profile

Positive Dog

What is 2+2?

Published over 1 year ago • 1 min read

If I asked you "What is 2+2?", you could probably tell me. You probably don't have to think hard before answering, even if you were busy or stressed. Even in a difficult situation, you likely know the answer.

Why can you so easily recall the answer to 2+2? Because you did many repetitions on a daily basis for a long time. And once you knew it, other skills were built upon that skill. It became routine.

This is what we need for our dogs!

With dogs who struggle with fighting in the home or with reactivity, we often focus on training those situations. The challenge though is that we end up asking them to learn in stressful situations, when memory and concentration abilities are compromised.

The key to helping our dogs is to make the skills they need to cope with the world as simple as 2+2. For dogs who fight, let's make moving away from excitement a part of daily routine. For leash reactive dogs, let's make relaxing and thinking near exciting things a part of daily routine.

This is what we focus on during my Deep Dives. My current Leash Reactivity group is having great success! I couldn't be prouder of all of the teams in the group!! And we are having so much fun =) A Deep Dive focusing on dogs who fight in the home opens on Thursday!

Cookie Challenge Update

Riker's second lesson has new been posted in the group!

If you have a reactive dog or dogs that fight in the home, this challenge will help you build a relationship with your dog where they can show patience, impulse control, self control... (or whatever you want to call it).

Dogs who learn to offer calm behaviours around exciting things have better foundations so we can train the hard stuff!

​

One more thing!

Don't forget the Free Webinar this Thursday at 4:30 PM PST! It's going to be fun and informative. After the webinar, the Peace at Home - Deep Dive opens for registration and those who sign up in the first 48 hours recieve a special bonus!

2738 Holden Corso Rd, Nanaimo, BC v9x 1n5
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​

Positive Dog

Christina Young, BSc, CDBC, PCBC-A

Subscribe if you'd like to receive my somewhat regular emails including training tips and concepts as well as info about my upcoming freebies and programs!

Read more from Positive Dog

Leash Reactivity? Reactivity can feel overwhelming, embarrassing, and frustrating—but it doesn’t have to stay that way. There are 3 stages to addressing Leash Reactivity. If we skip or rush steps. we can become stuck - either we or our dogs can end up facing challenges that set them up for failure because we don't yet have the skills to succeed. Stage 1 - Prepare to Learn Before we can start training the hard stuff, we need to be in the right mindset. Both ends of the leash need to be ready....

4 days ago • 1 min read

Somewhere along the line, we were convinced that setting boundaries is mean. If we limit access to things our dogs want, add structure to their days, or say “no” sometimes, we’re told we’re being controlling. Harsh. Unkind. Our dogs deserve better, right? But boundaries and structure aren’t cruel. They’re kindness. They’re what keep dogs safe, and what help them feel secure. The trick is in how we set them. It’s NOT “no — or else.” It's NOT having a dog live in a crate in a nothing in life is...

16 days ago • 1 min read

Recall, reactivity, and calm behaviours all draw from the same foundations: self-control and arousal management. On the surface, they don't seem the same - recall is fast and high-energy, reactivity is emotionally charged, and settling at a cafe is low-energy and chill. These behaviours all depend on the dog’s ability to regulate their internal state and make choices under stimulation. Different goals, same skillset When you call your dog, they must disengage from distractions and focus on...

23 days ago • 1 min read