Gold Ridge Cognitive Canines

10/09/2026

Yesterday was Presto's 7th birthday! 💛

He has a heart of gold, just like the gold puppy collar he was originally identified by. 🥹

10/07/2026

10/07/2026

A little spring pole with Presto 💛

He definitely has other games he’d rank higher on his list 😂 so part of this for us is just building the game.

Getting a good tug and then letting him win the toy helps build more value in it for him...and when he wins, we keep playing!

GRC Club meetups throughout October, then we’ll take November off while I’m out of the country. Back in December with our GRC Mock Trial too! Date TBD 👀

10/07/2026

Finding the Rhythm 🎻🐕

I played violin from around 8 to 18, and this little Canine Soapbox course with Presto had me thinking about how much of what I learned through music still shows up in the way I think about learning now.

Practice, timing, movement, listening, making mistakes, adjusting...and eventually getting to a place where you aren't thinking about every tiny piece anymore. You can just play!

That sent me down a much bigger rabbit hole than I expected 😂 into music, brains, dog sports, biological fulfillment, deep practice, and finding the things our dogs love enough to get completely lost in...and somewhere in there, realizing how much I still love getting lost in learning too.

Finding the Rhythm is up on the blog 💛

Read the full post:

https://www.goldridgecognitivecanines.com/post/finding-the-rhythm

10/03/2026

Two things I’m VERY excited about right now!

First 👀 getting some embroidered GRC hats made!! I’m so excited to see these in person and I’ll definitely be putting in an order soon .. 🧢 anyone interested, please let me know and I will include it.

And second…🪩 Our Tricks + Freestyle / Doggy Dancing workshop on October 25th at 5pm! 💃🐕

Presto and I love playing around with his trick repertoire and putting movements together in spur of the moment sequences. Tricks, movement, play, communication, using their brain… all the fun stuff!

I’ll tag the amazing people making the hats + shirts here too because I’m excited to get some GRC gear made! 🙌

Thank you so much!!!:

For your embroidery "kneads": 🪡🧵Judy

T-shirts and accessory prints: 🛍️👕Dudley & Co. Outfitters

🪩 October 25 • 5pm
Tricks + Freestyle / Doggy Dancing 🐾
GRCCanines.com

10/02/2026

Doing something a little different and a little more personal today. 💛

Today is my adoption day and that sent my brain down a rabbit hole connecting adoption, nervous systems, neurodivergence, behavior, service dogs, biological fulfillment…and basically everything I've spent my life thinking about. 😂

A lot of this came back to one idea:

The nervous system is learning too.
Sometimes behavior is information. Sometimes suppression looks like success. Sometimes the individual we're trying so hard to change might make a lot more sense if we change the lens we're looking through first....and maybe there's a reason I've always had such a soft spot for the dogs everyone else thought were "difficult." ✨

I ended up writing the whole thing out because there was absolutely no way this was fitting into an Instagram caption. 😂

If you'd like to read it:

The Nervous System Is Learning Too:

https://www.goldridgecognitivecanines.com/post/the-nervous-system-is-learning-too

10/01/2026

A little behind the scenes of what private lessons with me can look like 👀 😂

Sometimes I start writing things out on the whiteboard and then look at it and realize how completely unhinged this probably looks from the other side 😅

Tug, scent work, tricks, movement, slat mill, social responsibility, autonomy, emotional regulation, obedience… I SWEAR IT ALL CONNECTS. ⛓️‍💥🧠

When you get a dog, you're getting a whole living being with their own wants, needs, genetics, interests, and ways of learning. When you're compatible and communicating well, life is a whole lot more enjoyable for both of you. When you're struggling, often we need to look at "why" instead of just trying harder to make the dog stop doing something.

Training shouldn't be based on suppression, compulsion, or lack of movement because that's what's easiest or most convenient for us. If there's a communication or fulfillment issue, we need to figure out how to help that dog learn in a way that makes sense to them.

Dogs learn through play. People learn through play too. We can have fun AND get really technical with what we're teaching.

Let them move. Let them think. Let them play. Give them some autonomy. Find the things that light them up and fill their soul. Then use all of that to build the skills you need together. ✨

Pet dogs, service dogs, sport dogs... I don't want dogs burning out just because we're so focused on what we need them to do that we forget about the dog doing it.

And apparently I just need my Charlie Day conspiracy board to explain it. 😂
...

grccanines.com