Blog — Predatory Sequence

One of the most common recommendations people receive for fearful dogs is to have strangers offer the dog treats in order to “build positive associations.” And while the intention behind this is usually compassionate, it can actually create a tremendous amount of nervous system conflict for many dogs. Especially dogs who already feel wary, pressured, hypervigilant, or uncertain around people. From the outside, it can appear successful because the dog approaches and takes the food. Humans naturally interpret this as comfort, progress, or social willingness. But taking food is not always the same thing as feeling safe. A nervous system...

What Is Leash Reactivity, Really? Leash reactivity is one of the most commonly discussed behavior challenges in dogs, but it is also one of the most misunderstood. People often use the term as a diagnosis or label for barking, lunging, growling, or over-excited behavior on leash. While these are the visible expressions, they are not the root of the issue. Leash reactivity is not a single behavior pattern, and it is not a personality trait. It is a nervous system response that emerges under specific conditions. To understand leash reactivity, we have to look beyond what the dog is doing...

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...

Is my dog in a state of drive, or a state of fear? Lately, I’ve been wanting to help people understand that there is a real difference between a dog who has behavioral issues and a dog who is simply acting out his genetics. Behavioral issues, in my mind, are interruptions in a dog’s natural way of being—patterns that create distress for the dog, the owner, and often other animals as well. These are the behaviors we tend to label as reactivity, aggression, hyperactivity, anxiety, obsessive or compulsive patterns, depression, even self-harm. In these cases, the dog is not feeling...

  All I want for Christmas this year is for everyone (including myself!) to stop romanticizing dogs. Yes, that's right, dogs are not Disney characters. I think we've been weirdly conditioned by movies like "Lady and the Tramp" and "101 Dalmations" to feel that dogs are just like us: They want to live indoors and eat spaghetti, raise their babies among humans, walk through city parks, and enjoy watching TV by the fire as much as we do. Dogs are actually still so closely related to wolves that they can interbreed with them. This, by some opinions, makes them the...