The Bond-Behaviour Connection
changing your relationship
can change everything
Recall, Leash Manners, Anxiety, Poor Attention, Stubbornness...
Do you know what all of these have in common?
In just two months, you could have an attentive, eager-to-please dog with our Bond And Behavior Package.
8 weeks
8 hours of coaching
Hands-on help from a dog behavior expert
Empathetic and science-informed interpretations of your dog's behaviour
Connect with a community of like-minded dog guardians who want the absolute best for their dog.
Build A Bond, Build Good Behaviour
Studies have found that dogs who are securely attached to their caregivers are:
More confident
Better at solving problems
Less likely to be aggressive
Less likely to suffer from separation disorders
More responsive to their caregivers
Less reactive
Later to enter puberty
Less rebellious in adolescence
Unlike humans, who struggle to change their attachment style in adulthood, most dogs are capable of forming secure attachments in adulthood even if they have been abused or have traumatic histories.
Forming a secure attachment with your dog is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your dog's emotional wellbeing.
What does your dog's emotional wellbeing have to do with their behaviour?
Well.... pretty much EVERYTHING.
Dogs Do What They Feel
We have yet to find a living creature that is not driven by emotion. Some people think that it takes a complex brain to feel emotions, but the opposite seems to be true!
The more brain capacity an animal has, the greater their ability to resist acting emotional.
Even adult humans struggle to control our own emotional behaviour.
When a dog jumps up, or pulls on the leash, or barks, or growls, they are driven to do this by a feeling - it may be excitement, anger, fear, or joy.
Most dog "behaviour problems" are actually cases of dogs doing things that are perfectly natural and understandable based on their feelings in that moment.
When we focus on the behaviour, we ignore the feeling behind the behaviour.
This is like focusing on what a car is doing rather than focusing on what the driver is doing! If the car is accelerating, this shouldn't be a mystery - the driver is hitting the gas. In the same way, if a dog is barking, its because their emotions are driving them to bark.
In many cases the feeling driving the behaviour is so powerful that people resort to many different strategies, from treats to shock collars, only to find that the behaviour is still there... because the feeling is still there.
The Attachment Connection
"In modern society, there is no way for our dogs to keep themselves safe, and thus we are unable to afford them the freedom to meet their own needs.
Instead, they must rely on our benevolence for survival. And our benevolence comes at a price.{....}The cost appears to be high, as is evidenced by the more than 2.8 million dogs estimated by the American Pet Products Association to be on Prozac or similar psychotropic drugs."
- "Love Is All You Need" by Jennifer Arnold
When a dog feels secure in their owner's love for them, this is called a "secure attachment". The dog believes with all their heart that their person loves them unconditionally, and will provide for them and protect them no matter what.
Secure dogs are confident and relaxed in their caregiver's presence, and trust their caregiver to return to them.
Dogs who don't trust their guardians to have their best interests at heart can have insecure attachments.
Secure
The dog explores new places confidently in the presence of caregiver.
The dog checks their caregiver's reaction to something startling or unusual, and is reassured by closeness to caregiver.
The dog looks for their caregiver, barks/whines if unexpectedly left with a stranger, but does not panic.
Dog is pleased when caregiver returns and relaxes very quickly.
Communicates their needs and desires clearly and confidently.
Anxious
The dog clings to caregiver and seems anxious even when close to caregiver.
The dog seeks physical contact with the caregiver when something startling occurs but remains stressed.
The dog panics or becomes very distressed if the caregiver leaves them with a stranger, displaying panic.
Distress/anxiety lingers even after being reunited with caregiver.
May not communicate needs clearly, or engages in persistent attention seeking.
Avoidant
The dog avoids eye contact with caregiver and may dodge away when caregiver reaches for them.
The dog does not look at caregiver or seek closeness when startled or confused about a novel situation.
The dog does not behave differently with a stranger than they do with their caregiver.
They respond minimally to their person's return.
Tries to meet their own needs directly rather than asking guardian for help.
Associated Behavior Problems:
None.
Associated behavior problems:
Aggression or fear toward strangers, separation anxiety disorder,
negative attention-seeking, destructiveness, reactivity.
Associated behavior problems:
Aggression toward caregivers, ignoring caregiver, "stubbornness",
avoids being leashed, rebellious behaviour, reactivity.
Does a Secure Attachment Solve Everything?
No, it's just a critical first step.
A secure attachment is where a well behaved dog BEGINS.
Without a secure attachment established, you may struggle for years with clickers and treats or various special collars and harnesses, trying to change your dog's behaviour. You might as well try to teach algebra to someone who still struggles with addition and subtraction.
Your dog's basic sense of security and trust in their caregiver is a crucial foundation for everything else that a dog must learn to be happy and well behaved.
This is especially true for dogs with trauma histories, who must learn how to trust and feel secure.
In just two months, you could have an attentive, calmer, eager-to-please dog with our Bond And Behavior Package.
8 weeks
8 hours of private one-on-one coaching
Hands-on help from a dog behavior expert
Empathetic and science-informed interpretations of your dog's behaviour from a seasoned trainer.
Ensure your love is communicated clearly to your dog
Help your dog understand what you expect and would like from them
Get to the root cause of problems with leash walking, recall, barking, and destructive behaviour.
Connect online and in-person with a community of like-minded dog guardians who want the absolute best for their dog.
$1600
Carol did an amazing job with our out of control Pomskie. She taught us that with determination, practice and lots of patience
Anything is possible. Thank you from the.
bottom of our hearts
Ellen and Amie
-Ellen V.
It is a joy to watch Carol work with George! She demonstrates and shares a wealth of knowledge about dog behaviour. Her approach to dog education is delivered with a high degree of respect for the intelligence and curiosity of the animal. She has made good friends with cautious George.
Richara J.
Both me & my pup love learning with Carol! She’s not only a great dog trainer, but just a really great person too. Her expertise, experience and ethics, mixed with her kind, fun-loving personality brings a feeling of certainty, understanding and calm to each session.
-Chloe T.
We work on land which was taken from the nations who had lived here for thousands of years. They are still here and they are still waiting patiently for us to stop being jerks about it.
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