@calling_myself_home: Today, Fin worked through one of his biggest challenges: remaining regulated and maintaining his down stay while a significant trigger was nearby. That trigger was Bear, one of his favorite dog friends. For many dogs, calmly observing another dog from a distance might not seem particularly difficult. For Fin, it requires an enormous amount of emotional regulation and impulse control. When Fin sees something he desperately wants access to, his nervous system shifts into a heightened state of arousal. His excitement and frustration build quickly, often resulting in demand barking, vocalizing, and what can only be described as Newfoundland sized temper tantrums. These behaviors are not acts of defiance, stubbornness, or attempts to dominate. They are expressions of emotional dysregulation. Dogs repeat behaviors that have historically helped them access what they want. For Fin, barking and escalating are simply strategies that have developed because his desire to engage often exceeds his current ability to regulate himself in those moments. Rather than suppressing the behavior or correcting the emotion behind it, our goal is to teach alternative skills. Today, we intentionally created a training scenario where Bear could remain nearby while Fin practiced staying under threshold. I positively reinforced every choice Fin made toward regulation: maintaining his down stay, offering check ins, disengaging from the trigger, and choosing calm over impulsivity. This is what behavior modification looks like in practice. Emotional regulation is not taught through punishment, frustration, or conflict. When we meet a dog's dysregulation with our own frustration, we increase stress and create tension within the relationship. Instead, learning happens through clear communication, predictable expectations, and reinforcement of the behaviors we want to see repeated. Fin is a Newfoundland, a breed developed to work closely alongside humans in water rescue settings. Seeking out connection, staying near his people, and moving toward meaningful stimuli are deeply ingrained traits, not flaws to eliminate. Understanding the purpose behind a breed's behavior allows us to approach training with empathy rather than expectation. Fin is not giving me a hard time. He is having a hard time. Every moment he chooses regulation over reaction strengthens the neural pathways that support calmer decision making in the future. Progress is rarely linear, and success is not the absence of struggle. Success is the ability to stay present, process difficult emotions, and make a different choice. Today, Fin made many good choices, and I could not be prouder of him. #demand #regulation #dogtalk #dogpsychology #stay

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Tuesday 16 June 2026 20:07:17 GMT