Family Dog Mediation
Be More Dog, by looking at the dog in front of you and see their own uniqueness, individuality, and all the variables that make up the wonderful sentient being they are.
I knew when I completed my first dog training qualification, that there has to be more than this. Apart from teaching dogs vital life skills, obedience and compliance is not how I perceive a life with dogs, plenty was missing and how was I going to fulfill a passion when I do not fit into the obedience world. Why has obedience become the one size fits all blanket approach to every problem? Why are our dogs having so many problems now? Why are our dogs experiencing so many new ” problem behaviours ” that dogs before them did not, leading to frustrated guardians and a total breakdown in communication and understanding and again we look to training as the only solution.
When I was a child dogs lived outside and had freedom, autonomy and choice. We were taught to respect dogs and told to leave them alone when they are eating, leave them alone when they are asleep, never touch an unfamiliar dog in case he bites, what happened? How their existence has changed. Now our dogs are living confined lives, living in the house or confined to back gardens. They can’t leave the front door without the constraint of a lead and all while we expect them to be perfectly behaved ” pets “. Yes we love our dogs dearly and yes they have evolved to be totally amazing companions for us, but we are forgetting something vital to their existence. We are forgetting who they are.
I knew there was a place for me when I attended several talks by the brilliant Andrew Hale, titled ” Beyond the Operant ” suddenly I was part of a community of thousands of like minded people. Professional dog trainers in the industry for decades, who are moving beyond traditional training and focusing on what is actually missing for our dogs and I also found my missing piece; The amazing Kim Brophey, Applied Ethologist and creator of the L.E.G.S APPLIED ETHOLOGY FAMILY DOG MEDIATION COURSE, the evolution of the dog behaviour industry. It is a thorough scientific examination of the intersection of canine and human evolution, welfare, behaviour and relationship in the modern world. I was very proud to become the first Irish certified Family Dog Mediator.
“Our dogs are not broken. ” Dog Training ” is a broken and outdated concept for helping modern dogs and their families. We need to flip the script and evolve into a new paradigm that reflects the comprehensive science we have available to us. We have been asking the wrong questions and getting the wrong answers”
Kim Brophey.
FAMILY DOG MEDIATION- Bringing the integrated scientific concepts of ” WHY ” behaviour occurs together with the ” HOW ” of behaviour change for comprehensive and effective practice that considers the whole picture of L.E.G.S.
- LEARNING-The dogs experience and education
- ENVIRONMENT-The many aspects of the dogs external world
- GENETICS-The DNA that designed the dog inside and out
- SELF-The dogs unique interior world, health, development, age, sex and individuality
” No one thing is ever predictive. Dogs are animals subject to the same scientific principles and natural laws that apply to every other species on earth. It is not just socialisation, training and behaviour modification. It all matters. Behaviour problems in the 21st century are not dog training problems.” Kim Brophey.
Family Dog Mediators take a ” Whole Dog ” approach to behaviour support. We consider all the factors that contribute to the needs of each individual family. Behaviour problems in our family dog population rise every year despite the fact that dog training resources have never been more accessible, that’s because it’s not a training problem. Working with a Family Dog Mediator can help you understand the ” Why ” behind your dogs behaviour so that you can determine the ” How ” to help your dog succeed. Your dog is so much more than a ” Pet “.
Look beyond dog training for your dogs needs, book a L.E.G.S assessment with Ann Marie FDM, on 089-604-3088.
You can learn more about the L.E.G.S approach in this short YouTube video.
