Stephens' Solutions Dog Training

The Family Dog Manners class starting on Thursday, January 22 was full. There was a time change from 6:30 to 7:30 pm and one of the registrants couldn’t make that time. One spot opened up so check the link below if you want to grab it 😊

https://anc.ca.apm.activecommunities.com/saanich/activity/search/detail/146080?onlineSiteId=0&from_original_cui=true

This one is for the kids✅.
It's also for parents and teachers who may want to open the conversation about keeping safe around dogs.

Two goals here, to keep both dogs and children safe. They're not separate goals, they work together. We all need to remember that young children need to be supervised around dogs and dogs need supervision around young children.
This is especially important at this time of year when we are visiting family and friends who may have their own dogs that may not be used to small children.
This is a great concept to talk through before you visit.

For children, I really like the bubble message as it's memorable and involves the concept of "space means safety".
This uses simple language, bright visuals and clear messages designed intentionally for young children.

I hope you all like it and critique is always welcome, as are suggestions on the next child friendly dog topic you would like to see covered.

Green is the issue? 🤔
Red's loud, it gets our attention but green is the most misread of all.

Many dogs labelled as "calm" aren't.
Some are barely coping.
They're still responsive, still functioning but are sliding into that amber zone, or were already firmly in it to begin with.

That means their green was never green to begin with.

When that green is misunderstood, amber is already there.
When that amber is missed it feels like a rush to the red zone, it feels sudden even though it wasn't.
It never was.

When we want less red, we need to stop focusing on it.
I know that's a strange way of looking at this but the red is often the outcome of not recognising or respecting the green and amber states.
We need to get as good as possible when reading a dogs body language and we have to be prepared to put our assumptions aside to do that well.

It's those smaller changes we need to get really good at noticing.
The posture.
Breathing changes.
Weight shifts.
These and more are all clues into how your dog is feeling and the more you start to recognise them, the easier it is to see them in those different zones.

But, we need to read where they really are.
Not where we wish them to be.