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Hugo
The Adventure Begins: 10/04/24
Scheduled Sessions:
10/04/24, 2:30: Session Zero
10/07/24: In Person Private Session
10/07-10/08/24: Acclimation Stay
10/18-20: Boarding Stay
MultiClass Board and Train
10/22-25
10/29-11/01
11/05-08
11/12-15
What is the Humane Hierarchy?
Addressing behavior from a professional lens means approaching change from a systematic and humane process. While you can read a little about my training philosophy on my Frequently Asked Questions and in this blog post, generally speaking when looking at behavior change I will recommend you review the Human Hierarchy of needs for your dog.
This structure emphasizes physical and mental welfare, and changing behavior by setting up successful interactions with positive reinforcement driving preferred behaviors. I am always cautious before including any behavior in a training plan that may exacerbate frustration or distress for your dog, and will work to avoid creating fallout and mistrust in your training program.
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!
MultiClass Hybrid Private and Board and Train
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.
Skill Tree
10/04/24
10/07/24
10/21-25, 10/25 Handoff
Session Notes
10/04/2024
It was so nice to meet you both and I’m looking forward to working with Hugo! I understand that his reactions are definitely concerning, both in the potential he has to cause harm if out of control, and also the potential impact of other’s reactions to his behavior. While his reactions are inconsistent, I want to encourage you both to anticipate that he will react and work ahead of it wherever possible. For now since safety is a concern and avoiding triggers in your neighborhood isn’t really a viable option, I would recommend limiting walks as much as possible and opting instead for larger spaces where Hugo is less likely to encounter those possible triggers.
Sniffspots can be a great option for this, in addition to lesser used park areas, fields, or other open spaces. I have reviews of several Sniffspots in Guild Hall here, but my favorite is linked below. Piece of Quiet is a good ways away in Adamstown, but is 30 acres (unfenced, but also all yours), and a large lake that dogs are welcome to go swimming in. It might be a really nice place to bring Hugo out to as a way for all of you to decompress. I somehow don’t have a review of it yet, which feels like a crime, so I’ll be fixing that soon.
During our in person session before Hugo’s acclimation stay, I’d like to introduce a few initial management behaviors and adjustments you can make to walks before we get started with his training package. Keep me posted on how he’s doing and any questions that come up, and I’ll see you on Monday!
10/07/2024
It’s a little late for this to be useful before his MultiClass stay begins since Hugo is currently snoring at my feet, but it was a pleasure to meet you both and your whole crew in person! I included the quick descriptions and videos of the behaviors we went over during Hugo’s initial session under you Skill Tree (above), and following his acclimation stay and trip to the Adamstown Sniffspot linked above, can safely say he enjoyed himself there immensely.
Your main homework before the next session (at the end of Hugo’s first week of MultiClass board and train) is to log in and get started on Drama Class! You can access that class here or at the link at the top of your page, and use the coupon code DRAMA-MAJOR to use your training package credit for the course. Let me know any questions you have and anything that we can follow up on next week!
10/21-25
Hugo had a wonderful first week, where we mostly prioritized the skills we introduced during his in person session at the beginning of the month and started putting them into practice outdoors and indoors.
While he does have some confidence building to do, I also think that there’s a lot of arousal regulation building we can to to help Hugo maintain his calm. This will also impact other areas of his life like his bouncing off the walls and attention seeking at home. Some of these are exercises you will also find in the online reactivity class, and some of them will be specific to Hugo’s curriculum.
Nothing outside of Drama Class introduced this week though! We worked on stationary behaviors like:
Offered relaxation
Food Scatters
Look at That
and in motion behaviors like:
Find My Face
Ready Get It
This Way!
both in quiet environments without triggers and when things were busier or I could set up a session with Fig outside. Hugo found some of these sessions more difficult than others but did a wonderful job reorienting as soon as he understood what his task was meant to be.
All of these behaviors can be practiced in the house or in a quiet spot nearby - I wouldn’t try employing them (beyond food scatters and distance wherever possible) on his potty walks just yet. The goal is to build up really really great associations with these behaviors before bringing them into the environments Hugo finds most difficult.
Please feel free to send videos and questions as you have them, and let me know how the weekend goes! Looking forward to seeing Hugo back here next week!