Hello I was wanting to give a slight update on my current thoughts for scheduling. I am going to change Breed of the Week to Friday’s and add a predation topic on Tuesday’s. (If you have any ideas or scenarios you would like for me to cover please feel free to comment here or DM me if you don’t feel like sharing publicly.) Also I do still have plans to make more video content for predation games but I am waiting on a device to come in and help me record moving targets (ie the dogs) while by myself. I do have a device and have tried to use it, but it just isn’t smooth or all that dependable for faster targets like (working) dogs. So I (hopefully) upgraded to one that will work out better.

Yesterday morning I was taking my two young dogs into the nearby woods for some exercise. I take them one at a time since I am working on different things with them and we also get some one-on-one time. I had finished up with my first dog, Csili, and was entering my yard when I saw my other dog, Káosz, staring off at something. I didn’t notice at first because I was taking off Csili’s harness and booties but when I did look to see what Káosz was staring at (he wasn’t responding to me talking to him which was unusual) I saw what had his attention: a deer. This isn’t just any deer either this is a domesticated deer named Charley who enjoys playing and being chased by dogs! So I didn’t freak out or start calling and pulling at Káosz to come inside especially since he was just standing up on the fence (the bottom half is blocked for him to see out) calmly staring at Charley. I head inside to retrieve Káosz's harness and leash, switch out the treats in my treat pouch for higher value and make sure my other dogs aren’t able to come out and interfere with my new morning plan of predation substitution training. Káosz does manage to break away from looking at Charley and I am able to put on his harness which he was excited to help me with. Káosz hops back on the fence to look at Charley and I just keep ahold of the leash with no tension on it, then Charley hears some commotion and starts to run towards it (he’s an odd little deer). So now Káosz’s target is moving which is now much more exciting than before so Káosz starts to jump around excited and is wanting to run around the yard. I keep hold of the leash and don’t let him run around aimlessly and spinning himself into an overloaded frenzy. I make sure to have my high value treats at the ready (dehydrated chicken hearts in this case) and when he looks at me on his own accord I start tossing treats left and right allowing him to chase and consume. I can tell that he is really enjoying the safer outlet since he is quite engaged with it. Once I feel that he is starting to relax and the dopamine is on its way down I take him inside where I quickly prepare his lick ‘em bowl with peanut butter and hang out with him in my bathroom (away from my other dogs) while he enjoys this destressing treat.

Tools to be developed to help owners, trainers, ethologists and vets ... https://www.science.org/content/article/can-ai-read-pain-and-other-emotions-your-dog-s-face

I updated my presentation on NMN in my classroom and cleaned up the title/description to both presentations I currently have in my classroom. I am still learning how to use PPT, making them into videos/making iMovies and all of that optimally and in a way that is engaging. If there is anything you would like for me to talk about or have a way of presentation that you would prefer I am open to suggestions and I will see what I can do within my skill set! If there is a suggestion that I am not skilled for at this time I may get there in the future as I learn so please be patient and bear with me. I will be uploading more to my classroom this coming month.

Hello my name is Christina Brewster and I am a professional dog trainer who has a passion on how dogs think and perceive the world. I am a training partner with Chiron K9 and I am a certified Predation Substitution Instructor. The type of dog training I do is off leash detection but a lot of what it takes to have a great and dependable off leash detection dog are skills every dog can benefit from knowing. A big concern for both working dogs and pet dogs is chasing wildlife. A dog that is interested in chasing wildlife can find themselves in dangerous situations. They could run into traffic, they can get their gear caught up in branches, they can become impaled by branches or the animal itself, they can find themselves lost for extended periods, etc. Instead of getting frustrated and suppressing the dog’s quality of life I want to help owners, handlers and other trainers understand what is happening in their dog and how to redirect it in a safe way. “Frustration begins where knowledge ends” - Clinton Anderson