Zuko
06/18/2025
📝 Session Recap
We now have two plans in place for gradually integrating Zuko and Paima into the household:
Short-Term Plan: Focus on outdoor parallel work, building comfort in shared space.
Long-Term Plan: Work toward safe, structured indoor time together using practiced cues and careful setups.
Right now, the focus is on short outdoor sessions with clear structure and a calm setup:
Start outdoors with Zuko on a long lead, engaged and attentive.
→ For now, Em should be Zuko’s handler, as he stays more regulated that way.Begin at a distance: Have Zuko out first, with Paima entering the scene after.
→ Begin just like in reactivity class—Paima stationary, Zuko moving and sniffing.Once Zuko is comfortable, begin parallel walking, with lots of distance.
→ Gradually reduce distance on a diagonal, drifting in and out naturally.
Once they can complete 5-minute sessions calmly:
Switch handlers (still keeping Em out of Paima’s handling for now)
Em can act as a neutral party between the dogs
Progress toward approaching and passing each other smoothly
🏠 Indoors (Next Phase)
Once you feel ready (and I’m happy to support the first session), we can bring this work inside:
Begin with Paima on place in the far corner.
Bring Zuko in second, connected and focused with Em as handler.
Both dogs on leash, consider tethers in the future.
Keep sessions short (5 minutes max), and always remove Zuko before Paima to avoid tight passes.
📌 Ongoing Support Options
If you’d like more structure and flexibility while continuing your training journey, you might find my monthly coaching plan helpful:
🧙♂️ Cast Guidance: Ongoing Coaching for the Committed Trainer
$65/month | Virtual | Limited Spots
Includes:
🎓 Access to full library (workshops, webinars, The Spellbook)
🧠 Weekly Office Hours
🎯 One Skill Check/month (30-min virtual)
📽️ 5 minutes/week of video review + feedback
🎟️ 10% off all classes/workshops
Of course, we can always schedule in-person sessions as needed too—just let me know what feels right for you!
Looking forward to continuing the work with Zuko and seeing his progress!
Reactive Walking Patterns
2024
The Adventure Begins: 07/31/2024
Board and Train: 09/16-10/14/2024
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!
Character Sheet
Skill Tree
Skill and Concept descriptions will be included below following each session or stay.
07/31/2024
Board and Train 09/16-10/14/2024
I wanted to include this as a video demonstrating a nice use of “Find My Face” geared towards reactivity and fear aggression. Enzo is a current client of mine and as you can see, we’re not quite friends yet. We introduced this pattern game for him as a safe “home base” that he can retreat to and it’s similar to how Zuko and I used it during his stay!
Campaign Notes/Session Notes
07/31/2024: Session Zero
I’m sorry to hear Zuko’s been causing some difficulties in his arousal regulation while outdoors! While we will primarily focus on this during his board and train as well as general reactivity work, I wanted to include some of the precursor steps we discussed onto his website.
Keep him guessing! When headed outside with Zuko, ask for random behaviors that are familiar to him - sit, down, targeting, fun tricks, anything that he knows well - to keep him focused on you. Watch for the latency of the behavior to see if he’s able to continue to move forward or if he’s getting close to his threshold.
Wait and watch. Split “going outside” into several small steps. Observe when he starts to get tense and excited and work in the “guessing games” immediately before you expect him to start showing excited or tense body language.
Work in “Handful Sessions” - this is new from what we talked about, but especially because Zuko can be reluctant to engage and take treats, playing “handful sessions” throughout the day will help build his habit of engagement and make it easier for him to connect in challenging moments!
09/16-10/14/2024 Board and Train and 10/14 Session
It was such a pleasure having Zuko stay here with me! He really did a phenomenal job and I am looking forward to seeing him continue to progress back at home. While he did very well out and about with me, I want to make sure that you are all feeling really comfortable with his behavior in the house and especially going out in the yard, and feel confident that he has sustainable outlets for his energy before we push forward with his reactivity work.
I also want to loop in veterinary care here to explore the possibility of behavior medication helping as well. As we discussed, while Zuko made phenomenal strides and really did some great work over the course of his stay, environments and triggers remained really challenging for him- more challenging than perhaps they should be. I think a combination of medication and training is often ideal when we see this kind of struggle with dogs, and would anticipate that on appropriate medication, we could see really exceptional progress from him utilizing the skills he’s learned.
Homework
The Play Way is going to be available to take at Gold in December, and I highly recommend taking the class with Zuko to get feedback directly from Dr. Cook. Registration is available for December-January term on November 22!