Get on the waitlist for the next leash reactivity mentorship!

Washington area folks – sign up for the seminar with Micaela and Mercedes here!

Find the resource links mentioned in this episode here.

Behavior issues in dogs are almost always symptoms of other underlying issues. So when we focus only on the behavior issue itself, we’re missing the bigger picture, often excluding interventions that would likely make a bigger impact on the dog’s behavior than training ever could. One of the most influential factors in a dog’s behavior is how they feel physically. There is a very high number of dogs experiencing physical discomfort and expressing that discomfort via what we would label as a behavior or training issue. 

To help unpack this topic, I brought in Micaela Young, DVM, CPDT-KA, FFCP, FDM and Mercedes Sonnier ABCDT, CPDT, CBCC, FMD. We cover:

• How discomfort and pain present themselves in dogs
• What to do when you suspect something is wrong, but the vet thinks the dog is “fine”
• How changing assessment procedures in the veterinary office setting can have a big impact on more accurate diagnoses
• Resources that pet parents and pet professionals can use to help diagnose discomfort in dogs
• Why you can’t “rule out pain” in dogs
• And so much more

About Micaela:

Micaela was a trainer before going to vet school and has always approached veterinary medicine through a behavior lens.Her business, Happy Lead Pet Behavior & Vet Care, which focused on in-home behavior & veterinary care for behaviorally-challenged pets, operated until she recently joined Urban Animal, a worker-owner veterinary cooperative in Seattle, WA. She now leads Happy Animal, a program that integrates virtual, ambulatory, and in-practice behavior consulting to maximize success with changing behaviors that happen in or out of the practice. 

Micaela uses her experience as a human with chronic pain that’s been difficult to navigate even with an ability to verbalize the situation to help animals who are unable to advocate for themselves.

About Mercedes:

Mercedes Sonnier ABCDT, CPDT, CBCC, FMD has extensive education in posture and gait analysis. She operates her own business, The Motivated K9 near Tacoma Washington. 

Offering private lessons, adventure days, board and train and specializing in boarding for dogs that are not suitable for traditional boarding. 

Passionate about approaching behavior problems holistically.  She believes that there are often many factors influencing a dog’s behavior and we should try to address as many as we can. She competes in a variety of dog sports and currently shares her home with an APBT and a GSD.

Mercedes and Micaela have bonded over their shared passion for approaching behavior cases holistically, with a particular focus on addressing underlying internal physical factors that often go overlooked or underaddressed.

Dog Professionals:

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Join me & Dan LIVE for a 2 day reactive dog workshop in Livermore, CA from February 14th-15th. Learn more and sign up here. 

Join the waitlist for the March 15th cohort for the Leash Reactivity Mentorship for Professionals AND get $50 off. 

If you have a reactive dog and you're out in the real world with them, it might feel like you are walking through a minefield. You have to keep track of and account for so many things - yourself, your dog, and whatever is going on in the environment. 

In today's episode, I wanted to talk about the skills that handlers of reactive dogs need to be building, to be able to guide their dogs through the real world more successfully. And to have this conversation I wanted to bring in Dan Clark, a colleague and fellow behavior consultant. Dan takes a lot of leash reactivity cases and spends a lot of time with his clients out in the real world, helping them build their confidence and learn how to navigate a wide range of scenarios. 

We discuss:

•  Situational awareness and how to set your dog up for success
• The importance of body positioning so your dog can respond more easily to you
• How to work with your dog if they are over threshold
• How to build your dog's attention and training in a new environment
• And more!

About Dan:

Dan Clark is the Founder and Co-Owner of Out of the Bark, a dog training and behavior consulting company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP), with over eight years of professional experience and more than a decade of hands-on work with dogs.

Dan’s work is deeply shaped by his journey with his own reactive dog, Jax. After experiencing firsthand the limitations and fallout of punitive training methods, Dan shifted his approach toward science-based, trust-centered behavior modification. That experience led him to pursue formal education in animal behavior, volunteer with shelters, and dedicate his career to helping dogs struggling with fear, anxiety, and aggression.

Dan specializes in complex behavior cases, including reactivity, aggression, and dogs with bite histories. His approach emphasizes situational awareness, environmental management, handler advocacy, and building skills that translate to real-world environments. He is known for his calm, practical guidance and his ability to help owners understand not just what to do, but why it works.

Through his work, Dan focuses on empowering dog owners to advocate for their dogs, prioritize emotional safety, and build lasting trust that supports meaningful, long-term behavior change.

Links:

www.outofthebark.com - For in person consults and training. Zoom consulting and training is also offered for individuals outside of our service area.

Instagram: @outofthebark

Leash reactive workshop for pet parents: https://bigfeelingsclub.eventbrite.com

Dog Professionals:

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If you do a Google search on how to counter condition reactive behaviors on leash, it spits out a simplified version of the process. Use super high value treats, make sure your dog is under threshold, feed your dog when they notice another dog,  and with time you'll change your dog's emotional state from a negative one to a positive one. Sounds great, right! So then why is it that some people will do this for years, and not get that result?  Is it possible that people just don't have a full understanding of processes like counter conditioning, classical conditioning, and systematic desensitization? 

To help us understand these concepts, I wanted to bring in Dr. Simon Gadbois. In this episode we cover:

- What counter conditioning was originally designed to do

- Why the identification of the the aversive stimulus (or trigger) can be so complicated

- How we are almost always using a combination of processes, whether we are aware of it or not

- How dogs pick up on our cues, including our pheromones

- Simon's work in his olfactory lab

- And so much more

About Simon:

Simon Gadbois did a PhD in animal behaviour and non-invasive behavioural endocrinology in the 90’s with Drs John Fentress and Peter McLeod at the Canadian Centre for Wolf Research (1974–2007). His PhD dissertation focussed on lupine socioendocrinology (Canis lupus) but he also worked on other projects in motor behaviour sequences in red foxes, coyotes, wolves (with Drs John Fentress and Fred Harrington), spatial cognition in pigeons (with Dr. Werner Honig), and olfactory learning in rats (with Drs Vincent LoLordo and Richard E. Brown).
In the past 15 years he has focussed on research with sniffer dogs as the common denominator: Reptile conservation (using dogs as research assistants to find the species-at-risk), non-invasive surveys of coyotes with canines (via scent-marking information), and working with sniffer dogs in biomedical applications (early detection of diseases, alert dogs). He also worked with a few fish species in olfactory learning (zebra fish), social communication (elephant nose fish), and behavioural ecotoxicology (mummichogs).
Simon Gadbois integrates ethology, experimental psychology and neuroscience in his research on domestic and wild canids. He favours a synthetic approach that includes a strong focus on the importance of motivational factors in working dogs (and canid behaviour in general) as well as a post-cognitivist approach (including a zoosemiotic approach) to behaviour and information processing in dogs.
In 2006 he founded the “Canid Behaviour Research Lab” now the “Wildlife Ethology & Canine Olfaction Lab” at Dalhousie University where dozens of Border Collies (and other working breeds - mostly from working lines) set paw as volunteer research assistants and experimental participants.

https://simon.gadbois.org

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Dog trainers - ever wonder if you could be serving your clients better? 

In this episode I wanted to zoom out and look at dog training from the lens of the services we are providing for our clients, and how we can get better outcomes. I bring in Jeff Silverman from Training Tracks in Cincinnati, Ohio to unpack:

• How to build rapport with clients from the beginning
• Why having a variety of services is necessary to meet your client's needs more effectively
• Creating clarity around the role of the client, and the role of the trainer in changing the dog's behavior
• How holding clients accountable is not about compliance, but cooperation
• And more!

If you're a trainer and you're feeling stuck on this very issue, I invite you to join my private mastermind, The Case Collaborative, starting January 4th. 

About Jeff:

Jeff Silverman and his wife Mel own Training Tracks in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. They have two facilities where they offer pet dog training, behavior consulting, boarding, and daycare with an emphasis on providing practical client-focused training for family pets.

Jeff started training in 1996 as a shelter volunteer looking to help keep dogs in their homes and remains focused on helping average pet owners get the most out of life with their dogs.

While Training Tracks primarily teaches family pet manners, Jeff focuses on aggression and fear in his personal caseload. Jeff has volunteered for all the R+ focused professional organizations including stints as Chair of the APDT board, on the IAABC certification review committee, and much more.

Dog Professionals:

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BLACK FRIDAY SALE for dog professionals! From now until 12/5. Get $75 off the self study or $250 off the private: Reactivity Refined Course and Mentorship. 

Herding breeds are special dogs. Highly intelligent, sensitive, and with a die hard work ethic, they aren't designed for pet dog homes. What one might think of as reactivity in a herding breed, someone else might see natural behaviors we have bred them for. Why is it that herding breeds tend to display reactive behaviors more than other breed groups? And what can you do to support them more?

In this episode I bring in Liz Randall CPDT-KA to discuss:

• Why herding breeds are more prone to reactive behaviors in pet dog homes
• The predatory sequence in dogs and how that applies to herding
• Whether we should we use barking as a metric for thresholds in leash reactivity cases
• How you might be inadvertently reinforcing a herding breed's reactive behaviors
• And so much more

About Liz:

Elizabeth, or Liz, Randall has lived and worked with animals since early childhood. Growing up in a dog- and horse-centric family, she was an avid, competitive equestrienne by age nine. Throughout high school and college years, she continued to dabble in a variety of equine endeavors, including multiple summer stints at a ranch in the Big Horn mountain range in Wyoming. She worked in the sports industry for ten years, following her love for the outdoors. In her mid-thirties, upon finding her hands full with a new rescue dog that operated “outside the box” in the behavior department, she simultaneously discovered clicker-training and the sport of dog agility. These two revelations quickly changed her career trajectory from sports marketing to living wholeheartedly in the animal training world.
Using the most current, positive reinforcement-based training methods, Liz has held her Certified Pet Dog Trainer credential (CPDT-KA) since 2011, and works regularly with both high level behavior modification and canine sport clientele, both locally in Southern California, and across the country.
Liz has competed in a variety of dog sports with all of her dogs, but focuses primarily on dog agility. She and her dogs have won and podiumed at a multitude of major national and regional events over the last decade. Liz works with clients in the San Diego, California area, at private facilities across the US, and online. She loves to teach her students the importance of learning theory, how to better observe their dogs, and technical training mechanics.

She also stays informed and educated on the ever-evolving practices of dog training, behavior modification, and behavior analysis. She has attended dozens of lectures and seminars of many of the pre-eminent leaders of the animal training industry. She is a graduate of Dr. Susan Friedman’s Living and Learning with Animals course, attended Ken Ramirez's week-long Dive Deep; An Advanced Training Course, and traveled to Mexico to study street dogs with Sue Sternberg. Ongoing, continuing education is a critical component of Liz’s work, and she is a lifelong student and learner.

Her true love is being well off the beaten path out in nature with her dogs.

For in person clients: www.resilientdogs.com

Online agility teaching platform with Rachel Downs: www.topodogs.com 

Dog Professionals:

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Why is it that some dogs enter a new home and begin to develop reactivity, seemingly out of nowhere? This often comes as a surprise to their new families, who weren't expecting to dive into a life with a reactive dog. In this episode, I bring in Tom Candy to help unpack what is going on in these scenarios. We discuss:

• What the general public doesn't know about the animal sheltering world 
• What contributes to a dog's behavior changing in a new home
• How to actively prevent reactivity from developing in a newly adopted dog
• How to help a newly adopted dog transition to their home and lifestyle more successfully
• What to do if your newly adopted dog begins to show reactive behaviors
• And so much more

About Tom: 

A passion for animal welfare, canine behaviour, and the development of others has been cornerstones of Tom’s (He/Him) career, which spans over 15 years in Shelter and Rescue with 10 focusing on training and behaviour. This experience and a drive to support even more shelter and rescue animals and staff, led to Tom starting Simplifying Shelter Behaviour, an educational organisation and podcast dedicated to bringing up to date, positive based training and behaviour tips and tricks to shelter and rescue staff and volunteers. Having started volunteering in rescue at the age of 15, Tom has been involved in a variety of aspects of rescue, including fundraising, home checking, transporting and general day-today operations, which pushed Tom to undertake a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in bioveterinary science and a Master of Science degree in Clinical Animal Behavior from the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom.
Since graduating, Tom has been working at the UKs largest dog welfare organisation as a Training and Behaviour Advisor, eventually working across seven rehoming centres before being promoted to Senior Training and Behaviour Advisor, where he supported the Training and Behaviour teams across the southwest of the United Kingdom. Tom is currently a senior
Clinical Animal Behaviourist Development Officer, working to upskill staff to reach their potential. Tom is a Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourist with the Animal Behaviour and Training Council in the United Kingdom, and a Certified Canine Behavior Consultant and Certified Shelter Behavior Specialist with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultant and a member of faculty and CBATI-KA with the Grisha Stewart Academy.

For Pet Parents

Need Help With Your Reactive Dog? 1:1 Coaching with Jessica

For Dog Professionals

Elevate Your Work with Reactive Dogs

Dog Professionals:

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Muzzles are stigmatized, because they are often associated with dogs who are aggressive. But the truth is, dogs wear muzzles for many reasons. Muzzles can give dogs more freedom, humans more peace of mind, and a safer community for all to live in. 

In this episode, I talk with Amy Creaven, owner of Trust Your Dog, a company that makes custom biothane products to expand your dog's world. We dive into all aspects of muzzles and training including:

• How to ensure your muzzle is bite proof
• Muzzle training hacks anyone can do
• How to ensure a proper fit
• Options for brachycephalic dogs
• What to do with dogs who resource guard their muzzles
• And so much more!

About Amy:

Amy is a recovered registered nurse, a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner who worked with reactive dogs prior to the pandemic, and now a custom muzzle maker. She lives at home with her family, 3 chaos floofs, and a harem of chickens.

Website
Email: [email protected]
IG
FB

For Pet Parents

Need Help With Your Reactive Dog? 1:1 Coaching with Jessica

For Dog Professionals

Elevate Your Work with Reactive Dogs

Dog Professionals:

Subscribe to my mailing list to get Life As a Dog Trainer newsletter FREE, filled with training and behavior ideas, case studies, and resources to further your learning as a trainer.

I help both pet parents and dog professionals successfully address leash reactivity by asking the right questions, uncover what’s missing, and build solutions tailored to their unique needs. 

Imagine being a dog walker for reactive dogs in one of the densest cities in the United States - San Francisco. 

And then, imagine walking those dogs on 10-20 foot leashes. How do you balance giving a reactive dog the choice to move away from things that worry them, while also keeping the community safe?

In today's episode I am joined by that person, Alisha Ardiana. Alisha shares so many gems with us including:

• Her formula for getting dogs with stranger directed aggression to feel safe enough to go on outings with her 
• How she helps reactive dogs find safety, joy, and relief among stressors on walks
• Her Gamify Your Walks approach that transforms reactivity in her clients
• Why narrating (explaining to your dog what is happening around them) is so powerful 
• Her personal story and how that influences her work with reactive dogs
• And so much more 

About Alisha:

I have a Biology degree from the University of Notre Dame, and I planned to become a veterinarian.
Once I began working with animals, I preferred the role of a caretaker. I moved to San Francisco & became a California Registered Veterinary Technician. I worked in this field for 20 years.
In 2015 I decided to pursue my passion to support guardians and their dogs and became a positive reinforcement dog trainer.
I typically work with dogs that are labeled as shy, fearful, reactive, dominant or aggressive.
My work is based on everything I’ve learned from Amy Cook, Deb Jones, Susan Friedman, Kim Brophey and Sindhoor Pangal.
My professional letters include CPDT-KA, FDM, CPCN (Certified Professional Canine Nutritionist).
My wife & I are guardians of a 17 year old cat and a 6 year old Papillon. When I’m not doing dog things, I love to cook and attend live theater and concerts.

Website

IG

Gamify Your Walks

How to Talk to Your Dog by Cathy Callahan

Management for Reactive Dogs by Amy Cook

Dog Professionals:

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Join the leash reactivity mentorship starting this September 7th. Spots are going quickly!

Reactive dogs face a lot of stressors in their daily lives, and for many, their ability to "bounce back" gets worse with time. 

What is resilience? What is going on when a dog's resilience is low? How can you help condition your dog to increase their resilience?

In this episode I talk with Bobbie Bhambree CDBC, CPDT-KA on her and Dr. Kathy Murphy's Reframing Resilience framework. We cover:

• The neurobiology of resilience
• What factors contribute to low resilience in dogs
• Considerations for building resilience for reactive dogs
• The importance of physical and mental health as the pillar of resilience
• And so much more

About Bobbie:

CATCH Canine Trainers Academy Instructor 

Agility University Instructor 

Co-founder of Brain Camp 

Co-creator of the Resilience Framework

Bobbie Bhambree (CDBC, CPDT-KA) is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and Certified Professional Dog Trainer. She is a faculty member of CATCH Canine Trainers Academy and Agility University. Additionally, she is one of the founders and regular contributors to a passion project called Brain Camp, where neuroscience, behavior, and dog sports intersect. Bobbie founded her business, Dogology Behavior Consulting in 2024.

To learn more about the Resilience Framework: https://journal.iaabcfoundation.org/the-resilience-rainbow/

Dog Professionals:

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What is going on when a dog can stay responsive on their walk, UNTIL another dog comes around?

I'm back with another solo episode, where I break down this scenario and help you better understand why your dog cannot respond to you, and what you can do about it. I cover:

• Proofing behaviors and why you probably haven't prepared your dog as much as you think you have
• How to be more effective at teaching your dog to respond to you around distractions
• How to understand the criteria you are setting, and how to be fluid in any given scenario
• The dance between criteria and thresholds
• And so much more

For dog professionals: Join the leash reactivity mentorship starting this September 7th. Spots are going quickly!

Pet parents: Struggling with your reactive dog? Work with me 1:1 and get the help you need to move forward with more success.

Dog Professionals:

Subscribe to my mailing list to get Life As a Dog Trainer newsletter FREE, filled with training and behavior ideas, case studies, and resources to further your learning as a trainer.