OUR APPROACH
Train the dog, Not just the behavior.
A dog barking, biting, pulling, shutting down, exploding, chasing, avoiding, or refusing isn't giving us the entire problem. They're showing us the response available to them in that moment.
We can absolutely train the behavior. But we're also interested in what produced it. What happens to this dog when pressure rises?What options remain available to them? And how quickly can they find their way back? Those questions shape the way we train.
BEHAVIOR IS INFORMATION
It's easy to divide behavior into things we want and things we don't. Sit is good, Pulling is bad, Calm is good, Excitement is bad, But the same outward behavior can mean very different things depending on the dog and the situation. A dog lying quietly may be relaxed, Another may be completely shut down,
A dog pulling toward something may be excited, frustrated, conflicted, afraid, or some combination of them. we don't want to look at behavior without looking at the conditions producing it. We use behavior as information about the dog in front of us. Then we train from there.
Pressure isn't the enemy
Life has pressure.
Another dog walking past.
A stranger entering the house.
Being asked to wait when you want to move.
A new environment.
Frustration.
Excitement.
Conflict.
Even play has pressure.
The goal can't be to remove every difficult feeling or challenging situation from the dog's life.
The question is:
Can the dog organize themselves inside it?
Pressure within the dog's current ability can create an opportunity to adapt.
Too much, too fast, and options begin disappearing.
Training lives in that relationship between demand and capacity.
We want to find the places where the dog is challenged without simply being overwhelmed, and develop from there.
Movement changes things
Dogs experience the world through a body.
That's obvious, but training can sometimes become so focused on commands and positions that we forget it.
Movement gives us information.
How does the dog carry tension?
Where do they hesitate?
Where do they rush?
Can they move toward pressure?
Away from it?
Through it?
Can they change direction without falling apart?
Can intensity become coordinated movement instead of chaotic behavior?
This is one reason movement plays such a large role in our training.
Sometimes changing what a dog can do with their body changes what becomes possible everywhere else