Canine Companion, LLC- Abbie Volpone

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Ann Arbor, MI
Canine Companion, LLC- Abbie Volpone

Abbie Volpone, VSA-CDT, FDM
Certified, insured, and experienced, science based trainer for dogs and their people.

06/17/2026

Celebrating some wins for Mister Darcy 🤩

He’s a very nervous, shut-down guy with an unknown history. He refused to even acknowledge me for the first few sessions. He was that way with his own human for a while after he came home from the rescue too. He’s scared of the world, and he’s also aggressive with dogs. An unfortunate incident with a neighbor dog deemed him dangerous and led to him being court ordered to wear a muzzle when in public.
But his human has so much patience, care, and love for this special boy. She meets him where he’s at, and they have developed a beautiful bond.

We started working together in November of last year. Muzzle conditioning, more enrichment and freedom of movement in controlled environments, reactivity training, and more. The majority of the time I’m coaching from the sidelines, because he doesn’t trust me, and that’s okay. But at our last session, he just suddenly, relaxed. He laid down for the first time in my presence, and then promptly rolled over for his person to rub his tummy. He’d choose to approach me. He took treats I fed him through his muzzle. Allowed for some little pets. And his training? Amazing. Another lovely reactivity training client came to his neighborhood for us so we could get in some really good reps. A strange dog walking straight at him and past him in front of his house, beautiful disengagement, beautiful coping skills. We even stepped it up and practiced recall away from a dog, and he DID, multiple times.

There are other people who may have suggested more forceful methods with a dog like Mister Darcy. Punishing him for trying to cope with the world in the only way he knew how. And while I could go on and on about the risks and the reasons why that isn’t how we should train any dog, one thing really stands out— Punishment wouldn’t have ever made Mister Darcy see me as a friend or someone he could trust. And I wouldn’t trade THAT feeling, the moment a terrified dog accepts you as a safe person, for anything. Now he’s gained a friend, his bond with his human is stronger, AND he’s succeeding in his training. His person and I are both so proud of how far he’s come!

06/07/2026

The “immediately friendly equals well-socialised” myth

There’s a widespread assumption - particularly in Western dog culture - that an immediately friendly dog is a well-socialised one. But sociability and social health aren’t the same thing.

A dog that rushes up to every stranger isn’t necessarily confident. It can equally reflect overarousal (due to varying emotions), a lack of impulse control, or a lack of clear social boundaries.

Natural reservation and fear are not the same thing. This distinction matters enormously, and the two are frequently collapsed, which is a significant equivocation with real consequences for dogs.

Fear-based reservation tends to involve active avoidance, visible stress signals, and an inability to recover. Natural reservation looks quite different - the dog may be calm, observant, and fully functional - simply withholding engagement until they’ve made their own assessment. Conflating the two pathologises a healthy characteristic.

Some breeds were never bred for indiscriminate friendliness: Chow Chows, Akitas, and many Nordic and Eastern breeds among them. Applying a universal social template to every dog and finding them wanting does a real disservice to both the individual and the breed. The Eurasier standard, for example, describes the breed as reserved with strangers, but without signs of aggression - and in my experience, that’s accurate. There’s a spectrum, as with any breed, but natural reservation was genuinely one of the things that drew me to them.

The pressure for dogs to be immediately friendly with strangers largely serves the stranger, not the dog. A dog that takes their time is exercising due diligence. Appropriate social boundaries. Something we’d readily respect in a human.

There’s also a persistent assumption that reservation in adult dogs signals inadequate early socialisation. Sometimes that’s true - but a well-socialised dog of a naturally reserved breed, or any breed, may still be reserved. Socialisation does shape confidence and resilience, but it doesn’t necessarily alter how much social contact a dog seeks, or from whom.

Every dog deserves to be read as an individual - not measured against a template, or unrealistic expectations that we wouldn’t apply to other humans.

05/04/2026

Welfare Fun Fact 💡

Agency is one of the most important features of the Physical Environment Domain.

Animals experience better welfare when they have the ability to influence their surroundings by making choices between options and experiencing control in producing predictable outcomes.

These factors dovetail into the critical umbrella of agency - an animal’s ability to competently and skillfully exert control, elect from choices, and navigate challenges in their environment.

Dogs naturally move through their physical environment to regulate comfort and safety. They experience sensory and structural external conditions, and are designed to respond accordingly to maintain homeostasis - shifting positions, changing surfaces, seeking shade or warmth, increasing distance from aversive stimuli or social pressure, or moving toward things that feel comforting, interesting or rewarding.

Environments that offer only a single flat plane with few options limit these opportunities for self regulation. Far too many dogs live in single plane realities which lack the choices, control, and ultimate agency that animals need to optimize their welfare.

Domain crossovers: Mental and Affective State, Behavioral Interactions

Welfare Hack 🚨
Look at your dog’s environment from their point of view - both inside and outside of the home.

Are there opportunities to effectively and predictably act on the physical environment in response to conditions by electing to:
Move up? On? Over? Under? Around? Behind?
Go outside? Inside? Towards? Away From?
Stretch out? Curl up?
Get active? Quiet down?
Seek? Hide?
Get close to? Isolate from?
Warm up? Cool down?

Perches, stools, couches, soft bedding, cool shaded areas, different rooms, logs, rocks, platforms, dog doors, windows, nooks, and varied terrain/routes all create opportunities for dogs to adjust their bodies, minds, and their experiences to follow their inner compasses.

More environmental options provide more than the opportunity to cope with one’s environment. They can promote better homeostatic function, emotional regulation, and stress resilience.

04/20/2026

Looking forward to a full and beautiful week of training your dogs!

03/09/2026

Finnegan wants everyone to see how handsome he looks in his muzzle 😍

02/26/2026

Everyone loves a field trip day 🥰 Rollo and Beanie were on the roster today for some adventure and training out in the world! We started with some long-line time to explore at a park, then moved to the more structured exercises. Meet their needs first, THEN your training goals!

02/19/2026

In honor of Sake’s FOURTH gotcha day today, I wanted to bring back this little video I made soon after we brought her home!

This video is just a small selection of all the little considerations when bringing home a new pet. Especially in a multi-dog, multi-species household like mine, there was LOTS of management, practice, and guidance at the start (no phone in my hand to record those things, too busy actively supervising!). But really, we did get lucky with this sweet girl, she joined our lives seamlessly and has added greatly to the joy (and dog hair) in our house.

Here’s to my favorite spunky, wild fluff. Shelter name “Island,” became our Sake girl, Saks, the Puppy Dog who isn’t such a puppy anymore.

02/12/2026

Here’s a great win for this week—Nelson was recently adopted and is still learning about the world. His person has high hopes of him being a go-everywhere kind of companion for her, and luckily he’s got such a fun, curious personality that I do think that’s something he can do. So today we took him on his first outing, and after about 10 minutes of settling in he was totally relaxed and the best boy. He even found a toy he carried with him! I just adore this goofy guy!

02/03/2026

An exciting business update— I have just taken a position as a faculty advisor for an internationally recognized industry leader, the Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training & Behavior. I am thrilled to take on this role, honored by the recognition of my own expertise, and excited to help shape future dog trainers.

01/18/2026

The forecast for the next couple of days is going to be miserable. 🥶🥶Keep yourself and your dogs safe.
👉🏼Skip the walk and choose indoor enrichment or training time. Make outdoor potty trips quick. If you live in an apartment complex or somewhere that salts heavily, consider boots or paw protection like Musher’s Secret paw balm to protect from chemical burns on your dogs’ feet. And when you go out, cover as much of your skin as possible!
Stay inside, snuggle your dogs, and have warm thoughts of spring! ❄️

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Ann Arbor, MI

Telephone

+17345961725

Website

https://linktr.ee/abbievolpone?utm_source=qr_code

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