Blog — dog training
Polyvagal Exercises for Dogs: Co-Regulating with a Canine Companion
Understanding Co-Regulation Through the Nervous System Polyvagal-informed work with dogs centers around one core idea: behavior is a reflection of nervous system state. When your dog is reactive, shut down, overly excited, or unable to settle, they are not choosing those responses—they are moving through different autonomic states designed for survival. Co-regulation is the process of influencing your dog’s nervous system through your presence, your actions, and the experiences you create together. Your dog is constantly reading your body language, tone, and energy, and adjusting their own state in response. This means that regulation is not something you “teach” in...
Loose-Lead Walking
The Reality of Loose-Lead Walking Loose-lead walking is often treated as a basic skill—but when you really break it down, it’s anything but simple. At its core, loose-lead walking asks a dog to move in a way that is not natural to them. Dogs are built to explore, to follow scent, to change pace, to orient toward movement in the environment. A leash, by definition, limits those instincts. So when we ask for a loose leash, we are asking the dog to suppress some of their natural behaviors. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong—but it does mean we need to approach...
Re-Wiring Your Dog's Brain by Triggering a Reaction
Why Avoidance Alone Doesn’t Create Change The only way to truly rewire your dog’s brain is by activating old memories and then reshaping them. If your dog is consistently kept in a bubble of “safety,” where triggers are avoided or constantly distracted away from, you may be successful in the short term. Your dog may stay under threshold more often, and reactive outbursts may decrease. But underneath the surface, the emotional response remains unchanged. The original associations—fear, frustration, or defensiveness—are still intact. Without being revisited, those neural pathways don’t have an opportunity to evolve. Interrupting vs. Re-Patterning In the...
Personal Play and Play Fighting: Co-Regulating with Your Dog
The polyvagal theory implies that more attention needs to be paid to the development of interventions that either promote activation of the social vagus or dampen sympathetic tone. One major implication is the need to pay closer attention the therapeutic use of play, rough and tumble behaviors that serve as preliminary exercises to develop adaptive defensive and aggressive behaviors, as a means of shifting people [and dogs] out of fight-or-flight reactions into loving and mutually engaged mobilization. --Bessel A. van der Kolk, in the foreword to: The Polyvagal Theory by Dr. Stephen W. Porges Play as Connection and Regulation Mirroring...
As Your Dog's World Shrinks, So Does His Brain
Why Enrichment Matters More Than You Think Enrichment has been a major trend in dog training for quite some time—but it’s worth asking why it actually matters. It’s not just about giving your dog puzzles or keeping them busy to burn off energy. Thoughtful environmental enrichment—especially when it aligns with your dog’s breed-specific instincts and biological needs—has a direct impact on the brain. It supports greater flexibility, resilience, and openness to learning. In other words, enrichment doesn’t just occupy your dog. It helps change how they process the world. The Role of Enrichment in Behavior Change This becomes especially important...