07/05/2026
Today me and Floyd went to his red level park 🧨
It's the park where he was attacked a few times and the one we've completely banned from visiting for a year!
The space became conditioned with the feeling of anxiety for him, and for me! Whenever I would start walking there, I could feel my heart going faster and my eyes frantically looking for dogs and people 🚶🏻♀️
During this year, we practiced in our amber parks. We worked on calmness, engagement, obedience and many more things to make the amber spaces green 💚
I could finally see that he could fully engage, and relax in amber environments, and they really have become green places for him so we went to the red park, and I can see now that it's become a new amber space 🙌🏻
He can engage and work with me in most scenarios, and the situations where he goes very close to his threshold are becoming less often.
It's so important to know your dog's green, amber and red environments. Maybe your training is not working, because your environment is too stressful or exciting? Maybe your dog needs more time to build skills without distractions before he's ready to face a busy spot? 🌿
Training isn't only about repetition of the exercises. It's about learning to adapt your training so your dog can succeed without drowning in the task we're asking them to do.
We also learn gradually. You wouldn't start learning to drive on a busy road. You'll go to quiet car parks and secluded roads so you can build skills and confidence for the city drives!
