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

First, the last Breed of the Week is up, and it’s an interesting one. Now for the news. Breed of the Week and the longer Trusty Tidbits pieces are moving to Substack, where they'll have room to breathe. There's already a piece up on Arousal Versus Stress in Dogs if you want to see where it's going. [Redirect K9s] What's changing here: Field Notes is new. Every week I'll post one question and we'll answer it together. That's the whole purpose of a community! Trusty Tidbits is keeping its name and while the posts become shorter: one idea, one observation, one thing that worked this week. No more long pieces here, that's what the Substack is for. This community will stay free, and it stays a place for questions and real dogs. More will get added as we grow. Since it's the first one, I'll go first. What did your dog do this week that you're proud of? I'll answer in the comments.

I am wanting to come up with a new community name due to Beyond the Leash already being taken on Youtube and for a couple of obedience schools. I am leaning towards Redirect K9s as I think it encompasses what I talk about on Tuesdays and Fridays while also still showing a working dog intent (hopefully regardless of starting point). I will also be redoing my about page to reflect this. I look forward to your thoughts and feedback.

Hello everyone I wanted to get on here and let you know that I have not forgotten about this week’s breed of the week. I am going to fulfill the request of @Katrina Aggelopoulos and write about the Leonberger. I am currently on my phone because we are currently having a storm which is causing the internet to act up plus after dog dinner/kennel care had a wildly eventful evening here on property. I will not go into detail but it was a little scary. Good news is everything and everyone is safe and ok. I will continue the post in the morning after breakfast as everything should be up and running ok by then. Thank you for understanding, Christina

The footage in this video is unedited outside of trimming out the parts of getting Káosz or Csili out of my car so you can see how I handled certain scenarios. Also this is my first time using this POV camera (it is by DJI) so please pardon some of the camera angles. The more I use it the better it will become. I had it on my shirt but I think next time I will try on a hat. In my opinion Káosz’s session is probably the most helpful since he is younger and therefore has much to learn. I will admit I have not done as much work with him as I would have liked to at this point in his life but also sheep aren’t a critter most people just come across especially very often. All things considered I would say he did not do to bad but there is room for improvement and he has demonstrated that he is capable of that. He just needs the opportunity. As usual a dog’s behavior 9/10 falls on the owner. Csili’s session is also helpful for those who have older/more mature dogs with higher toy drive. Always remember to keep sessions short. Don’t “one more” it. It is better to keep it short and end on a good note/goal met than keep going since it is going well. A dog’s impulse control is finite and needs “recharged”. You know your dog best but if any advice I give were to be taken it would be to have a goal in mind and once that goal is met then end the session. You can always come back later for more.