Blog — training advice

  Sniffing, licking, and chewing are all soothing to a dog. Scatter feeding, snuffle mats, and chews are all essential in our repertoire of enrichment activities. But you know what else is extremely satisfying and regulating to dogs? Biting, tugging, kill-shaking, and dissecting. If we want to look at the predatory sequence, we must honor the dog as an actual predator. Predators spend a lot of energy hunting, seeking, searching, and eye-stalking their prey. They then chase, catch, and kill. THEN they dissect and ingest. If you are missing any of these activities, then it's possible that your dog is...

  Mindset matters! Grow your emotional capacity by learning how to deal with stress and making room for feelings! Kajsa explains to us how radical acceptance of stressful situations and the feelings that they produce can bring us closer to a sense of peace and well being. Kajsa is a mindset coach who helps guardians of challenging dogs reduce stress and anxiety in their life. This episode is incredibly useful for those struggling with their feelings about having a reactive dog in their care.    Kajsa's Coaching Website: https://kajsavanoverbeek.com/ Kajsa and Rusty on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theruscattledog Ruff Around the Edges Podcast:...

How your energy, intention, and emotional state affect your dog... Your dog just wants to be acknowledged. For who they are as a dog. For their individual strengths, weaknesses, fears, wants, likes/dislikes, and insecurities. Your dog wants to be treated with respect, wants to be trusted, wants to be able to trust you. Trust that you see them for who they are, and that you don't expect them to stuff their feelings and just be a robot who obeys commands. I started writing this post because I used to advise people to ignore their dog when they come home, until...

Moving Well = Feeling Well Your dog only wants to know one thing: How much energy can I move with you? When your dog's prey or play drive is aroused, they need to MOVE. When your dog's fight or flight energy is activated, they need to MOVE. When your dog feels attracted to another dog, another person, or a novel situation or environment, you need to be the magnet for their energy. Asking your dog to sit for a cookie, to "look at me," or to lay down and maintain stillness does not satisfy the internal pull they feel to...

Are you ready for a January Challenge? This can transform your relationship with your dog! Follow this protocol as closely as you can and report back on the results. Create a video of one of these activities for chance to win a special prize! Please tag me in your videos and mention Canine Movement Lab to be eligible. 1. Hand Feed 50% of your dog's existential food. 2. Exercise outdoors at least 25 minutes per day.3. Training and engagement 5-10 minutes per day.4. Biological fulfillment 2-3 times per week. This could be a number of different things including sniffing and...