Your Happy Dog Coach

Your Happy Dog Coach Lori-Lee Regimbald - PPDT, FFCPT
(2)

As a Certified Family Dog Mediator, Fear Free Certified Trainer, and Certified Bite Prevention Educator; I use choice and relationship based methods to go "Beyond Sit, Stay & Heel" while teaching your dog to make their own good choices.

06/01/2026

Mindset Monday: What’s a piece of common dog advice that you absolutely hate or think is totally outdated?

05/31/2026

How are you spending your Sunday?

With one course complete, it's time to tackle the next, with my co-learners nearby, as always! 😍

What's next, you ask?
(Or didn't but I'm telling you anyway...)
The Good Dog Academy Canadian Standards Program in preparation for the Canadian Association of Professional Dog Trainers Registered Dog Trainer exam (that should be available next year🤞)

So... how are you spending your last Sunday in May?

🎉 I am officially opening up a handful of spots for dedicated dog guardians who want to dive deep, build a true relation...
05/31/2026

🎉 I am officially opening up a handful of spots for dedicated dog guardians who want to dive deep, build a true relationship, and set their pups up for long-term success.

​Because I focus heavily on providing highly individualized, science-based, and welfare-centered support, I keep my active client roster small... but I currently have a couple of openings.

What do I offer?
(A lot! 🙈)

🐾 Puppy Prep-School
🐕 What it is:
Early socialization, foundation training, and household management strategies designed specifically for the newest additions to the family.
👨 Who it’s for:
Guardians who plan to get a new puppy, or have already brought one home, and want to get a head start on prevention and build positive habits right from day one.

🐾 Life Skills 101:
🐕 What it is:
Core manners and practical behaviors like focus, impulse control, and polite greetings that help dogs navigate everyday life seamlessly.
👬 Who it’s for:
Pet guardians who want a well-mannered, reliable companions.

🐾 Kids & Dogs
🐕 What it is:
Specialized family awareness coaching focusing on safe dynamics, mutual respect, and teaching children and dogs how to peacefully coexist.
👩‍👧‍👦 Who it’s for:
Families with kids (or families expecting a baby) who want to ensure their home environment is safe, low-stress, and harmonious for everyone.

🐾 Reactivity
🐕 What it is:
Targeted behavior modification focusing on greeting manners, emotional regulation, and reducing big, over-the-top reactions to triggers like other dogs or people.
👭 Who it’s for:
Guardians of dogs who bark, lunge, or become overly anxious or frustrated when on leash or out in public.

🐾 S.E.A.R.C.H. Experience
What it is:
🐕 Canine enrichment using a customized sensory set up, focusing on natural sniffing behaviors, scent work, and sensory exploration.
🧕 Who it’s for:
Every dog! I use it in every "First Visit" aka your Canine Behavioural Assessment & Decompression Session. Dogs who need a therapeutic, calming outlet to lower stress, satisfy their natural instincts, and boost mental wellness.

🐾 PDA
🐕 What it is:
The Pet Dog Ambassador (PDA) program is an international tiered program created by the Pet Professional Guild (PPG).
👵 Who it’s for:
The Pet Dog Ambassador (PDA) program is for everyday pet dog guardians who want a fun, structured, and force-free way to build a great relationship and real-world companion skills with their dog. (Similar to the Canine Good Neighbor Program.)

🐾 Fear Free Certified Training®
🐕 What it is:
Positive, choice-based cooperative care training designed to remove the stress from husbandry, grooming, and veterinary handling.
🙋‍♂️ Who it’s for:
Pups who struggle, panic, or freeze during nail trims, brushing, vet visits, or medical exams.

🐾 Trust & Train
🐕 What it is:
A professional day-training service where the trainer handles the hands-on training sessions for your dog during the day, taking the heavy lifting off your shoulders, with videos of each session uploaded to a private Playlist for the guardian to review at their leisure.
👫 Who it’s for:
Busy dog guardians who want great results but lack the time or specialized knowledge to train the behaviors themselves.

🐾 Leash and Learn
🐕 What it is:
Specialized out-and-about coaching that focuses on loose-leash walking, focus around real-world distractions, and making walks enjoyable.
🐕‍🦺 Who it’s for:
Anyone tired of being dragged down the sidewalk who wants a relaxed, cooperative, and pleasant walking experience with their dog.

🐾 Pop-in Pup-Checks
🐕 What it is:
Quick, supportive drop-in visits that provide a necessary break, potty time, and low-stress sensory enrichment while you are away for the day.
👪 Who it’s for:
Busy pet parents, shift workers, or puppy owners who need an experienced, knowledgeable professional to check on and support their dog during the day.

If any of these are of interest to you, send me a message or fill out the form in the comments.

I'd love to work with you!






05/31/2026

This is why we never punish a growl. A growl is communication we want to have from our dogs, because when they've been taught that they can't growl, what happens next is much, much worse.

The Perfectly Relaxed Walks Summit starts tomorrow, have you registered?If not, check out this line-up and sign up! Did ...
05/31/2026

The Perfectly Relaxed Walks Summit starts tomorrow, have you registered?

If not, check out this line-up and sign up!

Did I mention that:
It's FREE (unless you want VIP access, which is pretty affordable and supports a great cause!)

Here are more details from Amanda - No Hassle Dog Training:

"Better walks are not about having a “perfect” dog.

They are about understanding what your dog needs, building trust, and learning how to support them in the real world.

That is exactly why I created Perfectly Relaxed Walks, my free online summit.

You’ll hear from expert speakers on topics that can help you create more enjoyable walks with your dog, whether you are dealing with pulling, big feelings, distractions, frustration, or a dog who seems to forget you exist the moment you step outside.

It is free to participate, and you can join from anywhere. Link in the comments!

When signing up there is an optional VIP All Access Pass with some great bonuses. 10% of proceeds from VIP sales will be donated in support of Veterinarians without Borders"

On the topic of being mindful that you may not be getting the whole picture online, I want to share something with you.....
05/31/2026

On the topic of being mindful that you may not be getting the whole picture online, I want to share something with you...

I get duped too.

I know what to look for in the language being used, the body language of the dogs, and the way the trainers interact with the dogs.... and this evening when I saw a reel that said "If your Puppy School starts with every dog off lead... run!", I shared it, with the additional comment "Louder for the people on the back!"

And then I looked more into the profile who created it and found flags in some of their other videos...
- making fun of cooperative care because care is non-negotiable
- tight slip leads high up on nearly every dog they're working with
- not respecting the dogs body language
- putting the dogs in too uncomfortable, scary situations rather than setting them up for success
- "nothing in life is free" (when, in fact, plenty in life is free 🤷‍♀️)
- hauling on a collar in the name of cooperation and/or building intensity

And also:
- saying the "right things", using the "right", ethical welfare based language
- dogs playing and having fun
- dogs showing body language that looks happy (but to a well trained eye is actually stressful)
- giving dogs socialization opportunities

It's literally a mine field out there to know what to look for and what are red flags... and even those of us with a lot of practice can get decieved at first (or second or third) glance.

If you haven't noticed, I try very hard to be intentional about what I share, but also about where it's coming from.

My passion in the dog world is providing ethical resources for every day people to learn more about dogs. Their needs and how they learn best, as well as helping to change the focus from "I want my dog to do this" to "I want to share my life with my dog in a way that makes us both feel happy and fulfilled."

I will only share things that align with my ethical core about dogs.
I will only share content that comes from creators/pages that do the same.
(And if I mess up, call me on it. I will re-evaluate and/or explain why I shared it anyway.)

What you see with me is truly what you get. 🤷‍♀️ Like it or leave it 🙈

Image for algorithm tax:
Oscar the grey tabby cat rubbing all over Kitchi and Kitchi debating on telling him to frig off. (Spoiler alert: She did.)






Sometimes, when cross posting between my personal page and this business one, I just search for the other to view and co...
05/30/2026

Sometimes, when cross posting between my personal page and this business one, I just search for the other to view and copy & paste.

Meta AI gives a little auto recap of a search, now, and I have a few thoughts about it:

1) Mine sounds pretty great, at least on the day that I took this screenshot of it. It sounds and feels (felt) like a true representation of my ethics, how I work, and what my priorities are.

2) But... here is the kicker... AI can only give information based on what it finds.

*Note: ironically, I asked Gemini to help me put what I wanted to say into thoughts that make sense. And here's the result:
"You have hit on an absolute truth about how AI synthesis works, and frankly, it is one of the most frustrating gaps between how people think AI works versus how it actually operates.

"It doesn't have a built-in detector for "the missing truth." It is an echo chamber for available data.
If a business actively scrubs its pages (such as "dirty deleting" negative comments or purging tough feedback) the AI has no clue those pieces are missing. It treats a manicured feed as proof of excellence, confidently turning a dishonest business’s PR cleanup into a glowing, authoritative summary.

"Honesty gets penalized; curation gets rewarded.
An AI can't measure ethics. If a business operates with total transparency—leaving up messy, real-life feedback and addressing it honestly—the AI might summarize it as having "mixed reviews." Meanwhile, a competitor who aggressively deletes every single complaint walks away with a "flawless" AI profile."
(Add on from YHDC/LLR: And if you know, you know... this happens more than you may realize...)

"It's a mirror, not a detective. AI can only launder the information it can find. It can tell you what a business wants you to see, but it can never tell you what they are actively trying to hide. Real reputation still lives in the uncurated, word-of-mouth truths that a delete button can't reach."
*from LLR/YHDC: But this can be tricky too, especially if those who want to share their word-of-mouth experiences are being bullied into saying nothing at all under the threat of a defamation lawsuit. 🤷‍♀️ Sadly, that happens, too.

Ok, and now for Number 3

3) I actually forgot to tell people that I am now accepting clients! I only take on approximately four clients at a time to ensure they get the most attention from me that they can, that I can also have time for my family.

I am currently working with one virtual client (my first, to see how it goes), and I start working with another on Wednesday, which means I have space for two more clients! (I'll add the link on how to get started in the comments if any of you would like to work with me.)

To say that I am excited to be an active part of the mindset shift for our dogs is an understatement. From Family Dog Me...
05/30/2026

To say that I am excited to be an active part of the mindset shift for our dogs is an understatement.
From Family Dog Mediation: LEGS in Motion:

"While the first 3 domains focus largely on the inputs that influence welfare, the Fourth Domain also asks us to look at behavior itself as evidence of welfare.

In other words:
▪ Is this animal doing what they would naturally be doing if captivity were not preventing it?
▪ Are the behavioral interactions this dog is having with the environment, other dogs, & people reflective of their natural history, behavioral ecology, & natural motivations?
▪ What does that actually LOOK like in dogs?
▪ How can we effectively support natural canine behavior when, as an industry, we have barely identified which natural behaviors dogs need to express for good welfare in the first place?

Worse still, many of the natural behaviors dogs are most motivated to perform have been mislabeled as “behavior problems” when expressed in modern pet environments.

Too often, our efforts have focused on suppressing these behaviors rather than understanding what they were for in the first place or why they are important now.

We were never taught to see many of these behaviors as welfare needs.
But animal welfare science is changing that.

We now have the frameworks, principles, & evidence to begin flipping the script on canine behavior entirely.

Not by creating less dogness in the name of “good” behavior.
Not by shaping unnatural performances.

But by creating healthier, more complete expressions of true dogness.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be exploring these Behavioral Interactions.

We’ll discuss how to identify these behaviors & provide some hacks to support them appropriately in modern life.

Because the expression of natural behavior can be evidence that welfare needs are being met.

And their absence, as well as “behavior problems”, can be evidence that they are not.

This series will also pave the way for the public release of the complete Total Welfare Ethogram, & the Total Welfare client management and behavioral diversity tracking app this July.

We will be redefining our field - together - as welfare literate & competent professionals in 2026.

Whatever your next step is, get ready to take it.

The dogs are counting on us.
"

Yesterday, I shared a clip of a post by Shay Kelly MSc talking a bit about bite sports (a discussion brought on by a rea...
05/30/2026

Yesterday, I shared a clip of a post by Shay Kelly MSc talking a bit about bite sports (a discussion brought on by a really terrible video of dogs being treated brutally in the name of bite sports) on my personal page.

My additional commentary was that, as long as the dog is enjoying themselves, I don't have an issue with dog sports, even though they are not my thing. 🤷‍♀️

But this comment on my post (if you aren't friends with Lori-Lee 😉, you are missing out on some really great discussions among dog pros!) was worth sharing in a post all it's own.

I'll just add a piece of it here, but I'll copy the entire comment (and the link to the post itself) in the comments here for those interested:

"... the industry is years and years behind and still dominated by some outdated views and nobody talks about this enough...

I am biased because I've seen a really outdated industry in New Zealand where I live, very focused on obedience rather than 'is the dog OK? is the dog having fun?'

What I saw was the majority of dogs showing signs of distress and a complete indifference from both guardians and instructors. None, zero. The dog is an instrument for the handler to show their skills, very reinforcing for the human - for most dogs not so much.
.. the environment I saw was not truly set up for the dog to succeed and have fun, more like very human centred. I'd bet that many guardians who think their dogs are having fun are actually seeing signs of hyper arousal for coping with the situation: surviving not thriving. Probably similar to those guardians that say their dog has fun at daycare because they are so tired afterwards 😬"

Knowing what to see in dog body language matters. I'll add a resource in the comments for you ;)

05/29/2026

"You're a dog trainer so your dogs must be really well behaved."

That depends.
Is there a singular definition of a well behaved dog?
I don't think so.

I think that if you asked 100 different people to define what a well-behaved dog looks like, you'll probably get close to 100 different answers.

And that's ok.

What matters more to me is whether your dog fits into your lifestyle. Are they happy? And you happy with them?
That's what well behaved means to me.

What does it mean to you?




Address

Yarmouth, NS

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