Canine Development and Testing

Canine Development and Testing Tired of sifting through the sea of dog training advice? Look no further!

09/02/2026

The spice boys are group of dogs at CDT for training that all share some common DNA. They’re all herding breeds of some variety!

Herding dogs can be amazing, smart and fun companions but they do need a job before they take all that intelligence and energy and use it for evil.

With appropriate outlets and boundaries, these boys are going home a better version of themselves. Same personalities, just far more calm and coachable.

Have a herding breed that’s running your life? If any of these symptoms sound like what you’re living with at home, call@lr text us and we’ll help you get things back on track. 403-457-8811

08/29/2026

Movement doesn’t always create a tired puppy. Sometimes it creates… this.

Post-movement decompression is a big part of how I raise puppies and dogs, and why I use the Move → Rest → Eat cycle.

After we move the body, I want to intentionally bring arousal back down. Crate time, tethering, chewing, quiet time. Whatever helps the nervous system shift from GO GO GO to recovery.

Because if every bout of activity is followed by more freedom, more play and more stimulation, puppies and dogs can get very good at staying “on.”

Move. Rest. Eat. Repeat.

08/28/2026

When Indiana arrive for his 8-week board and train, he was anxious, used his teeth to make space, couldn’t settle, couldn’t be groomed, panted and whined non-stop in and out of his kennel. He wasn’t reliable around people he didn’t know, and like many herding dogs, wanted to control every situation. He barked hysterically at his owners when they hugged or showed affection.

Thankfully, his owners knew this wasn’t their dog and there was hope for their 9 year old senior to have a better quality of life.

In 8-weeks Indy’s anxiety is gone, he can be groomed and handled, can settle easier in public and new spaces, and knows how to make space for himself around new people which makes him far more reliable to take out on daily adventures.

Indy is set-up to spend the rest of his years thriving instead of locked in his own anxiety!

Thank you to Craig and Paris for trusting us with your beautiful dog, and for believing there’s more to Indy’s life than his anxiety.

Want support with your anxious or reactive dog? Reach out to chat, we’d love to hear from you.

403-457-8811

The barking. The reactivity. The pacing. The inability to settle. The avoidance. The dog who seems to be constantly wait...
08/26/2026

The barking. The reactivity. The pacing. The inability to settle. The avoidance. The dog who seems to be constantly waiting for something to go wrong.

All symptoms of anxiety.

It’s a state of anticipation. The nervous system is preparing for a threat that may or may not actually be there. And when that system spends enough time switched on, it changes how the dog learns, responds and recovers from stress.

Genetics and early development matter. So do chronic stress, social instability, poorly timed or unpredictable training, and repeated experiences where the dog doesn’t understand how to make the pressure stop.

This is also why simply avoiding everything that makes an anxious dog uncomfortable isn’t the answer.

Resilience requires predictability, control and appropriate challenge. Dogs need opportunities to experience manageable stress, successfully work through it, find relief and discover that they have some influence over what happens next.

That’s behaviour modification.

One thing you can do today:
Choose ONE situation your dog finds mildly difficult and make the outcome ridiculously clear. Lower the difficulty, give them something specific to do, provide clear feedback and give them relief when they succeed.

What does anxiety look like in your dog? Tell me in the comments.

And it never will be.
08/25/2026

And it never will be.

You’re putting a band-aid on your dog’s bad behaviors using obedience. You remove choices, and command the dog to do som...
08/24/2026

You’re putting a band-aid on your dog’s bad behaviors using obedience. You remove choices, and command the dog to do something ie: heel so they don’t react, or sit so they don’t jump on Aunt Lucy. But outside of obedience, your dog can’t make good choice because those choices have never been coached.

Instead of using obedience to fix behaviors, use your markers, leash, body language and relationship with your dog to help them understand the expectations of any given scenario, and teach them that their choices have consequences.

Only once you start doing this can you break free of constantly managing your dog with obedience, and living the life you always hoped.

Need help understanding how to coach your dog through their decisions? Call or text us to chat: 403-457-8811

08/21/2026

Controversial perhaps. But the last, and I mean very last skill I’d ever teach a dog is “shake a paw”.

You have FAR bigger fish to fry in your puppy, teen or adult dog’s education.

If we spent as much time crate training as we do teaching shake a paw and roll over, we’d be much happier with our dog’s behavior!

Learn what skills I’d focus on at every stage of life. DM me for my “Understanding Life Stags” resource!

08/20/2026

You call time and place with your dog.

My students are doing incredible work with their dogs inside our PAWS Program, teaching their dogs to settle and self-regulate. But then I hear things like…

“My dog demands breakfast”
“My dog needs to have her morning drive fulfillment before she settles”
“I get up extra early to give my dog an extra walk”
“My dog never lets me sleep in”

First of all, I’m concerned for y’all’s sleep habits. Second, don’t let your dog call time and place!

Yes, we absolutely need to meet our dogs needs, and ensure they’re satiated over time. But if you’re consistent with this daily and weekly, it should be no problem to ask your dog to chill with you and a morning cup of coffee if that’s your thing. Or hang out on the deck after work, even if they haven’t had their needs met yet.

You most certainly don’t need to be jumping to your dogs whims and fancies, though I appreciate your dedication.

Don’t let your dog run your life! Most all of us have dogs because we enjoy the companionship of a dog. Don’t let your dog set the pace, you call time and place, and set a routine that works for you.

Want help that? Call or text to chat about your dog! 403-457-8811

08/15/2026

Household aggression is hard enough without getting dangerous advice from the internet.

“Let them work it out.”
“They need to establish the hierarchy.”
“Punish the one who starts it.”
“They’ll figure out who’s boss.”

Nope.

I work with household aggression professionally, and now I’m navigating it in my own home. If anything, living it has reinforced just how important it is to take these conflicts seriously.

Every opportunity dogs have to threaten, chase, fight or injure one another gives that behavioural pattern another repetition. And once you’ve had a serious fight, the consequences of getting it wrong become a whole lot higher.

Right now, I’m digging into some of the most common advice given to people dealing with fighting housemates, because there is a LOT of it out there, and some of it ranges from unhelpful to downright dangerous.

So I want to hear from you:

If you’ve ever had dogs in the same household start fighting, what advice were you given?

Good, bad or absolutely unhinged. Drop it in the comments. I may tackle it in the next reel!

08/13/2026

Fearful and anxious dogs don’t need more counter conditioning with food. They don’t need more distance from the stressor. What they really need is to spend time in the environment so they can start to engage with it and not spend so much time worrying about it.

We use play, decompression and massage as a way to allow the dogs to actually feel good in a new environment. These skills and strategies need to be cultivated away from the stressful environments first, but once we have them, we can take the dogs out into the world and explore.

Sometimes the best training looks a lot like play.

If you need help with your fearful or anxious dog, give us a call or text 403-457-8811

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270010 Inverlake Road
Calgary, AB
T1Z0V6

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