Based on Our Consultation

It was such a pleasure spending time with you both and getting to know Skip a little bit. Our consultation gave me an opportunity to begin looking beyond the individual behaviors you’re seeing and at the larger picture: who Skip is, what he's experienced, how he's navigating his environment and relationships, where he may need more support, and what will help him feel increasingly secure, understood, and equipped for life.

Skip is still *very much* in a period of transition, and there's a great deal we're still learning about him. Rather than rushing to define who he is based on behaviors appearing during the decompression / transition / adjustment phase, our work will focus on giving him the time, structure, communication, and guidance necessary for his more authentic self to emerge.

The goal right now isn't to address individual behaviors. It's to build understanding... on both ends of the leash.. and create a strong foundation from which Skip can continue to settle, learn, regulate, develop healthy relationships, and thrive within your family.

What We'll Be Working On

Our work together will take a whole-dog, whole-household approach and will evolve as we continue learning more about Skip. As previously mentioned, each session will build upon the one prior to it so a strong, layered foundation can be built.

We’ll begin with guidance and strategies surrounding decompression, acclimation, adjustment, and transition, helping ensure that Skip is given the appropriate balance of time, space, structure, guidance, engagement, and exposure as he settles into his new life.

From there, our work will include clear communication, learning "the language of the leash", finding the most appropriate leash | collar combination for him as the individual dog he is, creating and nurturing healthy boundaries; understanding space, movement, proximity, pressure, and release, etc.

We’ll also work on recognizing and respecting thresholds, understanding state of mind, arousal and regulation, identifying Skip’s coping responses, and helping him develop healthier strategies for navigating stress, uncertainty, excitement, frustration, and environmental pressure.

A significant part of our work will center around relationships and attachment: nurturing secure, healthy bonds while preventing patterns of hyper-attachment or unhealthy dependency (which happens all too often). We’ll look at independence, proximity, access, following behavior, settling, separation, household routines, and the ways human responses can unintentionally strengthen patterns we don’t necessarily want to build.

We’ll incorporate crate conditioning as appropriate, with an emphasis on helping the crate become a safe, predictable and comfortable space rather than just "confinement."

And throughout all of this, we’ll continue getting to know the true nature of Skip: his temperament, sensitivities, preferences, drives, communication style, social tendencies, needs, strengths, and the areas in which he needs greater support.

There will also be a considerable human-training component to our work: helping you both become increasingly skilled at reading Skip, understanding what his behavior is communicating, recognizing patterns before they escalate, communicating clearly, advocating for him, setting appropriate boundaries, determining what's meaningful to Skip (so we can use as both reinforcement and disagreement when it comes to certain choices, states of mind, and behaviors), and knowing when to guide, when to intervene, and when to give space,

We’ll also incorporate nutrition consulting, looking at how Skip is currently being fed and identifying opportunities to better support his physical health, behavioral wellness, and overall wellbeing... setting him up for sound, balanced health - for life. Of course, we'll also work on teaching him cues and directives you'll need or want him to understand and respond to.

What We're Working Toward

Ultimately, we’re working toward helping Skip become increasingly settled, secure, resilient, regulated, and equipped to navigate life successfully- while helping you become increasingly confident and fluent in understanding and guiding him.

We want to build a relationship rooted in trust, clarity, predictability, communication, advocacy, and healthy attachment, rather than dependence, confusion, pressure, or constant management.

Success will not be defined by whether Skip performs particular behaviors on cue. We’ll be looking at the bigger picture: his ability to recover, cope, settle, make better choices, tolerate appropriate boundaries, navigate transitions, communicate more effectively, and look to you for information and guidance when he needs it.

Just as importantly, the goal is for you to understand why something is happening and have the tools to thoughtfully respond... not just be given a set of instructions to follow while I’m standing beside you.

My Recommendation

Based on everything we discussed and what I observed during our consultation, I recommend beginning with the 6-Session Private Training Package.

Six sessions will give us the opportunity to work progressively rather than trying to address everything at once. Skip is still adjusting, and some of the most useful information will emerge over time as he becomes more comfortable, his relationships deepen, routines become established, and we begin seeing more of who he is beneath the transition itself.

This format allows us to meet Skip where he is at each stage, implement foundational strategies, observe how he responds, make thoughtful adjustments, and build upon what we learn from one session to the next.

Our work will be individualized to Skip and to your household rather than based on a predetermined training formula. His behavior, responses, progress, individual set of drives, and needs will continue to inform where we go next.

What's Included

This package includes six private training sessions focused on Skip and the needs of your household.

Our work may include, as appropriate:

• —individualized training and behavioral guidance;
• —decompression, acclimation, and transition strategies;
• —clear communication and leash work;
• —boundaries, thresholds, regulation, and coping;
• —relationship and healthy-attachment work;
• —crate conditioning and independence;
• —household structure, routines, and management strategies;
• —environmental and situational guidance;
• —nutrition and health consultation;
• —individualized practice recommendations between sessions;
• —ongoing observation and adjustment as we learn more about Skip;
• —client education and coaching - the human end of the leash;
• —relevant educational resources and supporting materials; and
• —text, email, and phone support throughout.

Each session will build upon what we're observing in real life rather than following a rigid curriculum.

Investment

Next Steps

When you've chosen the right next step for Skip and your family, select Accept Proposal & Get Started below.

You'll then be guided through the Training Services Agreement and required acknowledgments. Because both of you are participating in Skip's care and training, each required signer will receive an individual secure link to review and electronically sign the Agreement.

Once all required signatures have been completed, you'll be able to submit payment for the training package. From there, we'll move into scheduling and I'll make your training resources available through your client portal.

Then we begin. ❤️