I'm in the hotel in Poland right now, getting ready for the training camp called Pełnia Potencjału which translates to Full Potential. Actually this is a series of events under that name that I was running here for over a year now. Funny enough, I didn't come up with that name. Years ago, when a friend first invited me to teach in Poland, we were trying to come up with a name for the workshop. I was like maybe play, maybe reactivity... He suggested Pełnia Potencjału (Full Potential) My first reaction? "Nobody will come! What does that even mean?" 😂 But the more I thought about it, the more I realised how perfectly that name describes my approach to dog training. Because building motivation, confidence, relationship, impulse control and emotional regulation is essential to unlock our dogs' full potential. Regardles if we train for everyday life or competition ring. Let me tell you a little story. Meet Fatty, my first Rottweiler. On our first day at the training club, I was told: "Get rid of that dog." She wasn't considered suitable for sport. In fact, they didn't think she would even make a particularly good companion dog. She had very little motivation or drive, was easily distracted, extremely sensitive to environmental pressure, and reactive towards dogs and people. Not exactly the promising competition prospect I was hoping for! I spent months going from seminar to seminar, looking for that one magic training tip that would finally make everything work. But all I was getting were technical solutions. How to teach heelwork. How to teach the sendaway. How to improve this or that exercise. And I kept asking myself: "But how the hell do I teach any of this if my dog doesn't even want to work with me?" That's when I completely changed my approach. Instead of focusing on exercises, I started focusing on the dog. I worked on her motivation through food, toys and play. As her motivation grew, so did her focus and engagement. I worked on her confidence separately from any obedience exercises. She became less sensitive to pressure and the environment, and it also helped enormously with her reactivity.

So in previous post I broke down different kinds of winning/fighting behaviours - Pull - Head shake - Drop weight - Push I also created a poll asking you to vote on how your dog is winning the game. Head shake is winning — no pun intended. 😄 I have to admit, head shaking is probably my favourite way of fighting for the toy. Maybe I even unconsciously encourage dogs to use it. Why? Because, unlike some of the other winning strategies, a strong head shake usually gives me a very clear picture of the dog’s emotional state. The dog looks confident, feels good in the game, and is actively fighting to win the toy. Hard to get it wrong. But what about the other strategies? This is where it gets interesting, because the same behaviour can come from very different emotions. Let’s start with pulling. A dog may pull simply because this is their natural fighting style — something strongly influenced by genetics. But pulling does not always mean confidence. Some dogs pull because they are unsure or sensitive to pressure of handler/decoy. They do not want to give up the toy, but they also do not feel completely comfortable in the interaction. They are almost trying to take their “piece of meat” and create distance. Sometimes you can clearly see that the dog is pulling from insecurity rather than confidence. Look at the whole picture: body language, eyes and, especially, the grip. If the dog is pulling away while maintaining a shallow grip on the toy or sleeve, it can suggest that they do not feel comfortable close to the handler or decoy. With these dogs, the goal is to develop confident pulling rather than simply rewarding the pulling itself. That is where the Play with Purpose framework comes in. Then we have dropping weight. Dropping weight is a more passive way of fighting. Some dogs use it with huge confidence. They simply plant themselves, stop the handler/helper and make it very difficult to move them. But other dogs drop their weight because they are not yet confident enough to fight for the object in a more active way.

Hey guys! First of all thank you to all joined Heelwork 4 Dummies! If you are new here don't forget to introduce yourself in pinned post :) Second of all - Help me Help You! 🚨 ⚠️Tell me what is your biggest challenge in heelwork training? or what stage you are at? 🐕 I'm planning extra content on focused heelwork (along with street aka everyday heeling that was heavily requested) That will give me ideas for the content and tutorials that are coming!

ok I decided to do something crazy. Heelwork for Dummies online course is now for 1$ !!! for this weekend only. Go to https://www.skool.com/karate4dogs/classroom and grab while you can :)

There are couple of things we need to talk about! therefore I plan next live Q&A and if you are up for it- make it more regular. The main topic will be on reactivity and how to prepare for off lead dogs that are approaching us. We have to look at this topic from 3 angles 1- how to advocate for our dog and deal with off lead dog that is approaching our reactive one 2- how to communicate effectively with our dog and environment (owner of the other dog and the dog itself) 3 - how to build trust in our dog so will let us advocate for them without reaction. I will also answer all question around the topics from the latest webinars that I have posted. Proposal of Time: Tuesday 28th 6 or 7 pm. Who would be interested in joining ?