Presented by Tracy Krulik CTC, CSAT

CEUs: PPAB 1

Have you hit a wall trying to help that GSD stop barking, lunging, and growling every time some stranger walks into the house? Do you refer out separation anxiety cases? Are you frustrated by the pace of DSCC? Training fear out of a dog takes a great deal of patience, but the process (ironically) speeds up if you slow down and go at the dog’s pace. When you make a contract with the dog to only push her as fast as she can handle, the recovery process builds more rapidly.

The key is understanding the dog’s fear threshold line and using that to determine when to push ahead. In this webinar, you will learn what threshold is, what it looks like, and how to harness it to improve your skills when helping dogs overcome fears.

Webinar Learning Objectives

• Understand what threshold is and how it is used to help dogs overcome fears.
  
• Learn what threshold looks like and how to find it.
  
• Understand the common stumbling blocks when training with threshold.
  
• Understand the difference between threshold and +CER.
  
• Improve your training skills by understanding how threshold applies (or doesn't apply) when working with solo desensitization, desensitization and counterconditioning (DSCC), and solo counterconditioning.
  

Your Presenter

Northern Virginia based certified dog trainer and behavior consultant, Tracy Krulik, CTC, CSAT, is the founder and managing editor of iSpeakDog — a website and public awareness campaign to teach dog body language and behavior. An honors graduate of the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers, Krulik writes for publications including The Bark magazine and The Washington Post. She is an advocate for force-free dog training and loves helping fearful dogs discover confidence and joy — just as she did for her once “fraidy” pup, Emma the Beagle. Visit her website www.tracykrulik.com to learn more.

CEUs: PPAB 1.5, IAABC 1.5, KPA 1.5

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Separation related problems seem to be on most dog parents' minds nowadays as the promise of covid vaccines portends a return to working in offices. We are already seeing an increase in dogs displaying more frustration than anxiety when left alone nowadays, as "pandemic pups" -- those adopted during lockdowns -- have had little opportunity to be left alone or even just relax in a quiet setting.

While systematic desensitization continues to be the gold standard training method for dogs who are afraid to be alone, a down-stay DRI is highly effective for dogs who are frustrated and can even be helpful for the fearful pups as well. Join us to brush up on your desensitization training skills as well as learn how to use a DRI down-stay to help more families gain the ability to leave their homes without worrying about their dog.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the different types of separation related problems and how to distinguish them. (i.e anxiety, frustration, underlying health issue.)

2. Prepare clients to understand how desensitization works so that they are prepared to work at the dog's pace.

3. Actively assess the dog's fear/frustration threshold while beginning to help the dog become more relaxed within the first desensitization session.

4. Use down-stay training to aid in a number of ways as needed per each dog: impulse control, frustration reduction, increased relaxation, and habituation to the sights and sounds of a departure.

About The Presenter

Tracy Krulik

Northern Virginia based certified canine separation anxiety trainer and honors graduate of Jean Donaldson’s Academy for Dog Trainers, Tracy Krulik, CTC, CSAT, is the founder and managing editor of iSpeakDog — a website and public awareness campaign to teach dog body language and behavior.

Krulik trains dogs with separation anxiety for the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, D.C., group separation anxiety classes for Your Dog's Friend, and works with private clients around the world remotely online. Her writing can be found in publications including The Bark magazine, The Washington Post, and The Chronicle of the Dog. Krulik’s passion is helping fearful dogs discover confidence and joy — just as she did for her once “fraidy” pup, Emma the Beagle. Visit www.tracykrulik.com to learn more.