Brave New Dog

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Brave New Dog I help people and dogs develop a better relationship through play, kindness, and communication. In person in South-West France and online anywhere.

Certified Control Unleashed Instructor, Certified Family Dog Mediator. Also, Beaucerons.

It has taken me a month to gather the strength to write this post. Less than a week apart, I lost two of my best friends...
27/07/2026

It has taken me a month to gather the strength to write this post. Less than a week apart, I lost two of my best friends. Two souls that happened to live in canine bodies. And their absence is leaving a giant gaping hole in my heart. I don’t really have the words to describe it. Maybe that’s because the relationships we have with dogs aren’t based on words. They exist in a space of shared experience, mutual rituals, small gestures. Every day, a million tiny moments remind me of how much their lives were intertwined with mine.

It’s a private pain and I’ve been struggling with whether to share it. But if you’ve been following this page, I’m sure you know how it feels, and I thought you might want to know.

Tiffany fought her battle against lymphoma for over a year and a half. From the day her diagnosis fell, I promised myself to live in the moment. Because it’s impossible to stare at that sword over your head every day. We made a pact. No bad days. And we kept it. She was the embodiment of life. A fiery whirlwind of joy that swept you up in its path until the very last day. And when that day came, just short of her 4th birthday, and the sword finally fell, I didn’t see it coming. Tiffany was a born performer. My muse and my mana.

Less than a month out from her 15th birthday, Gemma followed her through the portal. Her physical strength and abilities had been declining for a while, but her mind was as sharp as ever. That fiercely independent spirit I struggled to understand in her youth now letting me know she was ready to leave. Gemma was a thinker. My teacher and my compass.

I miss them both equally and yet in very different ways. While their mission may be over, their lessons continue to inspire me. So if they still appear in my posts, it’s because rather than mourn the loss, I chose to celebrate their lives.

15/06/2026

Not chasing wildlife is a lot easier when your dog knows what to DO instead.
Here I am asking Tiffany if she can show me where the deer are with Leslie McDevitt’s Look At That game so I know she’s well aware, followed by a cue to get her ball, instead of leaving her in a vacuum about what to do next.
Those are functional behaviors that work for this dog in this situation. Although with a different dog, in a different context this might look different, every dog can learn behaviors they can use to communicate and cope instead of expecting them to just stop behaving.

btw, a few days before, when we passed this hedge, she started sniffing and stuck her head in the bushes when a buck jumped out right next to us. Of course I was too stunned to grab my phone in time 😅

30/04/2026

Not once, not twice, but three bloody times I cut into Tiffany’s quick on the very first nail I clipped in a session. My sweet cooperative pup now stresses. She still hops on her station but is now barking and fidgeting when the clippers come out. Ugh.

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To fix my blunder, we need to go back to basics, building trust in small steps, progressing at her pace. In the meantime though, her nails are getting longer. Ugh again. Time to get creative.

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We bring out our DIY scratch board. No food because that’s already adding pressure and I want her to be in control of the process. Scratch = ball throw. I’m not asking for the ball back either. She would give it to me, but asking for the ball and then asking for the scratch isn’t really voluntary anymore is it?

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So I wait for her to drop it. She’s in control of the game. You can see she needs a break at first, running onto the trampoline to play by herself after scratching the board. And then she stays, dropping the ball and stepping back for me to take it.

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Choice is a big word in cooperative care. But what do we actually mean when we say the dog chooses to opt in? If we expect them to say YES, there needs to be the option to say NO. So then what does opting out look like?

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I don’t have the answers.

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What I do know is that it took much protest and repeatedly removing myself and the food to reset and try again for Tiffany to finally “agree” to let me clip one nail.

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It also took one “I need to play by myself to figure out if I actually want to do this” before we had a game of scratch-and-catch. Listen to your dog. I guess I’m a slow learner.

24/09/2024

If you’ve followed my journey over the years, you already know my penchant for weaving fantasy and imagination into the real-life games we play with dogs. And if you watched my Doggo or Dragon PPG webinar last year, you’re probably not surprised that I’ve created a virtual realm where we re.imagine the stories we tell of how we live and learn with doggos.
To take part in this new adventure, please come and join "Doggo or Dragon" on Patreon. It’s FREE to play :) https://www.patreon.com/doggoordragon

And if you like to see more crazy dog videos, please like and share the new page 🧝‍♀️ https://www.facebook.com/doggoordragon/

20/03/2024

🐶🎂 Do you celebrate your dog’s birthday? Maybe they get a special treat or a new toy? Well, how about throwing them a proper party and playing their favorite games?
For her 1st birthday, Ugenie wanted an experience to remember. So she invited her best friends and went on an epic adventure. These four intrepid FUNdogs had a fun-filled morning hunting for magical yellow orbs, sniffing out sneaky traps and saving the friendly dragon imprisoned in the wonky castle. Snackos were enjoyed all around and much fun was had by all! ❤🐾🥎🍪🐲🦸‍♀️🐾❤

13/11/2023

✨✨The magic of nose games! Dogs possess an incredible superpower: watch Gemma (12) and Tiffy (1 1/2) dive into the 4th dimension of scent-time to play lost & found games with their BFFs.✨✨

👶👵 Scent games are fun for young and old, big and small.
☀️🌧🌓They can be played inside, outside in small spaces, in the dark, on a walk.
💨🌫 Search games are fun at high speed or at reduced mobility.
🐽🧠 Using their nose works your dog’s brain.
🐾 And depending on where you place the thing, finding the hide can challenge your dog’s body awareness.
💪🙌 Nosework is a great confidence boost for dogs who see ghosts (aka worry) and can help dogs relax and focus who tend to see monsters (aka become overreactive).
❣️Let's play more nose games!!

🐾🐽👁️ 💧🌿❤️ Lovely lake stroll & fundraising walk for local rescue organization and our border collie boy Ban’s start into...
27/05/2023

🐾🐽👁️ 💧🌿❤️ Lovely lake stroll & fundraising walk for local rescue organization and our border collie boy Ban’s start into a new life LES AMIS Foster/adoptions. Such a joy to see lots of different dogs be able to engage in social and environmental enrichment like parallel sniffing and swimming. A decompression morning for everybody 😊

23/05/2023

I’m super honored to present my webinar “Doggo or Dragon? How the power of fantasy role playing games can help you conquer real-life dog training struggles” for The Pet Professional Guild. Join me live on June 1st or watch the recording if you can't make the date. https://petprofessionalguild.com/event-5226167

Built on the amazing Control Unleashed framework created by Leslie McDevitt, this webinar is an introduction to a brand new, original approach to help motivate and empower dog guardians to create a relationship based on empathy and connection with their canine player two.

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