Buddhahood Canine Behavior

10/01/2024

Dallas, TX

Helping clients rehome their golden Maggie.

07/19/2024

Adoptable Ash would like to ask for your help in covering our small rescues medical expenses. We don’t ask for much, and we don’t ask often. We humbly ask for your assistance in covering our 7 pups in rescue annual medical. Our spend alone on just basics annual visit is $918.35.

06/20/2024

Imagine starting a new workout routine at a new gym. You don’t know the environment. You’ve never tried this type of exercise. Your coach asks you to show him a pull-up. You attempt, but can not even move an inch as you hang helplessly from the bar. Your new coach stands by just watching, and labels you as weak.

You continue showing up, attempting to “figure it out” as a new coach approaches and offers guidance. She noticed that you may be too week for a pull-up, but that there are movements you can work on to develop first that will lead to a pull-up over time. They gathered the information you provided with your struggle and got to work to form a plan.

That’s what we do to dogs. We get a new dog in and see a behavior in the moment. Suddenly we label that dog as a resource guarder, high prey drive, aggressive, reactive, high energy, etc.

It’s what you do with that information that matters.

I see those behaviors as a way to connect with a dog and give them a different answer. And much like building muscle in the gym, the behaviors do not change overnight. Their struggle is an asset full of so much information. I can use it to build partnership, relevancy, and trust.

But if we continue to label dogs from that one blip in time, we are not any better than a coach that just watches us struggle and labels us as weak.

Further more, we often as too much of dogs with out developing the basics first. Kinda like asking a newbie in the gym to sn**ch (a complex Olympic weightlifting movement).

A good coach is going to see where you’re at, take that information, and teach you the basics first with movements that are safe, easy to understand, and offer guidance, direction, and safety. Because its almost impossible to learn when you don’t feel safe.

It is our responsibility to understand the dog, not theirs to understand us.

05/24/2024

In relationship-based dog training, the emphasis is on creating a strong and positive connection with your dog. This approach recognizes that every interaction with your dog is an opportunity to build trust, understanding, and cooperation.

By viewing the leash as a tool for communication rather than a means of control, you can guide your dog in a way that fosters a sense of collaboration and understanding. This approach allows you to work together with your dog to address behavior issues, reinforce desired behaviors, and strengthen your bond.

It’s about building a partnership that is built on mutual respect and understanding, leading to a happier, healthier, and more fulfilling relationship for both you and your dog.

12/02/2023

10/06/2023

Welcome Ray ☀️ to BCB. We are currently working on building pack drive and human relevancy. She is a beauty, and has eyes that see through your soul.

10/05/2023

Banksy is ready to find his forever person(s). He is available in Dallas, Tx via . He is crate trained, treadmill trained, walks great on a leash, loves to learn, and is quite the athlete. He has been waiting over a year for his perfect home. Banksy is currently fostered by me, . ❤️

06/20/2023

Cooper has joined the BCB pack with a mini board and train. He is a derpy, happy-go-lucky boy who is in search of his forever family. Cooper is learning how to have better social manners, and play is his middle name. He is dog and cat friendly, and currently available through and fostered by .

05/11/2023

Fostering 101. I know there is a lot more info that these slides could contain. However, I have learned you have to give small nuggets at a time. Please enjoy and share if you see fit.

04/30/2023

Mogambo is here as we prepare him for the flight of his life. His family is making the decisions to move to Mumbai, and Mogambo is included in the relocation.

04/25/2023

Decompression

🌮Food for thought. Have you ever started a new job, with new people, environment, and role and felt confident and comfortable instantly? Imagine showing up on day one and not knowing where you desk is, the password to your computer, or what you’re supposed to be doing. Or what about your children starting at a new school with new classmates and teacher. It can be terrifying. In those moments of being new, it helps to know that there is safety, and that there is someone we can rely on to show us or our kids around. It also helps to know what is expected.

We as humans have the cognitive ability to understand the depth of change we put ourselves in, and we still need time to adjust. We also have the ability for the most part to say yes or no to new situations. Dogs do not have the power to say where they want to go. But they can tell us what they need if we are willing to slow down and listen.

🕊️The standard with decompression is 3 days, but that should not mean your new foster is ready to rock and role. The 3 days is just a start of acclimation. This is your first opportunity to establish a relationship and create trust. When a dog trusts a human first, they start to trust the environment the human puts them in.

⚠️From a dogs perspective, you are a stranger, you house is a strange environment, and your resident dogs are strange too.

😤If your foster is more on the pushy side, immediately allowing freedom of choice and space can result in unruly behavior just down the road. Lack of limitations gives a pushy dog permission to be pushy. The less relevant you are as their leader, the more pushy a forward dog can be.

Edited to add the the rest.

© If your foster is nervous, insecure, and unsure, they may actually need more time to settle in. I wish could say this means they need more affection and cuddles, however if that was enough to help a dog feel confident, trainers wouldn't be needed. Giving them too much freedom can give them too much to worry about.
That often leaves lack of trust in a Human to handle things that may be overwhelming. The more direction these dogs get with boundaries and limitations, the less they have to worry about.
You will earn cool "foster mom" points from vour foster dog.
*a The ultimate form of affection is to fulfill your dog as a dog and to help them feel safe, calm, and confident in the world.
* Dogs that are nervous, anxious, insecure will sometimes cling to humans. However, this does not change the way they feel. If a dog has a hard time being away from us while we are home, we are setting them up to fail when we leave. We will talk separation anxiety soon.
Biggest tip I can provide is to slow the process down. It is not going to hurt to take even more time than what you think. It is so much easier to add in little by little than it is to go too fast and have to correct down the road. Sometimes trust has already been lost. You can get it back, but you'll have to work twice as hard to be believable.
Slow down, and let the decompression time marinade. Besides, what's the rush?
Let me know below what questions

04/17/2023

Cooperation
Over
Compliance

Cooperation is a process of working together to achieve our goals. Compliance is based on an imbalance of power and control.

As handlers our aim should be to seek a partnership with our dogs with understanding and agreement.

Loose leash walking is an example of cooperation and agreement. Allowing the dog the choice to yield to the tension or continue to feel the discomfort being caused by them. When we yank and pull, we are asking for compliance. When we wait with patience and let them work through it, they yield to the tension, we now have agreement and cooperation.

Our partnership is rooted in the history of we survive better together.

Dog “training” really comes down to follow-through, patience, consistency and communication.

03/27/2023

I have been passionate about helping humans understand their dogs better. For me, it completely unlocked a next level bond with my fosters, training dogs, and pack. Once you know, you can’t unknow; and I’m committed to sharing that passion when training my humans.

As an owner, think of the behaviors that your dog does that either frustrate, annoy, and frankly anger you. Now think of those behaviors and why a different species would display them. Imagine being the animal, the dog, the breed and not just fluffy the family “pet”.

Expectations are premeditated resentments. When we expect our canines to behave and act that goes against their institutional code, we often end up feeling defeated. But when we can truly understand what a dog is, we can connect to that dog and help guide it to make better choices.

True partnership is a two way street. What are things that you overact to that you wish you understood about your dog?

Relationshipbaseddogtraining

03/26/2023

Welcome Rosie into the pack. She is finishing up her 4 week co-b&t we shared with . We worked on confidence building, and learning how to learn from other dogs. She is one special pup.

03/21/2023

HINT: All the freedom you give doesn’t equal a happier dog.

More often than not humans try to make up for having to crate their dogs by allowing freedom once they are home. The crate is such a beautiful place to start teaching boundaries, providing structure, and teaching downtown. My goal for every owner and their dog would be to create such a beautiful relationship with their canine that a crate isn’t needed. However, that takes truly understanding a dogs needs first, and creating the expectations.

What your dog does during its “free time” is so important. The crate alone will not change your dogs behavior. It’s what happens when your dog is free to make its own choices. The more we can guide and show our expectations, the less they will have to guess at it and pave their own way. If you’re the owner dealing with overexcitement, mouthing, anxiousness, reactivity, pulling on the walks, and you want to change these behaviors, this message is for you.

Focusing on the quality could look like a nature walk, place work, structured play, or even just relaxing in the back yard together. It is okay and recommended to have your dog return to the crate after these activities. The quality of their time is way more important than the quantity.

If you are looking for help with your dogs behaviors and working on improving your relationship, every moment is an opportunity to guide your dog to make better choices. Be mindful of the quality of those moments.

And just in case you were wondering, quality time for YOUR DOG is not a cuddle session on the couch. Yeah, I said it.

03/17/2023

I couldn’t think of a better poster child for this post than . His human has put herself on a quest to be his biggest advocate and leader to balance. You’ll have to head to her page to read and follow their journey. We played a small part to the human through support, and education from a community that loves to surround its dog owners. (, , ).

As a professional, our goal is to lead a dog to balance with leadership and by reaching a dog and understanding it’s needs first.

03/09/2023

JR is our newest pack member. He is here as a foster, and to serve up all the good looks. We are going to be working on building his confidence. JR will be available for adoption via . So stick around and follow his journey with us.