I want to start out by saying that setbacks or regression are not the end of the world. In fact, I choose to look at them as learning opportunities: - Where did I go wrong? - How can I better communicate my goal with my dog? - Did I move us on/progress too fast? - Have I been consistent? Did you notice a theme with those questions? They all had “I” in them. This is because we, the trainer, the handler/guardian, are responsible for setting our dogs up for success. If something needs addressed 9 times out of 10 if not 9.9 times out 10 it is a failure in communication of some kind with our dogs. Our dogs are very good at telling us and those around us what they have and have not been taught (except for that one thing that one time that they had never done before…). We should listen to our dogs when they tell us there is a gap in their understanding and if we are not sure how to address that please seek out help from a professional. Something else to remember is that each dog is an individual. How each dog learns and what motivates them is just as unique as they are. Some dogs prefer treats only, some prefer toys only, some like both, some like both but are quite particular. Another thing to remember is that some dogs require the steps to be broken down into even smaller steps. It is important to have patience and understand that training is not linear. Training will have ebbs and flows of good days and bad days. If your dog seems to be having an off day in training (or in general) it is important to rule out anything veterinary first. - Did your dog eat like normal? Was their energy the same about eating? Are they drinking more, less or the same amount of water? - What do their gums look like? Are they pink, moist with a capillary refill time (CRT) of less than 2 seconds? - Did your dog have normal bowel movements? - Are they limping or licking an area excessively? - Is there head hanging low? Is their back arched? - Do they seem hesitant to be in a certain position?

Hello y’all! I do apologize for taking so long but I have finally uploaded the predation substitution games from the presentation as separate videos with one of my dogs. We had some funky weather, storms, new dogs arrive, household stuff to catch up and learn the new device I bought to help me with recording. It is a nifty little device and so far I like it much better. Please feel free to leave feedback on the videos. There will be more coming and those will probably be behind a subscription but I will still provide some free content as well. The videos can be found under the Anti Predation Substitution Presentation.

As per request by @Renee Henning - I hope this answers your question :) Training a calm behavior in our dog starts at home. If a dog is unable to be the calm we are looking for at home then it is unfair to expect them to be the calm we are looking for out of the home. I currently live with one retired cadaver pit bull named Lucas McCain who is 12 years old, an oil detection vizsla named Káosz who is 2 years old and a bed bug detection vizsla named Csili that is 4 years old. The vizslas, as you can imagine, are quite wild not just because of their ages but also because of their breed. We live together in an RV where we are blessed to have a yard. So many people with high energy dogs feel compelled to satisfy that energy, that drive and find them jobs. Don’t get me wrong I think jobs for dogs are great and I am a huge advocate for it but unfortunately we don’t make our living with just dogs. Life doesn’t stop for that. We still have bills, groceries, laundry, dishes, vehicle maintenance, house maintenance, etc and so our high energy dog may not always get to go run around and “be crazy”. The good news is being calm is a behavior and behaviors can be taught. One thing to remember that, as humans, we tend to notice the “negative” behavior ignore the positive behavior that we do want. Often times our dogs are performing the behavior that we want when we want but we ignore them. Then the dog misbehaves and we respond with a verbal, leash or physical correction (not hitting but maybe a tap in a strategic spot to try and get their attention). Some dogs may misbehave on purpose since that is when he get the most interaction from you and that is all he want. This is where we need to make sure of a few things: - We are not on our phones particularly during training - We know what we are looking for not just what we don’t want - We set our dogs up for success and don’t push it to far - We use the appropriate reward (something that will elicit a maintenance of calmness but do have higher value for certain situations)

Thanks to @Carol Jarka for this weeks Breed of the Week The Lagotto Romagnolo is an Italian dog breed that has written evidence of its existence as far back at 1600. There are hunting dogs that look very much like the Lagotto Romagnolo that goes back as far as the 8th to 2nd century when the Etruscans lived in Italy that look very similar. It is thought that there is relation with the Lagotto Romagnolo and the Barbet (fresh waterdog) Portuguese and Spanish Water Dog. The Lagotto Romagnolo’s original purpose was to retrieve waterfowl and would do so all day in any weather. They would even dive under ice to retrieve downed waterfowl and all of this from a boat. After the environment where the waterfowl lived had disappeared, due to marshlands being drained and dried up for population expansion, the breed needed a new purpose and so they then switched to specializing in truffle hunting. This transition happened between 1840-1890 and during this time the breed’s desire to predate had been suppressed so they are not genetically inclined to be distracted by critter trails. This new purpose did not keep the breed from almost becoming extinct. As recent as the 1970s a group of gentlemen that included Professor Francesco Ballotta, Dr. Antonio Morsiani, Lodovico Babini and led by Quintino Toshi decided to save the breed. In 1988 the Club Italiano Lagotto was founded and in 1992 the morphological Standard was made by Dr. Antonio Morsiani. Due to the efforts of these gentlemen the popularity, preservation and overall numbers of the Lagotto Romagnolo continue to increase. Some historical written art: In 1591 a poem was written about the Lagotto Romagnolo by Erasmo di Valvasone called La Caccia (The Hunting) and in there he described the breed as follows: Curly fur, not afraid of the sun, water and ice, climber of mountains, wading of rivers. He who know how to overcome thorns bushes and that the waterfowl proudly and happily brings to the handler.

Part of the reason I am doing weekly posts about a particular breed is not just because it is interesting but also I think it is important to understand what your dog has been bred for (and with). With knowledge comes understanding and lack of knowledge leads to frustration so understanding what a dog’s historical purpose has been could help with understanding how to redirect and satiate your dog to perform a more desired and safe behavior. This is not to say that every dog within the same breed has the same preferences and that just because it is a [insert dog breed here] they will like this over that and that is all there is to it. It is a good starting point but try not to get tunnel vision. I encourage you to learn who your dog is as an individual. Back to topic Something to note is that not every dog displays each step of the predatory motor pattern: - Scent/Scan/Search o Eye/Stalk § Creep · Chase o Grab-bite § Kill-bite · Possess o Dissect § Consume An example of a typical predatory motor pattern for a Border Collie would be as follows: - eye and stalk the stimulus o creep/chase This former part of the predatory motor pattern is more stimulating for the breed due to their historical and present day purpose. The rest of the predatory motor pattern is as follows: - grab-bite o kill-bite § possess · dissect o consume The latter half of the predatory motor pattern is not a typical behavior for the breed as far as killing and consumption. It is possible that a Border Collie without a proper outlet could escalate to killing and consuming. This escalation is not unique to just Border Collies. Another example would be for a Labrador their predatory motor pattern would typically have emphasis on: - scent/scan/search o eyeing the stimulus § then chase with emphasis on: - grab-bite with another emphasis on: - possess then consume Something else to consider is your dog’s personal history and practiced behavior along with what type of training they have had in the past. Which part of the predatory motor pattern has been disciplined? How was it disciplined? How consistent was the discipline?