Enzo
The Adventure Begins: 08/21/24
Scheduled Sessions:
09/19/2024, 10:00: Virtual Private Session 1/4
09/23/2024, 4:30: In Person Private Session 2/4
10/07/2024, 4:30: In Person Private Session 3/4
10/21/2024, 4:30: In-Person Private Session 4/4
11/04/2024, 2:00: In Person Private Session
11/27/2024, 3:30: In Person Private Session
12/05/2024, 1:00: In Person Private Session
12/16/2024, 2:00: In Person Private Session
01/17/2025: In Person Private Session
01/27/2025: In Person Private Session
02/03/2025: In Person Private Session
02/11/2025: In Person Private Session
03/20/2025: In Person Private Session, in home
03/27/2025: In Person Private Session, Rockburn Park
04/03/2025: In Person Private Session, in home
04/17/2025: In Person Private Session, Rockburn Park
Coaching Resources
The more you utilize your coaching line and share questions and observations about your dog, the better I am able to structure sessions to meet your needs!
Guild Hall is a client portal within my website - you’ll find classes and events available only to past and present clients there, as well as discounts on certain future services. You’ll also find recommended outlets for your dog, including sports, events, and sniffspot information.
“Your Canine Community” is my client Facebook group - a spot where you can find folks also working on similar challenges with their dogs, ask questions and share resources.
Your google drive is available to you to reference your contract and contact and care form, make updates to your dog’s care information, upload vaccination records, as well as share videos and photos with questions or for feedback!
Use the discount code DRAMA-MAJOR to access the course: your package invoice includes to cost of this class!
Character Sheet
As you level up, your dog’s skills, goals, and progress will change - here’s the most up to date version of your dog’s “Character Sheet” Prior sheets will be linked below, as well as accessible on your Google Drive.
Session Notes
08/21/2024
Since coming home, Enzo’s observed behavior changed dramatically about 6 weeks ago. Where he previously had been social, he began displaying more avoidant, anxious, and fearful behaviors both in and out of the home. It is not consistent, but he will often hackle, bark, and/or try to flee back to the house upon a person in sight outdoors, and it is unusual for walks to make it beyond the shared driveway. His behavior does not resolve and he remains hypervigilant after a reaction until he is in the house.
Indoors, he has also demonstrated fearful barking, hackling, and flight with visitors outside of the core family members. While he has accepted treats from these strangers on occasion, he does not seem to acclimate to anyone, even if they are around often. His response is to run to his kennel where he will calm himself and even sleep as long as no one approaches him. He will also calm if the stranger goes out of sight.
As secondary priorities, he has also had some significantly negative experiences at the vet and has shown increasing fear each time he has visited. He also has a habit of pestering his housemate Lucy (5) who is interested in play but not as often. Lucy appropriately corrects Enzo, but his response to the correction is also disproportionately fearful.
Given Enzo’s substantial fear response and his difficulty currently acclimating to new people, my suspicion is that this will be a process of helping build his confidence and learn to cope with the world. While my suggested package outlined below is within your training budget, there is significant training that will need to be done independently, and my recommendation would likely be to secure more support down the line.
My intention in saying this is not to push on your budget or to suggest at all that we cannot make meaningful progress in the package I’m suggesting (I wouldn’t suggest it if that were the case!) but to be upfront about expectations and the the work that will need to be done independently in order to build Enzo’s confidence. He’s still very young and moldable and I want to make sure your family has all the support I can provide and are best positioned to tackle this together.
I would suggest a Character Creation Package Cast at First Level, followed by a round of Charisma Check Reactivity Coaching. The private training package includes 4 private sessions, the first we would do virtually, the second in the yard, with the intention of doing the third and fourth in your home.
I would include the Drama Class online course within the Character Creation package and would recommend planning on working through at least a module between each session in order to focus our time together more on coaching, troubleshooting, and adjusting rather than introducing skills, in order to get the most value out of our time.
There is an “extra credit” integration module in Drama Class that addresses a more tenuous household situation than yours, but I think some of the relaxation techniques could help Enzo learn to make other choices around Lucy as well!
Following the course and our private sessions, I would have Enzo come out to my Tuesday night reactivity coaching sessions. This would be a way we could work on new people out and about in a different context utilizing the same skills we worked on during private sessions previously and/or introduced in the Drama Class modules.
In total, the package cost would be $855. If that sounds good, let me know and I can get an invoice out to you and we can get Enzo on the calendar for September!
The other priority I would set would be to address the car fear and veterinary situation separately. The same skills (even the staggered approach) can be used to approach the car and the vet office/lobby/desk admin/tech. I wouldn’t necessarily worry about happy visits with the vet necessarily until he can comfortably go in the car - no use starting a “happy visit” all stressed out from the car. You can find the Fear Free Directory here for veterinarians or practices that have Fear Free certifications and may be better suited to help along a dog with Enzo’s challenges.
I also highly recommend Deb Jones’ book “Cooperative Care: Seven Steps to Stress-Free Husbandry” as a resource for building Cooperative Care. She also has a Facebook resource group for questions during your training.
In general, I’d also like to touch on Enzo’s enrichment and decompression opportunities - we can talk in more detail about what he enjoys, but in general, there are lots of “for fun” activities like scentwork, agility, and even tricks that can be incredible for building a dog’s overall confidence in ways that translate across environments and triggers. I think it’s likely that he could benefit from classes or additional private sessions in the future geared towards either cooperative care and/or overall confidence building.
Skill Tree
09/19/2024
I’m so glad that Enzo had a (better) experience at the new vet! Spray cheese is where it’s at. Hopefully his improved experiences there help reinforce better feelings about the car, the vet office, and going out in general. In addition to the exercises posted to his skill tree above, I wanted to follow up on a few notes that I didn’t get a chance to cover during the session:
There is an idea within cooperative care training referred to just as “choice or no choice.” Basically the concept is that there will inevitably be times within your cooperative care journey where you need to ask for behaviors beyond what the dog is able to perform cooperatively at the moment. Enzo is early in this training, so he’s going to run into this problem more often than a more seasoned pup! In situations like the car, I do want to reassure you that I don’t think you did anything wrong in walking him to the car. In fact, I might dispense entirely of lured treats and instead stick a meatball right in his nose (see Magnet Hand exercise in Module 3 of Drama Class, same idea) and walk him by the collar right into the car, offering the reward once he’s there. What is key is to avoid behaving as though this is a behavior you’re going to ask for cooperatively, and then shift into demanding the behavior partway through the session.
While starting cooperatively makes sense to most people, it can leave the dog feeling tricked if you can’t keep the session cooperative - meaning they are less likely to trust cooperative care sessions in the future. Save building comfort with the car, with husbandry, with grooming - even with meeting humans - for situations where you are able to accept a “no thank you” from Enzo. If you aren’t able to accept the “no” (like if you need to leave for the vet right away), then start off differently than if you were offering the choice.
Keep me posted to how the stairs situation develops in the coming weeks. For now, I would try to avoid forcing him down the stairs (unless, as above, the movement is necessary). Maybe leave a trail of treats down the stairs if having Lucy up and away is an option, or offer some support by sitting with him for a little while if you have the available time. I’m reluctant to give it too much attention since it may just be an aspect of a fear period that hopefully passes with some gentle encouragement.
Think about how you’d like to develop a “Thank you!” behavior with the dogs at the door/front window. As I mentioned, the best way to get around rude front door behaviors is to prioritize management, like with using window film. This prevents them from being able to practice the undesired behavior between training sessions. In training sessions you can use Look at That, but for auditory triggers (like the doorbell or knocks) I prefer a “thank you” cue that tells them food is going to appear somewhere deep inside the house - so they get out a bark, hear “thank you!” and race off to go grab food from the bowl and offer their attention to you. Let me know how this is going and if we can adjust at all on this!
Homework
Before our meeting time on Monday, you can bring Enzo out in the front yard to the left of your driveway. I can text you when I’m arriving so he can be enjoying a really good, really big food scatter as I pull in and before I get out of the car. I’ll make sure to bring along really good stuff as well, and we will start the session with a scatter, “look at that” mark and reward if he begins to lift his head, and some staggered approach with you or me tossing treats to give Enzo his distance from me as he needs it.
If you can also let me know Monday morning just via text (443-300-8784) or email if you got a chance to look over the Drama Course and if so how far into it you were able to work. It is a long course, so please don’t feel pressured to give up too much of your weekend to it, I just want to make sure I have a good sense of the behaviors that we might be able to start with and what will be brand new!
Feel free to reach out with any questions, or videos of practice for questions or feedback, and I’ll see you all on Monday, September 23 at 4:30!
09/23/2024
It was wonderful to meet you all in person this week! I’m really proud of Enzo and his session - he’s a worried boy, but he showed so much bravery and progress over the session! During the session, we saw that he’s much more comfortable behind a barrier rather than even on a loose leash, so next time we will start the session similarly outside, but this time at the gate (let me know which gate will be easier to move in and out of, I think we could do either) dragging a leash with you handling him on the inside and me approaching from the outside. Once he’s calm, I want to work on him coming out of the gate and working in the open. Now that we’ve gotten some movement, I’d like to work on relaxing at a distance, and then moving somewhat closer (or ping ponging back and forth as he’s able).
Homework
You have two additional behaviors to add to Enzo’s repertoire over the next couple weeks. When practicing at home, consider:
Building the expectation that with staggered approach, the “stranger” (you guys for right now) will move mostly parallel to him, slowly arcing closer. He controls how close they end up getting!
With new people, if you’re comfortable (and your guest is comfortable) you can have them do the same exercise with him. I wouldn’t for now plan on having him greet them or come into the house until we have the chance to troubleshoot somewhat more, just crate him when you are done the exercise or if he’s struggling. If you aren’t up for practicing, it’s always acceptable to crate him with a delicious chew and some white noise. Module 2 talks about managing reactive behaviors in more detail.
Add Ready Get It and U Turns into his regular practice. Both behaviors can help you add distance from a trigger, and ready get it can be a great intermediary step between food scatters and look at that.
Aim to have Module 2 completed by the time we meet next - extra credit if you’re able to watch through Module 3 as well! Keep in mind you’ll see the behaviors you’ve already learned in the course as well, so if you need refreshers, you’ll find:
Staggered Approach in Module 1
Food Scatters in Module 3
Look at That in Module 6
Ready Get It in Module 5
This Way in Module 5
Feel free to reach out with any questions, or videos of practice for questions or feedback, and I’ll see you all on Monday, October 7 at 4:30!
10/07/2024
While this was a challenging session for Enzo, I’m really proud of his continued work and how well he was able to recover from some of the more challenging moments during his session. I’d like to introduce some new behaviors in our next session on 10/21 as he’s able, and talk through next steps for him!
Homework
As we discussed during the session, when practicing with neighbors at the fenceline, keep steps at least one level behind where we ended our session - so for Enzo that may mean them walking the fenceline with the gate fully shut. I absolutely encourage working on the behaviors we practiced with his household family members with the gate open so the practice becomes familiar to him!
In the house, work on settling and muzzle conditioning so we can start to apply this out and about as Enzo’s world gets bigger. Let’s definitely incorporate Magnet Hand from Module 3 into his practice next session, and I might suggest we try working in some Super Bowls from Module 4 next time as well if you’d like to get a head start!
Feel free to reach out with any questions, or videos of practice for questions or feedback, and I’ll see you all on Monday, October 21 at 4:30!
10/21/2024
This was such a lovely session for Enzo! I’m very happy with how well the “Give Me A Break” game worked for him as a safe spot to take distance where he needs it from a new person. I’ve more often used the game (which I’ve retitled “Find My Face” for my manners clients) as a way to build engagement on the move and focus on starting to build attention on the left side - I wouldn’t worry about this for now, instead focusing on having Enzo come back to you at a spot removed from his threshold - like the bench in the back of the yard - when he needs security and being rewarded for it.
Homework
If you start working with neighbors at the gate, I would stick to having him just play with you towards the back of the gate and work in “this ways”, “Look at that“s and “ready get it”s to prevent him from approaching the gate, using the leash to prevent him as a last resort. The more he can practice - with or without a distraction - the more he is likely to accept that this is a safe “home base” for him to retreat back to. Let me know if you want to plan on working with a neighbor during our next session!
During sessions with me, we will push forward a little on having him acclimate so we can see where we are for a January boarding or board and train stay. I’d like to see what we can do to start eliminating the barrier of the fence, as I think that makes some things more challenging for Enzo even as other things are less challenging. The more adept he is at his pattern games the easier I think that will be!
I linked the invoice for his next sessions at the top of the page, and we are all set to meet again on Monday 11/04 at 2:00!
11/04/2024
I was so happy with Enzo’s work outside the fence during his session this week! He was much more thoughtful and more resilient than we’ve seen him in the past! Some things to keep in mind that really impact him:
Conversation - in general people talking is hard - much harder when they are talking to you, and hardest when talking to him directly
Eye contact - even shifting where a distraction/trigger is looking can reduce or prevent a reaction
Gesticulation - as the new person becomes more animated, this gets more difficult for him to avoid reactions
Next time we will start off with him moving rather than having me moving, and aim to do shorter bursts of repetitions so we get more transitions between me moving or him moving. I want to play with these two pieces in particular to challenge him differently than what we’ve been doing. We will plan on a break for him about halfway to debrief and let him have a moment to decompress. I would start with him in the back and just bring him out once I’m there in the front yard, and we can keep the back gate open if he decides he wants to head that way for a short break.
Keep working through Drama Class! The 1-2-3 game we discussed for heading back down the driveway to the house is in Module 4 so I would focus on that lesson and Module 5 prior to next session!
Work on settling out on the front and back porch and establishing a relaxed baseline for watching the world go by.
You can also play your “Give Me a Break” game in the front yard now with a towel or mat as a station to return back and forth too. The more he’s magnetized to that spot (or that object) the more clear it will be as a home base for him moving forward.
11/27/2024
Enzo looked great this session, especially considering we had a much longer break than has been typical! I think our use of the fence as a threshold for him to exit worked well, and he did a great job of moving around me - as well as remaining still while I moved around him. Like we’ve seen in previous sessions, he does get tired by the end and fades a little, but I think the set up of short bursts and little breaks worked well for him and want to continue that in December.
Next week, I want to start with similar behaviors and stations set up, but keep more strictly to our short burst segments, and aim to get us moving at the same time as one another!
Homework
Sounds like you’re almost through Drama Class! Module 6 focuses on coping and has some familiar exercises in it, but I’d love to be able to have that all under your belt before the next session
With muzzle work, build a lot of duration with adding slight pressure or even just movement to one strap or the other. While we have time, let’s build this as cooperatively as we can!
Indoors, keep behaviors to things he seems to enjoy or rewards/games that have “noncontingent” rewards - the reward being offered at intervals (like in 1-2-3) regardless of what he’s doing. Keep sessions brief with lots of play breaks. Consider following @hungrydogtraining on Instagram for her 25 days of Trickmas next month as a way to keep things lighthearted!
Keep me posted on what your vet says about medication! I fully support the addition of daily medications, and in many situations see the combination of these with event medication (sometimes also given daily, sometimes only in advance of particularly stressful events) make an enormous difference in dog’s (and their human’s) lives.
With neighbors or other willing participants, absolutely have Enzo work on coming out of the gate directly to a food scatter, and even playing superbowls with them staying still in the front yard near the driveway. Feel free to send me any video of the behaviors you see during practice as well!
12/12/2024 and 12/16/2024
I’m combining these writeups both because I’m very behind (sorry!) but also because the work was continuous between these two sessions. I think threshold work will continue to be very important for Enzo, so work on him entering and exciting doorways, gates, street corners, hallways (really any threshold you want to practice at) with a scatter and then offered attention so he’s able to strengthen that muscle memory to look to you rather than out for danger.
I added the yo-yo game to your Skill Tree as I think that’s a good step forward from Super Bowls to work towards parallel walking with other people (and eventually other dogs and people!). He was able to move with me so well throughout a very stressful month of deliveries and holidays, and I’m excited to see what we can do with him in the new year!
In future sessions, I want to really focus on pushing his threshold and making sure that we are hitting a good balance of building resilience - ideally want to avoid a full reaction, but I do want to push him on those challenging or “sticky” moments like the one we had near the end of the session on 12/16. We will still have a similar set up of short bursts of work as I think that works well for him, but I want to continue to make the challenges harder as we go on!
01/17/2025
This session was really challenging for Enzo - there were a lot of distractions for him that made the session much more difficult for him, but I’m really impressed by how you both worked through the more difficult parts of the session to a point where we got much closer than we’ve been able to in the past! For the upcoming session, I want to do a little more of the same before planning on pushing for more with the next. For the upcoming weeks, focus on muzzle conditioning and duration, and celebrate the huge win of his successful vet visit!
Focus on muzzle conditioning and preparing for your busy couple weeks ahead! We will do more of the same before working on pushing things forward again after your mom’s surgery.
In February, we’ll aim to push forward - maybe working on more parallel walking along the road and aiming to close the distance with Enzo muzzled. I’d like to have a sense of when we might get board and train on the calendar before spring dates start getting booked!
02/03/2025 and 02/11/2025
These sessions focusing on parallel walking and pushing things forward with Enzo have been challenging for him but overall have shown him capable of a whole lot more! We spoke at the end of his 02/11 session about my inclination that if we were to push forward that he would get over his concern and be more comfortable with me, which could open up to more in depth training in a board and train environment and adding more behaviors to his repertoire.
As long as you are both comfortable with our current progression though, I think pushing through could have more fallout than benefits long term, and would prefer to stay the course and only have him directly interact when he shows he’s ready. First, because as we observed during his 02/11 session, he’s definitely more subdued on the muzzle and we want to make sure comfort translates to both when the muzzle is on and when it is off. Secondly, because charging and barking and then “getting over it” is not a sustainable greeting pattern for him going forward.
He was able to work with me moving with him well, to the point that we were nearly side by side with you both on the sidewalk and me just off the curb by the end of the walk. After he’s recovered from his neuter, I’d like to spend the next set of sessions continuing to push that forward while adjusting the picture somewhat - hopefully scheduling some sessions when Raj can do the handling, meeting at parks or even elsewhere in the neighborhood, and otherwise changing the context to generalize his capabilities.
I know one thing that was mentioned when discussing the challenging weekend he had was a new fear/reaction to the door to the garage. I would definitely discuss these episodes with the vet - there have been three instances now where Enzo has become suddenly fearful about an area of the house for a period of time. While it’s good that these episodes seem temporary, that they keep popping up suggests to me that there may be something to look at on the medical side there, as well as the behavioral. Definitely also push continued conversation surrounding medication, as well, especially since you’ve observed more itchiness on the fluoxetine. She may want to hold off on big changes until after his neuter, but getting the conversation going won’t hurt!
We will take a break here so Enzo can focus on recovery from surgery! As we discussed, I would recommend looking at surgical suits or the inflatable donuts to avoid potential fallout from crashing into things in the cone. The physical recovery at the surgical site is priority of course, but I’d hate to see additional fears crop up if they can be avoided!
Please keep me posted on how things are going - if we haven’t touched base before then, I’ll make a note to reach out around the beginning of March to get Enzo’s next set of sessions set up! In the meantime, keep working on the behaviors without the stress - muzzle training is an easy one to do when he’s not as mobile, and just practicing ready get it, look at that, superbowls, and relaxation around benign distractions will help keep those skills alive until we can start up work again!
03/20-04/03
I wanted to take a moment to reflect on Enzo’s recent sessions and share some thoughts on how to keep supporting his progress at home and out on walks. He’s been doing such meaningful work, and I’m excited about how things are coming together for him!
🐾 Outdoors & Walk Work
At the park, we saw how important it is for Enzo to have time to acclimate to new environments. While he started out a bit unsure, giving him space to sniff and decompress made a big difference. Regular decompression walks and visits to Sniffspots could be really helpful moving forward—especially now that car rides aren’t a stressor for him.
Setting up the Super Bowls game at the start of a walk has become a grounding ritual for Enzo. Adding a snuffle mat to both ends of the pattern might be a great idea to further reinforce calm engagement.
When walking near new people (and eventually dogs), start at a comfortable distance and allow him to move freely. Guide him toward natural sniffing opportunities—trees, poles, brushlines—and feel free to scatter treats as well. Sniffing is deeply rewarding for him and seems to be as powerful a reinforcer as food. Over time, you’ll likely see that he’s able to move closer and stay near new people with more ease. For now, keep these sessions short and rewarding.
🏠 Home Routine with Visitors
At home, continue crating Enzo while guests arrive so he can focus on his Toppl and stay calm. Once settled, bring him out on leash and muzzled, using the Toppl to help him transition to his designated “spot.”
That space should be rewarding and low-pressure—he can enjoy his snuffle mat and treats there. Start by reinforcing casual glances toward guests, and as he settles, reward him for relaxed behavior like choosing to lay down.
Our current focus is helping Enzo feel safe while people act naturally around him—talking, making eye contact, petting Lucy, moving around, etc. Next, we’ll begin gently increasing the level of activity while he remains in the room, such as me getting up, walking around, or briefly exiting and re-entering the space.
A tether ring near his “spot” could be a useful tool so you’re not tied to the leash while hosting. It will also help him learn to maintain regulation even as you step away.
🌟 Big Picture
The goal isn’t to push for interaction—direct engagement with new people should never be forced. While Enzo may never greet guests with the same enthusiasm and engagement that Lucy does, we’re helping him build confidence and comfort around others and empowering him to make safe, healthy choices like disengaging or moving away.
Enzo’s latest Instagram Post is on @likemagicdogs!
✨ See Me Now: Enzo’s Progress ✨
When I first met Enzo, fear kept him hidden—behind distance, behind a gate, behind big feelings that said “stay away.”
His people put in the work. They built his skills, gave him tools to navigate tough moments, and most importantly, learned to see him—to understand his emotions instead of just reacting to them.
Now, Enzo sees us too. He sees safety in his people. He sees patterns that help him through hard moments. He sees that he has choices. And that’s everything.
There’s still more to come, but today, we celebrate how far he’s come. 💛
#SeeMe #ReactiveDogTraining #FearfulDogs #ProgressNotPerfection #DogBehavior #EnzoTheBrave
04/17
I just wanted to say how thrilled I am with Enzo’s progress after our last session — he’s really starting to come into his own!
He handled the Superbowl line with great confidence, especially when we gave him plenty of breaks and used snuffle mats as decompression spots. I was impressed with how many distractions he handled without a reaction — I suspect that’s partly because he’s learning that people and dogs in that pattern don’t approach him. (Now me? That’s another story! 😄)
While he wasn’t super into sniffing today, that’s okay. It’s more important to watch how he’s moving — if his tail is loose and relaxed, awesome. But if it’s tucked tightly and he starts pulling forward, that’s a sign he’s approaching threshold and we want to shift gears.
A big highlight: he really picked up the concept behind CAT (Constructional Aggression Treatment), which gives him a framework to build trust through choice and control. Quick hit explanation: CAT uses controlled setups where the “trigger” moves away when the dog stays calm — helping them learn that disengagement works. I’d love to keep building on this around new people he doesn’t need to interact with directly.
And a few firsts worth celebrating:
First time responding to a cue from me!
First time peeing in front of me!
First time I’ve been able to get this close to him!
First introduction to CAT!
I’d recommend booking four private sessions next, rather than jumping into a board and train. If we can get Jordyn involved in at least half (ideally all), we’ll be in a great spot.
With how far Enzo has come, I’m optimistic that we could do a board and train closer to your trip — but I want to make sure we’re setting everyone up for success, not stress. In addition to Jordyn, Pender Veterinary Centre in Fairfax might be a solid backup for hands-free boarding.
I’ll touch base soon with Jordyn’s availability and send over dates and the invoice for the next set of sessions.