So sorry, access to the free Masterclass is closed.
I’ll probably offer something similar in the future, though, so don’t despair. Meanwhile, as consolation, here are some of my blog posts that my readers have found the most interesting on this topic.
Thank you so very much for these insights into understanding animal behaviours and how to shape them in a positive way. We have a lovely 3 year old, intact, male Border Collie, who by his very nature can be unpredictable at unexpected times. I am learning how to cue in to his body language, and realize much of his tendency to be reactive in some situations is simply that he can become overwhelmed by too much stimulus in a given environment, and is struggling to process it all at the same time. At some point, I hope I can purchase your entire program. Until such time, these master classes have helped me analyze his reactivity more closely. He is a wonderful dog, very smart, and very loving and attached to us. I realize I need to really be mindful of potential triggers and help him recognize that he doesn’t need to over react. It doesn’t help that I am navigating PTSD myself. He is profoundly sensitive to my emotional state at any given time. This masterclass has also helped me analyze my own struggles as well. Thank you again! A friend and fellow animal lover shared this master class with me, and I am very grateful.
Hi Diane – so glad that this Masterclass resonated with you, and that you’ve had some new insights! Best of luck! 🙂
Thank you, Karolina!
you’re welcome! 🙂
Karolina, I have taken several of your courses in the past. I will say that your are some of the best around. At this time, due to focus on regaining my own physical health I am not signing up for your course. But I do want to say to anyone who watched this Master Class and is sitting on the fence, sign up for the course. You will not regret it. Karolina explains every aspect in an understandable way. And when she says she is there to answer questions in the comments, she is. And in a timely manner. Even experienced trainers will learn from Karolina’s courses.
Karolina I was glad that you mentioned in video 3 that one should start training in a safe, where the animal fills safe, environment. And that the environment should be distraction free. I also like that you mention rewards don’t always have to be a treat. Treats are a good place to start. I always teach my students to transfer the reward of a treat to one of ‘good boy’ and or affection. Because one may not always have treat on hand. Thank you for offering the free Master Class I am sure you have made a difference for both humans and animals to have a happier life.
Deb – this put a big smile on my face. Thank you so much!
Glad I could a smile on your face.
Karolina, one of my pet peeves is to see people use habitual or flooding to change an animals behavior. Too often these methods are used with no acknowledgment or understanding of the animals feelings And without either of these the out come is usually not good. Also my using these methods the person is breaking their animals trust. Leading to problems in other areas. The other thing I see is that people don’t realize or understand that most animals reflect/mirror our feelings. Say we had a dog in the past that was fearful of other dogs or people and became aggressive so we became worried or afraid of what will happen. We have essence learned to be worried or afraid. Now we have our next dog and while out walking our new dog we start worrying or being afraid of what is going to happen when we meet an other dog. Because we are worried or afraid our dog who has picked up on our in the yellow or red feelings is on high alert. And depending on how we react when we meet that other dog our dog may learn to be afraid, just because we were. The other thing I see all the time is that people are not present when out with their animals. So they really don’t know what the trigger is. They assume they do, then try to flood or habitually train from the wrong aspect.
You talked of animals being affairs to go to the vets. Well I have a cat that is afraid to go to the vets. And I luckily have a dog who loves going to the vets. Any time I have to take the cat to vets I take my dog with us. My cat trust and likes my dog. She also trust me. So between my dog and myself expressing feelings that this a save place, my cat becomes less anxious. She starts to mirror our feeling. I understand that she is still not totally comfortable with going to the vets. But we have reduced her anxiety.
Such an important point: the importance of the human’s affective state! And that a calm companion animal can be such a great buffering mentor! 🙂
Karolina, Than you for he free Master Class I am hoping to get through all the videos before midnight tonight. I have just finished the 1 st video. Your explanation, and diagrams are easy to understand. They make sense. In answer to your question: Yes I have been able to help Paddy, my 11 yr old Australian Shepherd go from the negative side of the graph, been in the red, when I have seen him depressed and or bored by offering to play with him. Or take him on a walk where he can explore new smells. Or maybe he just needs some cuddles. I let him tell me what he needs by offering one and if I receive no response offer an other.
Lovely – consent testing is such an effective tool! 🙂
1.15 am ! and managed to get through all 3 videos tonight. Excellent even if I feel a bit of information overload. Sorry I missed the deadline a few days ago for scholarship but thank you so very much for the free Masterclass. It was excellent and has given us a lot of things to think about.
Wow, my hat off to you, Emma – well done! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
I am now onto video 2 .Karolina it is inspiring to read this. The growl is a gift and we should cherish it. It is indeed our dog giving us a warning that he isn’t happy and I am shouting No! I won’t be doing that again.
I am learning so much even from these short videos in the Free masterclass.
Great to hear!
Karolina I am trying to watch all this before midnight tonight.
We have spent hundreds of pounds on group and one to one trainers and been to socialization classes, watched videos and even Dogs behaving ( very ) badly on Tv.
I have only watched Video 1 tonight and it is the best thing I have come across in 2 years. How do I sign up for you actual full course?
Our cockapoo is a fabulous wee dog. Sleeps well , eats well, we do seeking and play .Not sure yet what care is? He has a small part of him that can be very dangerous and he will bite us,snarl at us and we are frightened he is going to harm one of us.I am now looking to see how I can get him onto the right side of the diagram.
Hi Emma, so glad that the Masterclass resonates with you! 🙂
Here’s where you sign up for the full course: https://illis.se/education/courses/resolving-challenging-behaviour/
hope to see you there! 🙂
Dear Karolina, thank you for another highly informative course. I train with mixed reinforcement (a young mare, 5 years old). She seems to have VERY high expectations to humans, has always been nearly upon you to get attention. She´s bred by one af my best friends so I have known her for at long time. When the owner comes driving along the fence she shows up with the most optimistic look you can imagine. She associates human beings with food and other ressources such as cuddling. Now when training her she often puts her ears back during the sessions. (She is checked by vet and a very competent horse osteopath Karin Wyrtz). It seems to me like she´s a bit dissapointed by me (as if she expects me to be a bigger ressource than I turned out to be). Maybe I AM dissapointing, it could very well be the case. The putting-ears-back-thing both occurs when training with positive reinforcement as well as training with mixed reinforcement (eg going for a small trip with rider (=me) on the back (using a light leg singal for “go forward” and click + treat when for instance showing curiosity in things looking like predators. I can send video if you like 🙂 Her body language shows me that she feels safe with me and with the settings around the riding arena. She easily feels overwhelmed when going longer away from home and the other horses (so I train that in very small amounts using counter conditioning all along and she is getting more safe and relaxed out in the big world). How can I work with her moodstages..? Getting those beautiful long red ears forward 😉 ?? She very easily gets high aroused so I train changing to a lower level of arousal (moving between the core affects spaces). That works well, but ears are still pointing backwards (maybe 50/50 but still much I think). Her father is known for having a special spirit, but I just feel that it is too easy to explain it that way. And kind of a way of just accepting that you cant do anything about it. I very much look forward to hear from you 🙂
Hi Anne, so glad you liked the Masterclass!
I would advise you to find someone to work with who can look at the details (including video or live observations) of what’s going on – context and details are extremely important. Those behaviours might be pain-related or having to do with frustration, for instance. Mixing positive and negative reinforcement can potentially be confusing, too, depending on how it’s carried out. Some online resources to look into would be https://connectiontraining.com/
and https://www.theclickercenter.com/
Best of luck! 🙂
Hi and thank you for this masterclass which I have really enjoyed
My pup beagl e collie cross is not reactive to people other dogs cars is very sweet natured and at home a pleasure off lead he is pretty good but on a lead walk he is frustrated lunges and erratic I am too slow and he is up on walls nose in bushes he can smell things I can t see but if he has off lead time he walks like a dream … Interestingly if we do a out and back walk on lead the walk back he walks well how do I change his emotional state as not trigger related …
Hi Debby, that type of leash reactivity can take some work, I would advise you to get a trainer onboard who can help you come up with a plan. Essentially it’s working on loose leash walking with a high Rate of Reinforcement (RoR) in a situation where there are no triggers, and then gradually introducing distractors (maintaining the RoR) and then finally introducing triggers at a distance. Also, if there’s excitement around the leash itself it might be worthwhile to change it or break the classically conditioned association between the leash and fun-things-about-to-happen. Best of luck! 🙂
Hi Karolina
A huge thank you for the free masterclass. You are so knowledgeable, enthusiastic and inspiring!
I would truly love to enrol onto the full course, but unfortunately I am already overcommitted with two online courses and work training for the next few months. I really hope to enrol next time, when I should have finished the online training courses.
Please keep in touch in the meantime.
Also, I could not see the link, after video 3, to the blog on punishment that you mentioned. Is this blog, and the 2 other blogs, still available after today’s deadline please? I don’t have enough time to look at them before midnight.
Thank you again Karolina.
Take care
Jan
Hi Jan, you’re welcome!
A wise decision – it’s so easy to get overwhelmed..! 🙂 Hope to *see* you in some future course, then!
I will leave some links on this page once the Masterclass is over – the punishment post is here: https://illis.se/en/punishment-problems/
Re: changing emotional responce to a given trigger.
Two examples:
1. Brushing. She hated it and reacted with stress-related behaviours.
I started husbandry training and taught her the position I wanted her to take. Then I took that behaviour out of the training context to a cuddle-in-bed context. Then I added the brush.
Now the sight of the brush became a trigger for her to take the position – at least when she’s on my bed.
2. Collar grab.
I tried for quite a long time doing the typical counter-conditioning: grab the collar, give the cookie. For some reason it seemed not to work. Maybe because I would also grab her collar when she was doing something I didn’t want her to, there was not enough systematic desensitisation in the process (I saw a difference when I attached a piece of leash to her collar and grabbed that instead of the collar). When I had really high value treats she would push her neck into my hand, but she still seemed not to like it – she just knew it was the way to get the treats.
So I changed the context from training to cuddling once again. While cuddling I would get my hand closer and closer to her neck and I could grab her collar without signs of stress in the first cuddle session. I continued to only grab her collar while cuddling for some time, even if it was during a short pause in formasl training session. Then I noticed a shift in her reaction to the collar grab also in other situations, she reacted much calmer or sometimes didn’t mind at all.
Thanks for sharing your stories, Joanna! Such great examples of how thinking outside the box can sometimes really help! 🙂
With Miss Pyza, with whom I mado much more mistakes in various fields of our relationship, thinking outside the box is a must. We had poisoned cues and to some extent the whole training situation was affected – I wouldn’t say poisoned, but due to my lack of skill at the beginning combined with her lack of confidence, at the beginning the training was quite frustrating for both of us. And that feeling of frustration kind of stuck with training itself for quite a long time. Echoes of that can be seen in some of the behaviours.
Have I managed to shift my animal (dog) mood?
– Yes!
How much did it take?
– Hard to tell, but I would count it in moths or even years.
What were the signs?
– She started to play more, grabbed a toy more often and in wider variety of situations; showed less fear in many situations.
How did I do it?
– I started training. We started from a place where she displayed many behaviours that I found annoying (like running around and getting under my legs). The effect was I got angry, she got anxious and often even more frantic. Or shut down. So I took those behaviours one by one and tought her replacement behaviours – like sitting on a target. That took away many situations where I got angry.
Other part: I tried to eliminate as far as possible other situations where she got frightened. She feared being groomed, so apart from starting husbandry training I learned to minimise the amount of grooming (basically cutting her hair short so she didn’t need brushing and frequent bathing, as she’s one of the long-haired breeds that need that). Trying to be more gentle during the procedure and using more trerats. Walking in places with less probability of meeting other dogs, especially off-leash dogs.
So generally we were through training to mood shift and started with behaviour change.
Great observation about how your own emotional state impacts the situation! 🙂
This masterclass was so interesting, I am at my wits end with trying to help my 3yr old jack, we can’t take him out to an outside or inside cafe or bar as if anyone comes into our space he goes mental and lunges and attacks, he has managed to nip someone’s calf once so we can’t take him out with us for a coffee anymore he’s a gem at home , gets lots of rest, best food , lots of love and cuddles, can’t fathom what may have happened as we’ve had him since pup, so so sad to see him this distraught and fearful, i feel ive tried everything, is it going to be that he can never come out with us ??
Hi Bren – I would start with a vet check just to rule out anything medical. And then a combination of counterconditioning and DRI might be one type of solution? “when people walk next to me while I’m lying down, I look at my person and good things happen”. Best of luck! 🙂
Thankyou will try it, trouble is it happens so quickly and no amount of top notch treat will deter him , he’s in killing mode and only me dragging him away stops him
The trick is to do the training sub-threshold – the triggers need to be at such a distance so that those reactions aren’t triggered. 🙂
Thankyou, I can’t remember what the DR1 is and you referenced a Susan garret link that I can’t find , I’m determined to sort this for him
DRI – Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible behaviour. In your case, “looking at his person” would be incompatible with “lunging at strangers”, he can’t do both at the same time – that’s why I would consider that behaviour to train in response to the trigger of people getting closer. On the other hand, he might need to look at the stranger to do a risk assessment, so maybe “looking at his person” is not the best choice of incompatible behaviour in that case. Overall, it’s hard to give advise without knowing the situation in detail – and I would advise against going to cafes and restaurants until the problem is sorted or at the very least managed. Training needs to occur in set-ups with people approaching him after your instructions. I would suggest you find a trainer who can help out with the planning and execution of this. 🙂
The Susan Garret link i referenced did not have any relevance to your situation, I don’t think, unfortunately. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K17x8i_Qb9k
A question: Is puppy weaning flooding? (Or kitten, or buying any animal and taking it to a completely new environment)
Interesting question. I wouldn’t call it flooding necessarily (in my mind that expression is reserved to the technique of trying to get an animal used to something through full-on exposure to a scary stimulus). However, I think in many cases weaning can be totally overwhelming, even traumatic – and certainly many of the physiological reactions associated with flooding occurs when a young animal is uprooted and re-housed.
I though about this when listening to the part about an animal being taken to the vet for the first time – and flooded with potentially scary novelty. Taking the puppy away from home seems kind of similar experience, although there are ways to mitigate it, especially if the breeder and the new owner live relatively close and visits are possible.
I’m thinking the best way would be to do multiple visits to establish at least the budding of a bond, as well as some sensory items (smells, fabrics etc) from the future owner to the breeder – as well as transferring some items from the breeder to the new house. SO rather than a complete and sudden context shift, it’s a gradual change.
when my pup got the whale eye at someone in our house, I started sing and dancing to La Cucaracha. No one can stay in a bad mood to that!
hahaha!
Hi Karolina. Thanks again for providing us with your free masterclasses. I just watched the first video. Makes so much sense and love how easily you explain everything.
I am wondering if yourself or others who read the comments have a suggestion. My dog Luna had a traumatic experience with wasps the other week and has since been terrified if she hears them. I feel so terrible that allowing her to explore ended in her being stung multiple times. (I was unaware that there was a nest around)
She shows anxiety, panic, and fear (not in an aggressive sense) and either runs to the house or hides between our legs or at our side for protection.
How would one change her emotional response to this?
Thank you
How would one change her
Angela, the second video should give you some ideas – systematic desensitization / counterconditioning might help her (be careful so that you don’t flood her, perhaps try a recording at very low volume)! Also if she’s really upset perhaps wait a week or two so that she’s recovered from the immediate trauma.
Thank you Karolina for your reply. Yes as soon as I pressed play on the second video I thought opps wrote that comment a little early.
I appreciate your suggestion of the recording. I can keep helping her throughout the winter so she is prepared and relaxed for next summer.
Thank you again!
You’re welcome, Angela! Best of luck! 🙂
Video 1
I have experimented with nail trimming on dogs. The dogs have reacted negatively to the claw pliers and they have been forcibly clipped.
I have then made the dogs search for the claw tongs and when they find it I reward with play. The next step is when I cut a claw, then it’s a game. The dog must be completely calm before rewarding with play. The first dog took several hours. The fourth dog there took 18 minutes and all the claws were clipped. The problem is to teach the dog owner who often has many negative feelings left. I have only done this on 4 dogs but I will continue and also try to find good ways to make the owners work so they can do the nail trimming and feel joy.
Petra, you may want to explore Start buttons as a way to tweak your claw-clipping procedure – it’s a way to give more control to the animal over each handling bout. This FB group is a good starting point (check out the “guide” video!): https://www.facebook.com/groups/455346081942400
Just seen video 2 twice. Came to think on a problem we have. She is basically a happy dog with good social instincts. When she was 9 mnd old I took her to the annual easterski-arrangement with costumes at our cabin. A friendly setting with people in all ages and a few dogs. Everything went very good and she was very happy (I went out of the situation a few times give her a pause) until it came to the time for applaus. She reacted really full on for that. Since then (she is 2 years old), that has been a problem. I have tried to decensity her by expose her to it on a distance (at dog competitions we attend t.ex.). To start with we played on a distance. Now we can do obidience (freestyle or rally) that she knows near by. I let her decide the distance. I have altso start using clapping myself in a spesific training situation. Stopping BEFORE she reacts to it and end it with a treat.
After seeing the video, I am not sure if this is the right aproaches.
Sounds like the right approach to me..? applause at a distance, gradually getting closer – that would be systematic desensitization. clapping and then following up with a treat would be systematic desensitization. Clapping at such a low intensity that she doesn’t react would be under threshold. Letting her decide the distance would be giving control to the animal – all good training ideas! One thing you could explore would be Start Buttons! 🙂
Thank you! I have considered teaching her startbuttons, but I havent found how to do it with her yet. Usually pretty easy to read, but here I am a little stuck.
I started this Facebook group when I did a free series about Start buttons – Eva Bertilsson (who coined the term) is an admin and sometimes announces courses etc. There’s also a guide that I did to get started that you might find helpful: https://www.facebook.com/groups/455346081942400
Thank you! Already member of the group. I have to motivate myself to find the right sollution for my dog on this topic!
Thanks Karolina. Really enjoyed the free masterclass. Cheers.
So glad to hear that, JJ! 🙂
I really enjoyed your first video! Loved all the different idea’s to help change emotions. I have had a very fear aggressive dog, tried to help him as much as I could. Wish I knew of this before! He would have had a much better, unstressful life. All these videos should really help me help my students with their dogs issues.
I have a problem, that might fall into this info, it’s my male flat coated retriever. He is very jealous of my younger male Gordon Setter puppy, now almost two. It’s been hard to get the older male to see there is no reason to be jealous, and guard. I have enough love for all 3 dogs. The older tries to control the younger Gordon, as too where can pass. Will anything in this class maybe help that? To change his emotions toward the other?
Hi Karla, you might get some ideas from video 2 – if you’re using “seeing the other dog” as an aversive stimulus to attempt to countercondition. Otherwise I also recommend checking out Susan Garrett’s project togetherness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K17x8i_Qb9k
My6yo daughter and I are watching your masterclass again, Karolina. We have to slow down to 75% speed and pause to discuss new words and read text. You are a wonderful speaker and listening and watching you is a pleasure (I am a former Toastmasters member).
My daughter has copied the faces from the mood video into her album.
And we realised that we know a dog who goes from 0 to 100 in a split second. He tears through people in the dog park at full gallop, jumping over golden retrievers, all the dogs start chasing him with barking (it’s a small dog park where all dogs and people know each other). Then he grabs bags if people forgot to pick them up upon his arrival, and rips them up. He stole my daughter’s beanie, tried stealing her mittens. He has brought a few people down on the ground by rolling under their knees at full speed. Then he jumps up to lick you and finally sits quietly if you have treats. But if you fumble with your plastic zip lock bag of chicken, he’ll grab it and swallow unopened – this happened with me.
His owner says she’d never know this part of him if she didn’t bring him to the park. Because at home and walking on a leash he is so calm!
My daughter is determined to watch your videos again before Thursday. She takes screenshots of key moments. I am grateful for this opportunity for both of us! And we don’t have any pets.
Well hello again, Katrina and Maria! So glad you enjoyed the Masterclass! 🙂
As you may know (?) I have very limited practical experience with dogs, but that kind of high exuberant arousal sounds exhausting – it’s a good thing that it only happens in specific contexts! (and perhaps there’s a chain of events that sets him off – typically at some point of intense arousal animals will lose it and “flip out” – we most often see this with negative emotions but I think it can happen with positive emotions too..!)
Thank you for this insightful masterclass. It fals into place with what I already know.
I wonder if body language is always true.
So my dog stopped barking at a dog but if she is still afraid or aroused for other reason will she always show it with her body?
I would say that she will always show it, but that many people don’t know how to read their animals…
Will this course cover
body language – how to read it
how to understand what is causing certain behaviour
how to know what animal gains from certain behaviour
Thank you
Hi – the Masterclass doesn’t deal much in any of those questions – but the full course does. 🙂
I have shared this on my fb page (worked out how to do lol) and recommended it, I was so impressed with how this course was run, Karolina is very smart and first time I have heard about looking at now the dog is – its mood and emotional state, and working on changing it for the good of the dog. I have heard other trainers that teach ‘conditioning’ the dog to do what one wants but not really seeing the whole aspect of how the dog is feeling inside and building upon having such a happy dog.
I am so glad I saw these 3 masterclasses to get a different prospective and although I am not going to join the full course as I have yet to get puppy (may take a few years), maybe being offered a scholarship would be amazing if I was worthy to get one so that I can learn even further, and this is also a first for me that scholarships is being offered and understood that not everyone can afford to pay and willing to do this so thank you.
How do we keep in touch with you if not joining up for the full course? As I would love to connect and be made aware of any other ‘free courses’ you might do.
Hi Ruth – so glad you enjoyed the Masterclass, and thank you so much for sharing it, too! 🙂
I can see that you signed up for the Masterclass so no worries, I will keep you posted on the other free stuff I will be tossing your way! 🙂
Could someone please explain to me the graph on approach avoidance behaviour in video 2 ( 26.32) ? I understand the concept, but where on the graph is the scary thing? Thank you.
Hi Alison, great to see you again, it’s been a while! 🙂 The scary thing hides in the Y axis – the X-axis is “distance from the scary thing”… not more complicated than that! 🙂
Ah thank you!
I’ve just watched the first video. Really enjoyed it, thank you very much for providing this! I’m a big fan of COAPE. I do lots of r+ with my horse, mainly for enrichment now but first started due to his extreme aggression (we had the help of IAABC behaviourist for 18 months). He enjoys our sessions and recently has been getting very excited when he sees me setting the area up. He’ll pace the fence line watching me then come hurtling over ready to get started. First I thought this was great! How lovely that he’s so excited to engage. But now I’m not so sure, I think he then gets too excited almost and maybe frustrated? For example he’s just offering behaviours he thinks I want before I ask anything and pulling faces at me tossing his head a bit if he’s not reinforced instantly! Potentially a little dangerous with a loose big horse getting confused/frustrated/over excited? So I feel he’s then going into a negative mood state. What can I do?
That type of anticipatory arousal can easily build, for sure. and this is a prime example of classical conditioning: watching Jen prep means fun things are about to happen, so the happy-excited feelings associated with the fun things rub off on watching Jen prep; and if that goes on for too long that happy-excited feeling builds to go through the roof.
In my mind there are two ways of dealing with this, depending on your setting. 1 is a lot easier than 2.
1) Make those preparations without him watching, so that the unconditioned stimulus (having fun) occurs without a preceding conditioned stimulus (watching Jen prepare).
2) Make the preparations without actually following up with the fun session. So respondent extinction – breaking the association between Jen preparing and having fun. In other words, make those preparations, and then leave, or do something else together. (yes that will be frustrating, so you’d need to redirect and do other fun things)
Thank you for your reply. He’s definitely calmer if he’s not been watching, but I swear he’d spot me a mile off at the moment! I’ll have to try setting up and doing something else with him. Which will be hard as I’ll feel like I’m spoiling his fun. But I understand now having watched your videos that he may actually start to feel negative feelings if he gets himself so aroused, and that’s definitely not what we want. Thank you ☺️
Hello. May I join in? I like the idea of doing the preparations and not proceeding with fun. But I also imagine that could lead to mistrust.
Would it be helpful, or less frustrating, if preparation is divided into stages with pauses or unexpected actions between stages? For example, first you’d set up cones (or whatever, I don’t know about horses, my main interest is dogs) and then you either do a silly dance or start doing something you never do while preparing; after that you do the next step of prep and then move on to another unexpected action, such as sweep the floor or sing a song, and so on. That would break the pattern and stop excitement build-up. Can that work?
As long as you see some relaxation or return to baseline during those unexpected actions, I don’t see why not..! 🙂
From a horse perspective one of my light bulb moments was when you said ‘sometimes you have to help animals resist the magnetisation effect and prevent them getting too close.’ I have a horse that I would describe as ‘too bold’. I am generally keen to encourage his curiosity and let him explore things if he wants. However, what I have found is that sometimes that gets him into trouble. We had a muck heap which was where we could take the wheel barrow to the edge of a drop and tip the muck off onto the ground below. My horse loves sniffing poo so I would let him as we walked past get a good whiff. One day when I wasn’t particularly paying attention and the pile of poo was quite high he just stepped off onto the muck pile and sank! Luckily all was well – he was a bit surprised though. So I have to be mindful to allow curiosity but also temper that with preventing him getting himself into trouble.
The other scenario where this can work against you is loading. First time I loaded him as a 4 year old when I picked him up to take him home he just walked straight in no fuss, no looking, just in. Obviously you think this is great! But what worried me was that he hadn’t actually learned what the horsebox was all about and what to expect after he’d loaded. We tried at home helping him learn that by taking it slowly but he just loaded himself – ok so we thought no problem. And then for some reason he one day (we didn’t go out in the horsebox much) he stopped on the ramp and hesitated. I was delighted it meant we could allow him to work through going in and what it meant and give him the time to make a conscious decision to load. All we did was provide him hay at the top of the ramp and a trail of hay into the body of the horsebox then let him explore and eat. He spent 20 mins walking up getting a bit of hay, backing down, coming back up getting a bit of hay and this went on over time with him coming in a bit further then going back out with no input from us. It didn’t feel like bribery because he had choice to eat the grass outside the horsebox or come in to get hay. After those 20 minutes he loaded himself and stood happily eating the hay. It felt like a win because he made a conscious choice to come into the lorry it wasn’t just impulse / the magnetisation you talked about.
oh that’s priceless, sinking in poo!
Great that you did all that preventative work, my guess is it might have saved you some concerns later on…
Had quite a few light bulb moments from the second video. Again I wanted to share my experience with elderly relatives who have dementia / alzheimers. In the hospital they use something called the Newcastle Formula which is exactly like the traffic light system you shared. Green lists the behaviours the person displays when they are in a positive emotional state (content), amber / yellow lists the behaviours that the person will exhibit when they are becoming agitated / distressed etc and red lists the behaviours when they have ‘flipped out’ as you called it. What the document also lists is the the actions that carers/family can take if they notice the person moving from green to yellow – mostly distraction and the most effective distractions. That might be offering ice cream, or suggesting there is work that needs doing and you need their help or perhaps offering a walk in the garden or giving space. If the person has hit the red zone then there is noted useful actions / strategies to help reassure / de-escalate and help them move back into yellow and green.
Oh, that’s such a great – and simple – idea! Love it! 🙂
In 2012 I took in a dangerously fearful pony. Her behavior started changing on Day 1 when I showed her with my body language that I would be her Protector. It took 2 – 3 years to see maximum improvement. She is still vigilant, but quick to trust that new people and situations are safe, even fun.
Lots of SEEKING, PLAY, interactions with many different people who earned trust. The 3 pillars of horse welfare: Friends (compatible companions), Forage, Freedom (space to move, and latitude to express her emotions).
Hi Lynn! thanks for sharing that story – and I’d say those pillars are relevant to most other social species, too! 😉
#2….. I remember Sophia Yin, a beautiful soul, way ahead of her time. Rest in peace Sophia.
I love this concept of changing someone’s mood to feel better and therefore calmer! This should be applied to all living beings! My dog is happy much of the time. I now have to learn how to keep him that way when one of his uncomfortable situations arise. 1. When people come to our house. 2. When seeing dogs and other animals anywhere.
Hopefully you’ll get some ideas from video 2 and those two blog posts..! 🙂
Thats what I thought too….. for people….”This should be applied to all living beings! “
I am desperate to find a solution to a couple of behaviors my dog exhibits.
1. Counter surfing all the time
2. Barking barking barking whenever anyone comes to the house ( even extended family members) AND when they leave the house!!!
Hi Miriam, hopefully you’ll get some ideas in the Masterclass. You might also want to read this blog post – https://illis.se/en/punishment-problems/ (the section you may want to focus on is 3/4 down the page and under the heading Setting up for failure – or success? )
Starting in with #1, I am fast to judge, maye too fast for my own good. ……. So, my God, you are so beautiful, your singing is beautiful (more please). I love dogs, they are special to me mostly because they are always honest with you. Anything, anyway I learn to help dogs is priceless to me.
thank you
back to vid now
First thing I do at the shelter when walking dogs….. try to read their emotional state so I know how to ‘support’ them the best way I can. I first look to ‘get a feel’ if I can trust them not to hurt/bite me and I try to (without words) let them know they are safe with me…. from there I look to your knowledge.
taking the “temperature” so to speak – great thing to do any time we meet an animal… reading their current emotional state.
Hi Don – glad this resonates with you! 🙂
Karolina, I never miss your free masterclasses and will continue to take your courses. Love the ”100 rabbit holes” ️you leave for us in every module. If it were not for you, I still wouldn’t know of all those fascinating new concepts (Well, new for me). Also, love your powerful phrases like ”The annoying behaviour has CONTEXT”. Wow!. Of course I knew that but I had never put it into those words. I could make a t-shirt with those words and your name on it I’ve taken notes of your powerful and insightful phrases❤️ You rock! Ps: My website in being built… finally 🙂
Monica! Great to *see* you here! Not sure I can take credit for all phrases – I’m sure I’m not the first to say that..! 😉
And – congratulations on your website! 🙂
I have succesfully changes high arousal stressfull behaviours (in dogs and horses) by both seeking and managing the humans emotion. We are quite often the driver of the animals emotion. Especially when it comes to unwanted behaviours.
If we as humans are relaxed and trustworthy its much easier for the animal to relax.
But I also have a dog that is absolutely manic about digging after rodents. If she is allowed to express that behaviour her overall Welfare gets totally in to red. Its almost like giving drugs to an addict. In order to keep her happy and in balance we search after things that’s not as triggering. So the point you made about monitoring the animals change in emotional state cant be stressed enough.
Oh, such an important point (and often neglected) – the importance of the human’s emotional state! <3
Thank you for sharing this useful Information
You’re welcome, Hege! 🙂
hi Karolina!
as always, fantastic!
my experience with horses and dogs, and cats..is to share a calm state of mind;
then food, scratches…head low in horses..but i find me being calm and relax..is the most important thing
HI Patricia, thanks – and yes, co-regulation is a great tool to help calm (or be calmed by!) another.
How’s your finger, by the way? 🙂
Thank you for a great video! My dog was really scared of hardwood floors and other ”strange” surfaces when she was young. We started doing a lot of nose work (searching for the toy Kong in minute pieces) and when she was working, the drive to find that little piece of rubber made her overcome her fears. Now she is 9 years old, we participate in search competitions with some success and she is completely cool in any enviroment. I often tell our story to my students at the dog club, and I know that this has helped several dogs and their families.
Thanks for sharing your story, Anna – that type of strategy can work really well for that type of irrational fear, I’m guessing (but I’d also be mindful so that there isn’t an underlying medical problem; certain floors get slippery and painful if you have arthritis, for instance…)
Just watched the first video. You are such an excellent communicator and explain concepts in a way that is very accessible. Thank you so much. Fred, my rescue lurcher, has come a long way since I adopted him 4.5 years ago, three weeks prior to England locking down during the pandemic. As a result of the lockdown all the promised support offered on adoption and follow up visits did not transpire and my very anxious dog seemed to attach himself to me like a piece of Velcro! It’s been a real uphill struggle at times and I almost lost confidence in my ability to change his negative behaviour/mood. I have been following your previous free courses and they have helped me to confirm that my instincts are generally right when it comes to making him feel safe and improving his reactivity to other dogs outside. Often it’s other owners who believe it’s acceptable for their off lead dog to approach mine that causes the problems. I realise I still have a lot to learn and look forward to the next two videos with enthusiasm. Thank you again Karolina.
Hi Jan – great to *see* you again! Lock down caused a lot of havoc, for sure..! I should think that particularly videos 1 and 2 are useful for you. 🙂
Came to think of a situation when we used this. When Piu was a puppy, she came when we called her, but stopped 1 meter from us. AND to get her in to the house from the garden was pretty impossible. We stopped to grab a hold at her. We just made it fun to get indoors (play, food and other things). To get us past us in stead of stopping. We made a tunnel for her throuh our legs. It took some months, but now she has a pretty steady recall. Always get a treat when we put on the leash after recall.
Great to hear, thanks for sharing, Janne Gry! 🙂
So nice to see this again!
I have shifted one dog from beeing fearfull/aggressive in som siutations (it was because of health issue, that we found later) by stopping to be so tense about it myself. Letting my shoulders down really helped the dog. She was very vell trained an did different dog sports – it helped her a lot that I said what to do. I used “gossip-training”(look at me???) with her. That helped her a lot. But I dont think that was changing her moods very much? Maybe expect she could turn to me to ask for “advice”
The one I have now is a HAPPY border collie, 2 years old. It is easy to forget that she is not always happy of course. Thats why I was so happy when this course came up again. I need to explore this a little more with her.
She just has some minor issues, but the biggest is chasing after deer in the woods. She looses her head completly and that I have not found a good sollution for (therefore always on leash then). Things that we have been able to train “look at that” when its behind a fence first is no problem meeting in the wild- including sheep.
The other is staying calm in the house when nothing is happening. Outdoors, in the traininghall, camp sites, outdoor training, other peoples houses. No problem, but at home in daytime she thinks we should party all day and show undesireble behaviors when I wont do that. I havent figured out how to shift her mood to stay calm and relax or play herself yet. I dont want to use a cage.
I use a ball or another toy as reward a lot in training and she can then express her need to herd in that.
I altso use treat-hunting on ground and t.ex on a three sometimes. We now she is good at finding people, but havent done that lately.
Great to see you back! Hope you’ll pick something new from this Masterclass this time around.
Perhaps what you were doing had more to do with what we’ll discuss in video 2, about changing emotions. Rather than change her overall mood state, perhaps you removed one of the triggers (your body language). 🙂
Looking forward to it!
❤️
Definitely changed mood state by ensuring safety is recognised by new dogs into our home .. our most recent rottie had been in domestic abuse home and although calm in that guardian way .. she was very watchful.. what you might describe as ‘serious’ .. she would stand 3 meters and observe us to make sure all was well. She was ok to be handled etc but only once she felt safe did her happy demeanour come out. Her face completely changed and she became ‘silly’
That put a smile on my face. Silly is great! 🙂
Thank you KarolinaI’ve already done your full course twice but I always take part in your free masterclasses. Great repetition!!
I have a very pessimistic and reactive BC. I’ve done a lot of optimism work and empowerment training to move her towards the right in CAS. Wanted to let you know that my new tool for the last 1 1/2 year is Movement Puzzles by the brilliant Mari Valgma. Pattern games really rocks.
Well hello Anita, glad to see you here, again! So great that you find Mari Valgma’s concepts useful, I’ve seen some of her work! Brilliant in all its simplicity! 🙂
I’m the very geeky pet-parent of Nina (Field Trial Labrador) and three cat sisters rescued from a farm when the temperature was going to drop to minus 7.
Have been interested in and studied dog behavior ever since Jessy (my second Lab) taught me that old school methods (corrections) didn’t work for her, nor on her – they were counterproductive. Took a lot of workshops and (instructor) courses since then.
Your presentation on mood was the clearest on emotions, mood, and behavior I’ve seen to date. It already has filled several gaps in my thinking I didn’t even know I had!
My current challenge is making Nina more comfortable/okay with being without me and less reactive to people passing close to her or past our front window. An extra challenge in this is that I live alone and work from home.
Everything I’m working on with her is intended to decrease my role in her fun activities and her sense of safety, and increase her self-reliance, confidence, and independence.
Concretely:
– Desensitizing her to my movements – she’s totally conditioned to expecting fun/pleasant stuff to happen (food, going for a walk or to a fun training).
– Conditioning more safety cues to lower the importance of my presence.
– Decreasing my role in her fun activities, for example going with a dog walker once a week to play with other dogs without me being around.
– Getting her to do more by herself (again) to experience she can have fun and feel good without my involvement. She does wander off by herself when we’re outside, but has stopped playing on her own inside. Teaching her cues outside to distinguish between “I’ll play with you” and “Go play without me”, so I can use these inside eventually as well.
I’m fortunate to have a guide/trainer who understands the importance and impact of emotions. Still, I crave the background knowledge to think through and solve challenges in what I observe in Nina myself. Even when I know that you’re often too close to your own animals to see their behavior clearly and interpret it objectively.
Hi Marjan, that put a smile on my face – great to hear that you enjoyed video 1! 🙂
Safety cues are often social, so don’t underestimate your value in, through co-regulation, helping her learn to self-regulate! You may want to check out polyvagal theory and how it relates to the human-animal bond – I touch on this also in the Resolving Challenging Behaviour (opening soon) as well as the Animal Emotions (opens in January) courses.
Yay. I love putting smiles on peoples faces.
Safety cues being social is indeed part of the challenge I face with Nina as I want her to be able to stay home alone and feel at least okay. Talk radio is on the list, even though I abhor it myself :).
Your video made me realize why it helps to let her wander off while I park myself somewhere: it lets her engage in seeking behavior. Yesterday showed me a prime example of that, with Nina trying to locate a hare that had absconded at the first chance after she came close.
I know about the vagus nerve and its function, but didn’t know there was a theory on it for behavior modification, or there is a ‘poly’ part to it. So thanks for that. I’ll be digging into it 🙂
I’d love to take the Resolving Challenging Behavior course. I’ll apply for one of your scholarships (when that opens) but just in case, I am also looking for a sponsor for (part of) the price. Also because, while I do talk a lot about these things to other pet owners, I expect and understand you’d prioritize trainers and therapists who’d impact many more animal lives, including the human variety.
Looking forward to your next video!!!
❤️
Deng, missed the deadline. Having to submit my tax return and moving sites to another hosting company got in the way. I’ll keep an eye out for emails!
To answer your last question from the first video: I succesed to shift my dog mood from “generally grumpy” to playful and more easy-going, by addressing the nutrition part. He always gets his food through seeking activities and we train a lot, so his SEEKING and CARE was definitely high, even his PLAY. When we found out that he doesn’t produce enough enzymes to help digest his food properly and we addressed that with a plan from a nutritionist, he became generally happy. We experienced his mood change by him seeking our company more and his PLAY behavior with us and the other dog in the household went from 0-2 times a day, to 3-6 times a day, which was quite interesting to witness, by “just” addressing nutrition 🙂
Wow! That’s so exciting, wonderful – thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
I think we’re only starting to understand just how important nutrition is with regards to mood and health. Worth keeping an eye on the science in this field, for sure! 🙂
Wow, this is great. What made you think to look at this nutrition and how did you find out about the enzymes?
Asking because this year Nina lost weight after being sick for a couple of days and I couldn’t get her to gain it back despite almost doubling her food (which she gets in puzzles, toys like snack balls, or hidden around the house).
Consulted a vet and we changed her food to the fish-and-rice based variety of the same (high quality) brand she already ate. Within a week (!) she gained back the lost weight and now I’m back to the normal pattern with a Labrador: making sure her waist doesn’t balloon out of all proportions.
Karolina, you are amazing! The way you explain and your singing – wow!
*taking a bow* so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Thanks so much! I love how crystal clear you are.
I now wrote in my calendar to, with every long walk, include SEEKING and PLAY.
To answer your question: I can really tell when my dog’s needs are met because she is not ‘just sleeply’ or ‘just tired’ afterwards but truly and deeply calm and satisfied.
She eats all her meals from feeding puzzles. I do at least one sniffing game per day with all kinds of toys. I make (with the Forever Dog Book) her own meals now. She gets lots of CARE from me, I love caressing her and she loves to snuggle up against me, also when I go to bed (she’s allowed to start off on the bed and after 10 minutes she goes to one of her own beds) and in the morning she sleeps in the corner of my knees. She gets enough walks. Recently, she’s going to Dog Daycare 3 afternoons so she can PLAY with other dogs as well. I sometimes do PLAY with her at home as well.
I think the SEEKING part is the one area that I can certainly develop more. So I am going to bring some different kinds of treats for her to ‘find’, or hide her favorite toy during the walk and she loves doing ‘tricks’ with me because to her it feels like a game, I think. I am not stressing her out to ‘perform’ at the tricks at all. I just want her to have fun.
Sounds like you’re already doing lots of great stuff, Carolien! Keep us posted on how your SEEKING experiments turn out! 🙂
Fantastic!!! What a clear and easy to understand explanation of a topic that most animal owners intuitively know (at some level, I believe) but lack the scientific backing. I loved the part about seeking. For me, it connected some free-floating dots (and question marks) as it revealed the interrelatedness of play/seeking, good mood, and good animal-human relationship. This is an excellent description of the basis that is needed to create a trusting and caring relationship. Thank you, Karolina!
Hi Irja! So glad you enjoyed this first video! 🙂 Sometimes all you need is to hear it from someone else to connect all the dots..! 🙂
The thing that resonated the most for me and my horses is the bit about tending to bounce back to the emotional state we spend most time in. I’ve become particularly interested in behaviour wellbeing and ethology recently. Bizarrely not least due to having elderly relatives with dementia who are unable to communicate why they’re feeling how they are (pretty obvious the emotion behind their behaviour) and a great quote that says behaviour is a reaction to the environment and a communication. What is the unmet need that is underlying the unwanted behaviour.
” what is the unmet need underlying the unwanted behaviour” – such a powerful statement! 🙂
Do you remember who said “behavior is a reaction to the environment and a communication”? I’d like to see what else s/he has to say.
Yes it was Naomi Fisher on a linkedin post – she is a psychologist and writes a lot about children, behaviour and unmet needs among other things. Highly recommend.
Thanks!
It’s my second time doing this class. Thank you for presenting it. one of the things I’m interested in is the difference between predator and prey animal behaviors/ emotions…. do you think it’s the same with the mood whether they are dog, cat or prey animal like Horse or sheep?
I’m asking this since prey animals mostly are seeking safety before anything else. If they don’t feel safe, they can be triggered by many things and then they often won’t eat or sleep. Do you think that the same concepts apply regardless?
I think the need for safety is the most important regardless of which species we’re talking about (from an evolutionary perspective, it’s the only thing that makes sense). BUT, that prey animal species are much more sensitive to both what they interpret as danger cues and the lack of safety cues. In other works, it takes a lot less to make a prey animal species feel vigilant and uncomfortable than it does a predator.
You are brilliant. I am totally unacademic dyslexic positive reinforcement horse trainer and I love your lessons so much. with or training I never address the “problem” to start with I just train under threshold with reward. when we get to the problem it has 80% disapeared so I suppose we have been successful at changing their mood states and they have become optimistic. cant wait for the next video . I will do one of your paid courses when I can I am sure they are worth every penny
Hi Connie – that put a big smile on my face! So glad you enjoyed the first video! 🙂
Those problem behaviours are often the reflection of some unmet need, so once we’ve taken care of the need, the problem behaviour goes away..! 🙂
Great course. It took a year to shift my rescue dogs mood consistently he was sleep deprived with very poor nutrition and very pessimistic. We worked on all three areas I made him a lot of boxes to open with treats and chews in and he started to become more curious and optimistic, I think these made the most difference as he was seeking and also in control
Thank you
Glad to hear that things worked out for you, Karena! Sometimes if the animal is very anxious, enrichment items need to be introduced very gradually so as not to scare the animal – and frustration tolerance might be so low so any type of puzzles need to be super easy..!
I am not familiar with your work Katrina (sorry), I’m still a relatively new dog mama. And have / I am learning the hard way!
I asked questions and sought information – that never really got me the answers I needed.
This video would have set me straight from the get go, and maybe just maybe we could have avoided some pitfalls along the way. Inspirational ….
Cannot wait for the next two classes.
Huge thanks x
Glad you found this useful, Deborah!
So interesting , thank you. I was aware of emotion and behaviour links but not the mood . Will work on that.i have a three and a half year old border collie who is naturally pessimistic . Worked on sleep first then play to help her be more optimistic. After a recent trauma , where she was so nervous and scared she wouldn’t leave the drive I also included scent work using her toys. The combination of the three have taken 6 months to bring her levels back to a state she is out on walks off lead. She still has unwanted behaviours in the house and some outside so await the next session to see the next piece of the jigsaw. Fascinating information
So glad to hear that you’ve been able to work through the trauma..! Sniffing and scent work are probably great tools to help bring down arousal while still stimulating SEEKING. Best of luck – hopefully you’ll get more ideas in videos 2 and 3! 🙂
First of all, thanks again for the refreshing insights. As a loyal follower , I have already been able to put many of your insights into practice. Especially with our new family member, a dog with a ‘backpack’.
Nola came to live with us a year ago after she was taken by the authorities together with a great many other dogs from a vicious puppy mill. She was not used to living in a house and therefore had to overcome a lot of hurdles. She really had to learn to trust first and that is why we approached her very carefully. First rest (sleep) and propper food and then very slowly the other components that influence her emotions and state of mind. Now a year later, she has grown into a wonderfully cheerful dog who likes to play sniffing games and is no longer frightened by every new thing but can clearly enjoy life. To the fullest. This is certainly not only our merit, but even more so that of our other dog who guides her calmly and lovingly.
Hi Marianne – and welcome back! Thanks for sharing your heartwarming story!
Thank you for a very informative and hugely entertaining first video in the masterclass. I would class myself as a “geeky pet guardian” who is on a learning journey to help my dog who has several “undesirable ” behaviours. He is a 3 year old miniature schnauzer who we have had since he was 9 weeks old. He is quite simply the most suspicious dog I have ever met! As far as i know he hasn’t had any traumatic experiences
its just who he is. He is suspicious of dogs he does not know, of strange humans, of any kind of handling/ husbandry etc. However, he is curious and wants to check out new things…..but only at his own pace. At home, with his family he is very calm, chilled and affectionate but out and about he is always on high alert looking for possible threats (dogs or humans) or prey animals to chase (cats, squirrels or children!)
The things I do to try and help him to lower his arousal are to let him sniff! Our walks are slow so he can check out every good smell. I often find he is so engrossed in his sniffing that triggers such as children on scooters whizzing by don’t even cause him to look up. I can only hope that one day this might extend to other dogs walking by. I also let him choose our route as much as possible when we are out walking. We have been doing the sport of Mantrailing for over a year now and this has been brilliant for him. You can just see the joy that he gets from finding the missing persons scent and following the trail. It gives him the confidence to approach people he doesn’t know to get his reward when he finds them and builds up those positive experiences.
It was reassuring to see that we already are doing a lot of the things you suggested in the video such as giving him opportunities to sniff and forage for food and making sure he gets good sleep.
I know it will be a long journey to change his reactive behaviours but I can see improvements happening gradually. I’m really looking forward to the next parts of the masterclass.
Hi Isla – glad you enjoyed video 1! 🙂
Sniffing can make a HUGE difference – it’s been shown to reduce heart rate, so a great way to bring arousal down (and also avoid trigger stacking since some stimuli might go unnoticed)…
I am so glad I came across this masterclass. I have an 18 month old male Swedish Vallhund. My chap is highly reactive to things that he is unsure of and I find myself frustrated as to how to help him. Most trainers I have researched have taught obedience and I have felt that this is not the way to help my boy. I have always felt that we could do more together. I love the way you have explained about how mood effects behaviour Katrina. I have already put in to place some of the things you have discussed.
We have started scenting classes and he loves working, I have discovered that he is a thinker and he loves to work things out. Also, when we are on our walks, I have stopped placing importance on heeling (when it is safe) and letting him sniff his way along the path and even tossing his treats into long grass for him to “find”. He has gone from hyper vigilent (quick breathing, up on his toes, always scanning) to cruisy and watching me to see when the next good thing is going to come.
I am looking forward to the next video and am excited to see the change in my boy.
Hi Michelle, yes – seems “sniffaris” are hugely helpful – heart rate goes down as the dog is sniffing, and arousal with it! 🙂 Glad you found this interesting!
Hi Karolina! I have taken your other courses, and they have been hugely helpful with my three ponies, but now I have a young rescue dog who is presenting me with several challenging behaviours. Despite my best efforts she remains a pessimist and I am really hoping that I will be able to help shift her default state.
Thank you I really loved and enjoyed this – I am currently working with a behaviourist who uses concept training – your lecture explains the theory behind why this is working . The first thing I needed to do was withdraw my dog from all his triggers and teach/encourage sleep/rest/relaxation i have used lots of games and playing – I now see what I have been doing is slowly and gradually changing his mood. I am really looking forward to the next instalment – Thank You so much.
Hi Karen – yes, I’m sure that others will frame these concepts differently! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed video 1!
Hi Alison, great to see you here! Hopefully you’ll get some useful ideas – particularly video 1 might be helpful for you! 🙂
I am currently fostering two cats. One is well balanced for the most part, and when he is unhappy, I just called him over and his mood state changes immediately.
The other cat was mistakenly brought into foster from a feral cat colony at one year old with no known human exposure during the socialization period. I had very quick results with the constructional approach, so she’s socialized well. She loves cuddles, playtime, going under the blankets, …BUT … At most times of the day she is fearful of me walking, always fearful of me handling any large piece of laundry like a t-shirt, laundry basket, moving my arms towards her. I think in the three months since I’ve had her, I’ve managed to trim two front nails (as cooperatively as possible). Most of my focus is getting her comfortable in a carrier, But I would really like to do more to keep her in a positive mood state. She has come along way, for the first six weeks, she would sleep most of the day under the sofa. Now she is a bit more out in the open. I’ve done a lot of deconditioning to the doorbell with her, but she does seem to feel more insecure when only the storm door is closed. She can hear the voices from outside, and I think she just thinks it’s a risk for people to come in. I’m hoping to nudge her to become a more resilient cat through these videos. She deserves the best life possible, as do all animals, including farmed animals which I think we all attend to neglect since they are out of sight and out of mind.
Sounds like you’ve made a lot of progress, Melanie! Changing moods can take a lot of time, and sometimes with feral animals it might be a good idea to simply minimize the number of triggers for the first several months… best of luck! 🙂
Really insightful and gives one a lot of thought and thanks for doing this for us
YOu’re welcome, Ruth – glad you enjoyed the first video! 🙂
I use social behaviour to rapidly change a dogs mood. I think a dog only can have one feeling at a time , so changing is everything..
Dogs help each others by using their nose and firmly make a quick push, and when the other dog looks around the get a social behaviour reword like come run with me or calming signals like looking away and yawn, sit done with the back again the other, and then they walk away ore play together. I just do the same, a firm push with my fingers and a social behaviour the dog knows well and automatically change in to.
And thanks for a fantastic course.!
🙂
I would say that animals can be in conflict – they can both want to approach and avoid something at the same time, for instance… 🙂 but it’s probably more of a quick oscillation between the urge to approach and then a split second later they want to back away…
And certainly the presence of a trusted social partner – canine or human – can make all the difference! Many people also attest to the value of explaining things to dogs, sort of as if they were a toddler… 🙂
I’ve done this before, but I know I will learn more, be reminded of things I’ve forgotten and enjoy keeping myself on track.
Jacquie! Looking forward to *seeing* you again! 🙂
After a heads-up from my friend Ulla Renning-Svantesson I’m looking forward to this Masterclass.
I work with dogs and humans with issues through my company Hundpsykologi 112 med M-Suzanne. Can’t wait
Exciting! I hope you’ll enjoy the Masterclass, Suzanne! 🙂
Looking forward to it. I’ve loved all your work so far!
Looking forward to it – see you there! 🙂
Looking forward
Me too! See you there! 🙂
I did your last master class. Totally brilliant. Thank you.
Thanks Connie – I hope you’ll enjoy this one too! 🙂
I seen this linked through Lynn Actons Facebook page, and since I am reading her book right now, I thought this would be a wonderful addition. I am bringing home an 8 yr old Mustang mare within the next couple weeks, and I hope to make the transition into my current herd of four as easy as possible. . I am a farrier as well, and always looking to improve my horsemanship to keep myself and the animals in my care safe. Thanks!
Hi Misty, I hope you’ll enjoy the Masterclass! 🙂
Hi Misty,
Great to see you here! I am sure you’ll find this course valuable. I am taking it for the second time, and still getting new insights.
Since learning never ends, till the end, I am excited to add to my knowledge and put skills into my work to help dogs and their people.
It’s a never ending learning journey, for sure! I learn a lot myself from all the discussions! 🙂