What the Treat Toss Actually Shows You
There’s a moment in Treat/Retreat that looks, to the casual observer, like a dog running away. Someone tosses a treat…
You Are Already Communicating Before You Do Anything
You walk into a room where a shy or fearful dog is present. You have not spoken, reached out, or…
What a Fearful Dog Is Actually Asking For
There’s a conversation happening every time a dog backs away from a stranger, shuts down at the end of a…
Why ‘Big Bucket’ Assessments Are Failing Your Dogs
Two dogs sit before you, both labeled “highly distractible” by the same assessment tool. Dog A’s head swivels at every…
What Makes the Reactivity Repair Kit Different
If you’ve been working with reactive dogs for any length of time, you’ve likely collected techniques from various sources. A…
The First Piece of the Connection Puzzle: Why The Auto Check-in Changes Everything
Picture a jigsaw puzzle with five hundred pieces scattered across your dining room table. You’re staring at all those pieces,…
The Trust Fund Puppy: When Your Client’s Dog Has a Better Life Than You Do
You know those celebrities who are famous for… well, for what exactly? They appear to be utterly free of the…
Teaching Self-Regulation Before the World Gets Interesting: Building Neural Pathways at Home
Most reactivity protocols start with the trigger. Keep the dog under threshold. Counter-condition. Desensitize. Click and treat when the dog…
The Observation Skills That Separate Good Trainers From Great Ones
There’s a moment in every dog trainer’s development when they realize the gap between what they thought they were seeing…
An Expensive Mistake
A handler approached Suzanne at one of her seminars, frustration evident in every word. “No matter what technique we use,…
