

Unless we try to understand the whys of their behavior, we will be unsuccessful in the hows of solving the puzzles and finding the right process for them.

In humans, the personality dimension ‘sensory processing sensitivity (SPS)’, also referred to as “high sensitivity”, involves deeper processing of sensory information, which can be associated with physiological and behavioral ...

28/07/2024

Early weekend mornings spent with our fur friends, that’s how we make memories.

22/07/2024

One Spot Became Available!
Go to our website to book it. We can't wait to get you started in Mantrailing!

20/07/2024

Welcome new Mantrailing teams! You certainly are eager beavers to sign up to learn new skills despite our swamp summer! Kudos to you all! 🦸🦸🦸🎉🎉🎉

14/07/2024

What a day!
Trailed with Clover, searched with Kali, and barn hunted with Bodhi 🖤🤎🧡
We’re all going to sleep early tonight 😄

03/07/2024

Human visual perception of colors vs. canine perception.
Which colors are not in dogs’ visual capacity?

29/06/2024

Thank you for a thick overcast morning, Gainesville 👌🐊 when Gators sleep, our dogs trail!

28/06/2024

Urban trails, loads of fun! Team Dodger earned their Urban Sniffer Achievement 🎉 they’ve logged over a kilometer of super focused & highly motivated urban trails. This is only a beginning of the journey for this motivated team! Fantastic trails to all teams: Team Dobby, Team Dos, and Team Dodger!

22/06/2024

Good day starts early and with the best furry friend 🙃🐾 Happy summer, everyone! Come hide with us soon!

15/06/2024

Welcome to Mantrailing, teams! You’ve brought some fabulous players to the game today! Happiest of journeys to you all 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

13/06/2024

Look who’s been spotted in the village center this evening! Weekday Urban Sniffers!

08/06/2024

Short trailing sessions in the shade of the woods. There’s a long summer ahead, so we’re adjusting our summer schedules to catch the wee hours and still have fun with the sport. Teams Dixie, Remus, Lilly, Trevor and Clover - nice work with distractions and choosing direction of travel today 👏👏👏

05/06/2024

The wait for our waiting list is over! Send us an email for priority access to registration. First come first serve model will be followed to the best of our ability.

03/06/2024

Check back Wednesday for July and August dates for Introductions to Mantrailing.
Also, I’ll be starting a wait list for anyone who can’t make the summer booking.
See you soon 😃

02/06/2024

Is Sunday the end or the beginning of a week for you? We’re not sure, but it’s a great day to trail

28/05/2024

BARRIERS TO LEARNING – WHY SOME DOGS STRUGGLE TO LEARN

“My dog is stubborn, doesn’t listen to me, a slow learner, not the smartest, tries to be in control, will only do it at home, will only behave sometimes, is uncontrollable……” – these are comments that are often heard.

Just like us, dogs need the right kind of conditions to either be able to learn something new or to bring about a change in behaviour.

Dogs are not robots that can be programmed by a set of specific inputs that guarantee consistent results. They are individual, sentient beings that need to be understood.

If we’re feeling stressed, anxious, tired, over excited, too distracted, not feeling well, have no motivation etc. we will find it really difficult, if not impossible to learn something new, change our behaviour or change a habit. The same applies to dogs.

A dog’s emotional state, the surrounding environment, motivation, age (pups, adolescents, seniors) or any health issues all have a significant impact on their ability to learn.

If your dog is having a hard time learning something, look at these factors and see if there is a reason that may be preventing progress.

Maybe your dog is just having an “off” day, just like we do.

Try again tomorrow or next week and set your dog up for success by having realistic expectations.

Learning or changing behaviour takes time, patience, consistency, understanding and the right conditions.

03/05/2024

Clover girl practicing her sniffing skills in our . Ground sniffing, detail sniffing at the wall, and some area sniffing in the yard. Mixed with lots of PLAY! Hard play, just like she likes it 😅

30/04/2024

Registration to the May and June Introductions to Mantrailing will open this Friday! Mark your calendars if you'd like to sign up. Each workshop will hold only 5 spots.
I can't wait to see you there!