I made the big shift from an IT User Experience Design career to become a dog behaviour training professional in 2013.
Still a geek at heart, I am always curious and continue to improve my understanding and skills as a dog professional. By taking part in expert lead courses, attending conferences and participating in practical, hands-on dog training workshops, I was able to qualify as a certified puppy class instructor (PCI) and a certified professional dog trainer (CPDT-KA and PDT).
But then... I read Kim Brophey's book - "Meet You Dog". I discovered different questions to ask when assessing the human-dog bond and dog behaviour: an applied ethology lens.
So, when Kim Brophey launched her Family Dog Mediation® course for dog professionals, I jumped in to qualify as a Certified Family Dog Mediator® FDM
This inter-disciplinary science made complete sense to me. It filled gaps in my dog knowledge and helped me connect the dots of "WHY" dogs do what they do and what dogs really "NEED". This greater depth of understanding of goes beyond training, and starts with recognising who dogs are as a species - including all the aspects that makes a dog who they are as an individual (their L.E.G.S.®), and also sheds light on how dogs and humans developed a unique partnership since the Pleistocene (at least 30.000 years ago). This applied ethology approach has proven to be most effective at both preventing and resolving common puppy parenting challenges. Family Dog Mediation® encourages mutual understanding between our species; repairing and nurturing our ancient dog-human bond.
Applied ethology and Family Dog Mediation® encourages curiosity: "WHO ARE YOU?", "WHAT DO YOU NEED?", "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?", in order to better understand our puppy as and individual of a remarkable, intelligent, sentient, social species. As a certified FDM I take into account all four L.E.G.S.® of your puppy's individual, emotional experience, in order to understand what is going on with you and your puppy, and how I can help. This informs us on what might be going on. What the dog's emotional experience is. Together we look for an approach that can prevent or resolve human-dog conflict, by relieving stress-related behaviours... on both ends of this inter-species relationship.
"Train the dog" is not always the anwswer. We can start by observing and meeting your puppy where they are in their development and learning journey, by truely seeing them for who they are - their L.E.G.S.®.
