Intro Lesson
The Intro Lesson briefly touches on actual reactivity training. It is still the most important part of addressing your dog's reactivity. The Intro Lesson is all about enrichment. Enrichment is the term we use in animal professions to talk about meeting an animal's needs. If an animal is "enriched", they are mentally and physically healthy. Their environment allows for them to meet those needs.
If those needs are not met, behavior issues often occur. These behaviors can include reactivity.
Our pet dog's worlds tend to be small and restrictive. They cannot run around the neighborhood and explore all day. They are not in charge of pest control. They are not protecting a flock of geese. They are not retrieving waterfowl.
This means we have to be deliberate about meeting our dog's needs. This is the purpose of the Enrichment Plan. Reactivity training without a foundation of enrichment is very difficult!
In Part 1 of the Intro Lesson we'll:
meet on Zoom for 1 hour
confirm what your priorities are for your dog's reactive behavior
discuss what you already do for enrichment and what's working, and what's not
determine how to tell if the enrichment plan is working
determine how much time to dedicate for the enrichment plan for your dog (click here for more discussion)
create a list of potential activities with tutorials
create a specific plan that fits into your life
In Part 2 of the Intro Lesson we'll:
meet in your home for 1 hour
demo enrichment activities we talked about in part 1
create a management plan for reducing practicing reactivity
start on basic foundational behaviors that will be critical for future reactivity training
The Intro Lesson is a stand-alone service. It is followed by either the Reactivity Coaching Track or the Pro Daytrain Track.
For cost please see Service Area & Pricing
To get started, fill out the Intake Form:
Scheduling
Once you fill out your intake form, I will send you a link to schedule part 1 of your Intro Lesson - the virtual meeting. Once you have scheduled part 1, you will then be sent the link to schedule part 2 - the in-person meeting. The parts can be scheduled 1 day to 1 week apart.
My base hours for these meetings are:
10am-8:30pm Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday
10am-7pm Saturday
The next term for the Coaching and Daytrain Tracks is Spring 2026. (See 2026 Term Schedule) To enroll in the Spring 2026 track, you must complete part 1 and 2 of the Intro Lesson before May 7.
Time Commitment for an Enrichment Plan
How much time will you need to dedicate daily to enrichment? The real answer is "it depends!"
Every dog is different. Generally adolescent, intelligent, high energy dogs from a working dog breed need more. Your dog's living environment will also affect the time required. Enrichment activities don't always need human involvement. If you can access safe locations where your dog will engage by themselves, the time required is less.
To give you the roughest estimates, on the very low end is generally around 15-20 minutes a day of dedicated time. On the very high end is 3 hours a day. Please note this time estimate includes walks/exercise, feeding, and playtime. Three hours of dedicated time is very extreme, and generally is during a short period of the dog's life.
The average dog I've worked with does best with about an hour a day broken down into:
~20 minutes of exercise and exploring
~20 minutes of foraging opportunities for meals
~20 minutes of play and mental exercises
You may not have that much time to dedicate, and that is ok! We can still improve your dog's enrichment plan within your constraints.
You may already be dedicating that much time or more, but it isn't producing the results you want. That likely is because your dog may need a different type of enrichment, or a different schedule. We'll work on that with the enrichment plan.
No dog, including my own, is "perfectly enriched". My goal for your dog is to make both your lives better - not to completely upend it.