ZZ006: Diamond in the Ruff: Success with Sensitive Dogs One Day Conference

9:00am: Dresden Graff- Notes for Next Time: Advocating for Yourself and Your Sensitive Dog

This presentation will focus on the skills needed to be a better advocate for your dog... and yourself! If you've found yourself in positions in training classes or at trials where you felt like you were being pushed into a situation that isn't setting your dog up for success, this presentation is for you.

I hope you can take my own "Notes for 'Next Time" to classes and trials with you to handle uncomfortable situations with a little more confidence.

We'll be covering situations that include things like: dreading your turn in class to work on a skill you feel uncomfortable about, experiencing people lacking sportsmanship in their conduct toward you, and finding yourself at a loss for words when it comes to advocating for your dog with the general public.

9:00am: Barbara Lloyd- Understanding Your Sensitive Dog

Sensitive dogs are not spoiled, they are precious beings that require gentle handling and above all else: understanding.

Understanding your sensitive dog will give you the right mindset to help your BFF navigate the scary world of sights, sounds & strangers.

In this presentation Barbara Lloyd will help you zero in on the things that your dog is sensitive to, from micro sensitive to macro sensitive. She will then explain how little stressors when multiplied, can create new stressors and how to avoid that from happening. Barbara will also discuss the different behaviour manifestations of sensitive dogs, because they can present completely different.

Some sensitive dogs when stressed will appear happy to the untrained eye, some appear fearful, others will present as reactive, and still others aggressive, but what they all have in common is a “Sensitive Soul”.

Barbara will teach you how to help your Sensitive Dog to be more autonomous and have more control over their environment while at the same time keeping them safe via orchestrated available choices. Because living with a sensitive dog is easier once you understand them more fully.

11:00am: Julie Daniels- One Foot in Frong of the Other- Movement Patterns to help the Sensitive Dog

Sensitive dogs tend to take things personally. They are not all pessimistic and not all reactive. But they are all hyper-aware of what’s going on and how it might affect them personally. They are emotional, and they have more than their share of anxiety.

The sensitive dog’s mood and emotions are easily influenced by their family and the environment. They have their opinions and biases, as we all do. And, like us, their brains and bodies benefit from movement. In dogs and in people, moving is an outlet for anxiety and stress. It makes us feel good and helps us think straight. We can nurture a good mood and mental clarity with the movement patterns I’ll show you in this presentation.

Back and Forth, Up and Down, Side to Side, Zig Zag, Circles, Triangles, Squares and Combinations. Different patterns and different props for different emotional states. I’ll share my favorite movement patterns, when to use them, and how to build them with a Dog’s Choice training approach. The goal is to have a repertoire of patterns so your dog can process a stimulus from a steady and optimistic frame of mind. The movements activate the large muscles of the body in a relaxed way. The patterns engage the prefrontal cortex so happy thoughts can thrive.

Combining pleasant mental engagement with whole-body physical stimulation keeps the nervous system peaceful. It also down-regulates limbic responses such as fear and reactivity. We train these movement patterns as games, so they feel easy and fun. I’ll help you and your dog feel the love and harness the power of movement patterns. You can help your sensitive dog expect good things from novel life experiences.

11:00am: Hélène Marie Lawler- Mind Your Training: Mindset for Success with Sensitive Dogs

Living and working with sensitive dogs has many rewards, but can also be stressful, frustrating, and, at times, downright disheartening.

Often, we can feel like we’re just not doing a good enough job meeting their needs. Or, on the flip side, we may feel upset or frustrated that our beloved dog struggles to do all the fun things we had planned to do together.

Whatever the case may be for you, the first step towards success is to master your mindset. Specifically, it’s critical to separate your emotions from your dog’s emotions. Doing so will allow you to more objectively evaluate what’s going on and to then respond more effectively.

Not only that, and perhaps more importantly, you’ll begin to feel better, stay calmer, and enjoy your journey more with your sensitive dog!

In this presentation, you will first learn how your brain and nervous system impact your ability to both help and enjoy your sensitive dog.

I’ll then teach you my step-by-step, practical approach to shifting out of any negative emotional state or mindset—permanently—so you can stop spiralling and better meet both your dog’s needs, and your own!

2:00pm: Sharon Carroll- Competing Successfully with your Sensitive Dog

Competing successfully with a “sensitive” dog can be challenging, it requires a handler to be able to be clear, calm, and focused through all training sessions, as well as have the ability to remain composed, observant, and mentally flexible in a competition setting. When we are successful with a sensitive dog though, the rewards are immense; being in the ring with a sensitive dog who is focused, happy and enthusiastic is an amazing feeling!

The label “sensitive” is used to describe dogs that display a specific set of observable behaviors; but the actual underlying drivers for those behaviors are extremely varied. Some of the drivers have a genetic basis; influencing the way in which information is perceived and processed and impacting the way in which learning occurs. Prior learning is another significant contributor.

Some of the common underlying drivers that lead to a “sensitive dog” label include:
• A dog that prefers fixed routines (i.e. doesn’t like change,; prefers predictability).
• A dog that struggles with novelty (i.e. new environments, new situations, new tasks, new objects, etc.)
• A dog that doesn’t like to be “wrong”.
• A dog that is risk averse.
• A dog that is touch sensitive, has proprioception hypersensitivity, and/or is acutely spatially aware.
• A dog that is acutely uncomfortable with experiencing frustration / confusion / uncertainty.
• A dog that has a low tolerance for physical discomfort (i.e. heat, cold, unpleasant sensations (e.g. working on wet or spiky grass), physical fatigue).
• A dog that has a low threshold for mental fatigue.
• A dog that lacks confidence in their ability to keep themselves “safe” or lacks confidence in their ability to be successful (i.e. attain reinforcement)
• A dog that has reduced activation of the “reward pathways”.

One of the hallmarks of a “sensitive dog” is inconsistency; one session our dog may be fast, accurate, and focused, and then the very next session our dog is distracted and unable to respond accurately to our cues. This change can even occur rapidly, so within a split-second we suddenly feel like we are working with an entirely different dog. For a competition dog, this may present as:
• Inconsistency in training sessions as well as trialing performances.
• Consistently great training sessions, followed by lack of focus and responsiveness in trial settings.
• Great focus and responsiveness in the warm-up area at trials, followed by lack of focus, lack of precision, missed cues, and errors in the ring.
• Initially delivering successful competition performances that become worse over time, and/or deteriorate as our dog progresses up through the levels.

This inconsistency in responsiveness can create emotional challenges for us humans, at times we may feel frustrated, disappointed, or even have feelings of inadequacy. This is a very normal human response but can be transformed by improving our understanding as to why our dog is responding in the way they are.

When working with a “sensitive” dog, we first need to identify what is causing that individual dog to opt out / disconnect / become unresponsive / miss cues / lose accuracy / lose speed / lose focus / etc. Once we have identified the exact cause, we can then develop a plan to address the underlying issue, thus improving consistency, engagement, enthusiasm, and competition results.

In this webinar we will discuss a range of issues associated with competing sensitive dogs; from identifying the exact cause for inconsistencies and poor performances, through to strategies for addressing the key causes, as well as practical protocols for improving success in a trial environment.

2:00pm: Amy Cook- Emotional Caretaking for Sensitive Dogs

Stress can be an occasional factor for any of our dogs, even the most bold and brave, but for our sensitive dogs, reducing exposures to (dis)stressful events can make all the difference in their well-being and the continued development of their resilience.

We cannot prevent all stressful events from happening, of course, but we can predict the common areas in which all dogs can have at least some stress, and minimize their impact by having a plan in place ahead of time!

Teaching your dogs specific skills for how to navigate new situations, and giving them opportunities to opt out, contribute to reducing stress and bring familiarity to novel situations.

In this presentation, I will go over some common areas that dogs struggle with emotionally, such as meeting new people, meeting new dogs, being in new environments, and even interacting socially with their family, and I'll suggest ways you can support the emotional life of sensitive dog so that they can thrive!

1:00pm: Panel Recordings - Training Plans for Sensitive Dogs with Barbara Lloyd, Deb Jones Denise Fenzie, and Dresden Graff

4:00pm: Panel Recordings - Should I Keep Going: Reconciling Competition Goals with Amy Cook, Hélène Lawler, Julie Daniels, and Sharon Carroll