25/10/2025
Before I do any practical training, I always start with a full consultation and preparation phase — and here’s why. 👇
When working on behaviour cases, I don’t just focus on what you see.
I look at the whole dog — because what’s happening on the inside always shows on the outside. 🍀
One of the biggest parts of the Preparation Phase is the Control & Management section — and that often means reducing chronic stress.
If a dog lives in a constant state of stress, every system in their body is affected — emotionally, mentally, and physically.
And remember, stress isn’t always fear.
It can be good or bad stress — overexcitement, over-arousal, frustration, anxiety, or fear.
💡 The chemical response is the same: adrenaline and cortisol flood the body, keeping the nervous system on high alert.
Right now, I’m working with a dog whose biggest challenge wasn’t the behaviour itself — it was chronic stress.
Once we reduced stress in other areas of her life, her nervous system reset — and she could finally move from fight or flight into rest and digest.
The result?
She started eating and relaxing in hydrotherapy, something she couldn’t do before.
That’s the difference stress reduction can make. 🌿
Behaviour work isn’t about “fixing” a problem — it’s about understanding the cause and helping the dog’s internal systems settle, so the outward behaviour can change.
👉 What’s going on inside the dog is what you see outwardly.
Address the root, not just the reaction.
