If timing allows I think Bruce would also benefit from some of my drop in classes. The Fit Dog Walks would be too much for him most likely, but both the publicly available Enrichment Drive By classes vary in subject but all have dogs working individually, as well as both Level Up Hikes and Level Up Club Days would all be good ways for him to continue to work on his skills in a semi-controlled environment. Those are listed at the links below, as well as under “Classes and Workshops” (for the enrichment classes) and on Guild Hall home page (for the clients-only Level Up classes).

03/10/2025

Things to watch:

• Is Bruce reluctant to move all the way over to you for a ‘Thank you’ treat even though the interruption stopped the reaction? This was the case in one of the clips you sent over this week. If this starts to reflect a pattern, we may want to introduce a little more freedom into his choices now that he’s capable of it - possibly opening it up to being able to choose which “relaxation station” he goes to instead of needing to recall fully to you. The goal is to make sure the “thank you” remains a strong interrupter of the alert barking without becoming punishing and taking him away from other, acceptable behavior options.

• Is Bruce moving away from spots to stare/whine/demand treats? This one seemed less of a typical behavior but if you see it more often make sure you are consistent in where you are rewarding him and avoiding offering rewards for behaviors that might develop into nuisance behaviors later!

How to reduce luring and when to allow settle routine to end?
If Bruce has stopped his reaction and seems unphased by his surroundings - is at his relaxation station but isn’t offering the settle - start looking for opportunities to let him choose what he does next. You can stack the deck in your favor by intentionally practicing relaxation at other times of the day, but I’d like to see if he can start offering a relaxation - or at least the sit - without being lured. It may just take longer than feels comfortable. If he is still alert or wary on his station, continue to lure.

Similarly, if he offered the relaxation himself, he’s free to end it himself - he’s shown solid arousal regulation and I think we can start loosening those reins a little. If he needed to be lured, continue to watch his body language over the next 30-90 seconds and make sure that he’s fully relaxed into the down before being “okay” with him popping back up.

03/17/2025

To avoid demand barking developing:

• Try to not bring a treat out until you say “thank you” and Bruce has committed to leaving the distraction. Use one treat and then tell him to go lay down (or go to place as that is developed!)

• Keep treat container closed and put away unless needed to reward.

• Use verbal cues, praise, and tactile reassurance (pet him up!) to encourage him and use treats sparingly.

When to Stop and When to Stare?

 A question I get often when learning “look at that” is when to reward.

 Look at That is already a tough behavior for pet owners to work on. We’re told from Day 1 to reward our puppy for engaging with us, and now, suddenly, we’re rewarding them for...looking away?

 And then I introduce the idea that my criteria for Look at That is often fluid - depending on the situation, I might mark and reward a dog when they are looking out at the distraction/trigger,  or I might wait for the “complete” behavior - and wait for them to look back at me.

 When you’re choosing how and when to reward your dog with this, consider:

 ❓How long has the dog been working off of these distractions?

 ❓How does the dog feel about the distraction?

 ❓How new is the dog to not only this behavior, but this environment?  This particular distraction?

 ❓How likely is the dog to react and how likely are they to recover?

 ❓Is the distraction likely to become more difficult to work off of, easier, or stay the same?

 ❓What is the potential fallout of a reaction right now?

Take our current board and train, Misa, in these two videos.  In the first one, I stop her and reward early, marking and treating her while she's still looking out. 

 1. She has been working for a while off of dogs - she already worked off of Hunter before this.

 2. She's in a new environment at a park we haven't been to before.

 3. Little dogs historically are particularly challenging for her.

 4. Riz is still growing, and is unpredictable - he's unlikely to do something to make the challenge harder, but he could!

 5. If Misa were to react, I risk influencing Riz's willingness to work off of her (and other dogs) in the future.

 Whereas, in the second clip, we're somewhere more familiar, she's coming into the training session fresh, and Louis the stuffed Frenchie is both unlikely to do anything unpredictable and unlikely to be impacted emotionally by her reaction.  In that situation, I judged it safe to wait for her to "complete" the behavior.

03/31/2025

🐶 Place Work

Bruce is doing a great job finding his mat, so now it’s time to start mixing things up a bit. Begin sending him to Place from different angles and distances—this could mean taking a half step back, changing where you’re standing around the mat, or even just shifting your body orientation (like pointing your feet differently).

Right now, keep sending him while standing upright, and remember to walk all the way up to him before reaching for treats. This helps keep the cue clean and encourages him to stay on the mat until released. Keep me posted on how it’s going!

🪟 Window Reactions

His reactions at the window have improved in terms of frequency and intensity—great work there—but it seems like we’ve hit a bit of a plateau. The “thank you” cue is effective when you’re engaged with him, but if you're preoccupied or unavailable, he still struggles to disengage. Since this is still happening roughly every other hour, I’m brainstorming ways to help move things forward. We’ll revisit this soon to build some next steps.

🛏️ Bedtime Protocol

This session, we focused on setting up a smoother bedtime routine—especially to prevent Bruce from getting too amped up and mouthy when Mom comes to bed.

Try giving him a Toppl to work on as you’re settling in for the night. He can be invited onto the bed only if he’s calm and regulated. If he gets too wound up, redirect him to his crate in the bedroom instead. The idea is to reinforce that calm behavior earns access to the bed and your company, while bigger reactions mean a reset in his own space.

04/07/2025

It was great working with you and Bruce “live” today! I wanted to follow up with a quick recap and some guidance for the week ahead as you continue building clarity and confidence around his “place” cue.

Focus for This Week: Strengthening “Place”

Since Bruce is making progress with relaxation but still finds the windows challenging, I want to re-emphasize his “place” behavior—just with a few tweaks to help him feel more successful.

🟢 Make the Mat Stand Out
Bruce is currently overthinking this behavior a bit, so let’s make it easier for him to understand. Try switching to a more visually distinct bed or mat—something that clearly stands out from the floor. This will help him recognize that “place” is about the mat itself, not just lying down near you.

🟡 Use Clear Consequences (in Operant Terms!)
To help clarify what isn’t the behavior you're reinforcing, I recommend using a gentle version of punishment in the operant conditioning sense—removing your attention to reduce the behavior of lying down in front of you.
If he comes and settles in the wrong place, use a calm no-reward marker (like “oops, that’s not it!”), then quietly walk away and reset. When possible, reward him for moving toward the mat rather than toward you.

🟣 Encouraging Progress with Verbal Feedback
Bruce responded well to adding the “crate” cue today and really benefited from reassurance. Feel free to give verbal encouragement when he’s on the right track—like when he looks at the bed, moves toward it, stands, then sits, and finally downs. Positive feedback seems to help reduce his frustration and keep him motivated!

🔁 Pro Tip Reminder
Keep your hand out of the treat container until after you’ve marked the behavior. This helps Bruce stay focused on the behavior rather than anticipating the reward.

Let me know how things go this week, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or run into snags—I’m here to support you both every step of the way!

04/14/2025

It was lovely catching up and reviewing Bruce’s progress. You’ve done great work with him!

🛏 Place Work:

• Keep sessions short and successful. Resist the urge for “just one more rep.” End on a good note.

👀 Window Fixation:

• Try to devalue the kitchen window area and make the space under the table more rewarding.

• Consider window film or temporary barriers like furniture or even flattened boxes. Blocking the view temporarily may reduce the habit of hypervigilance.

• Feed him dinner under the table or use a food puzzle/remote feeder there.

• When you’re available to train, leave the window visible and reward him for not reacting.

📅 Reminder:

Reactivity Classes begin tomorrow! Let me know which three sessions you'd like to attend—they don’t need to be consecutive.

04/21/2025

🐾 Session Highlights:

We focused on exercises that will support Bruce in feeling more confident and in control around new and potentially overwhelming stimuli. The three key exercises we discussed were:

1. Watch the World / Look At That
   We’re using these to build Bruce’s coping skills when it comes to distractions outside. For now, keep the focus on:

   • Letting Bruce offer “Look At That” behaviors on his own when something catches his eye

   • Reinforcing both when he’s watching and when he looks back to you

   • Practicing at a distance where he’s successful, using context cues like his harness and leash to help him feel ready

2. Snuffle Mats or Enrichment on the Balcony
   Incorporating enrichment directly near the balcony area helps shift Bruce’s emotional response and reduce the intensity of his focus. Use this to help desensitize him in that specific context.

3. Calling Away from Distractions
   Practice cueing Bruce to move away from the balcony — whether it’s with a “thank you,” a recall cue, or something else. Vary what you’re asking, but keep the focus on giving him consistent experiences of turning away from the trigger.

🧠 Deep Dive: Look At That

We also took a closer look at what “Look At That” encompasses:

• It can be cued or offered, depending on the moment

• It can be reinforced both when Bruce is watching and when he looks back to you

• It can be paired with enrichment or downtime after tough triggers, giving Bruce more tools to cope

✅ Moving Forward:

Start these sessions as far back as Bruce needs to feel comfortable, and build gradually. Use his success as your guide, and keep your sessions short, upbeat, and rewarding. Consistency and calm repetition will be key here.

Let me know how things go, and feel free to reach out with questions or updates! I’m looking forward to seeing Bruce’s progress.

04/28/2025

It’s been such a pleasure working with you and Bruce through his Training Montage program! I’ve really enjoyed seeing the progress you’ve both made, and I hope you’re feeling proud of everything you've accomplished together.

For building stronger cue response to Look at That, you can start using more natural, everyday distractions during walks. Reward Bruce the first time he “offers” the behavior on his own, and then before he turns back naturally, give the cue and reward his response to that as well. This helps build reliability and recognition of the cue in real-world scenarios.

When Bruce is showing signs of hypervigilance on walks (even if there’s no visible trigger), go ahead and treat it as if there is—cue and reward Look at That. If the behavior sticks around, you can use a treat scatter to help reset his focus. Once he starts offering calmer behavior, reinforce that attention a few times before continuing the walk.

For mental enrichment and downtime in the house, here are a few chews I often recommend:

• Antlers

• Beef Cheek or No Hide Chews

• Hooves (heads up—they smell)

• Gorilla Wood

Even though this was our final session in the virtual program, I’m looking forward to seeing Bruce again later this month for his reactivity class follow-up (which should be posted by CHARM Rescue soon). I’ll reach out as soon as the listing goes live!

Also, I’ve recently updated some of my private services to include:

• One-off 30-minute virtual sessions – perfect for check-ins like we’ve been doing

• Video reviews – if you ever want feedback like during the program

These are available anytime you want to troubleshoot or review progress in between other services.

Thanks again for all your dedication to Bruce’s training—I’m here whenever you need support moving forward!