06/22/2026
📍 Clearlake Animal Association
6820 Old Hwy 53
Clearlake, CA 95422
🗓 Saturday, June 27
🕙 10:00 AM
—--Every interaction creates conditions.
Every condition influences emotion.
Every emotion influences behavior.
Let’s learn to create conditions that help dogs succeed.——
The stories are ours.
The experience belongs to the dog.
People naturally tell stories about behavior.
“He’s stubborn.”
“She’s dominant.”
“He’s being difficult.”
Dogs don’t experience the world through those stories.
They experience it through perception, emotion, learning, and the conditions around them.
As handlers, our responsibility isn’t to invent better stories.
It’s to become better observers.
On Saturday, June 27th at 10:00 AM, we’ll be launching the first in a series of volunteer training workshops at the Clearlake Animal Association.
Together, we’ll explore a framework built around one simple idea:
Behavior is information.
Rather than asking, “How do I stop this behavior?” we’ll begin asking questions like:
• What might this dog be experiencing?
• What conditions am I creating?
• What emotions are influencing this interaction, for the dog and for me?
• How can I leave this dog better than I found them?
Topics will include:
🐾 How our own emotions influence the dogs we handle
🐾 Recognizing common “subliminal bite triggers” before problems occur
🐾 Why every interaction creates conditions
🐾 Observation before intervention
🐾 Quality over quantity, avoiding the “tyranny of the checklist”
🐾 Practical ways to improve the welfare, confidence, and adoptability of the dogs in our care
This workshop is strongly encouraged for all volunteer dog handlers and those considering volunteering.
It will serve as the foundation for an ongoing volunteer education program focused on safer handling, better decision-making, and improving the lives of shelter dogs through every interaction.
