Blog — training advice

  Balance and Proprioception are Deeply Intertwined Proprioception (your body's sense of position) provides the raw data (where you are) that your balance system uses (with input from eyes and inner ears) to make constant, tiny adjustments via your muscles to keep you steady and upright, preventing falls and allowing coordinated movement, with balance training effectively enhancing this internal GPS system. Essentially, better balance means better proprioception because the challenges of balancing force your proprioceptors to work harder and smarter, improving nerve signals and muscle response. Proprioception (body position in space) and interoception (internal body states like hunger, fatigue) are...

Sentinel Trauma is a one-time learning event which can leave a permanent imprint on the autonomic nervous system.    According to Dr. Stephen Porges, Sentinel Trauma is a single overwhelming event which the body-brain registers as life-threatening. This could be an accident, an assault, or a medical crisis. It is an "one-trial imprint" which results is the sudden re-calibration of autonomic state and neuroception. Sentinel Trauma is distinct from chronic stress and complex trauma. It is also separate from fear conditioning, which requires repetition. Sentinel Trauma, like Conditioned Taste Aversion, is a one-trial learning event which is highly resistant to...

  What is Biophilic Design?    Biophilic design is a concept that incorporates nature into the built environment to enhance the connection between people and the natural world, thereby improving physical, mental, and emotional well-being. This is achieved by integrating elements like natural light, vegetation, water features, and natural materials, as well as using designs that mimic natural forms, patterns, and spaces.    Many thanks to Dr. Niki Elliott who gave a very insightful presentation at the Polyvagal Institute gathering. I was especially interested in the concept of Biophilic Design as it relates to dogs and their nervous system regulation....

The Sleep/Stress Cycle The often overlooked issue of getting enough quality sleep could be the missing key to regulating your dog's nervous system. As many of us have experienced at some point in our lives, it's difficult to get the proper quality and quantity of sleep when we are chronically stressed. And so we sometimes get "trapped" in a cycle where stress keeps us from sleeping, and then lack of sleep keeps us in a state of stress. This is why it is so important to focus on our dog's and our own healthy sleep habits.  Getting into a state...

Many people throw this term “leash reactivity” around for the purpose of giving their dog a diagnosis, but what does it really mean? Firstly, your dog is displaying some sort of unwanted behaviors while being restrained on a leash. The “symptoms” of leash reactivity can be: barking, growling, lunging, biting, and even redirecting on the handler. Typically, this is in response to a “trigger” but it could simply be a stimulus that arouses your dog’s drive. So we have a stimulus and a response, but what is the underlying process? It’s different for different dogs, so let’s break it down....