80% psychology & 20% mechanics 

Training All Breeds

Bumble, spyro, cinder, kaiser sitting at the beach

What you believe about animals will influence how you train them. If you believe dogs need to be controlled, are wild animals, and don't think. Then you can probably guess what you will find.

If you believe that dogs arebrilliant, highly resourceful, and have a brain, just like a human, then you'll see that,

  • Dogs posses a prefrontal cortex for logic
  • ​They're great at recognizing patterns
  • ​They have short term and long term memory
  • ​Dogs use all 5 senses to create associations consciously and unconsciously

It's been shown the average dog, any breed, can learn 165 words with training.
That's some brain power and I believe we owe it to them to learn their language first, and then elegantly teach them ours.

Below are a few of my recommendations to start dog training. If you want the complete list, press I'm In!!

To understand dogs you may first first want to...

Understand their body language, dogs say a lot non verbally. Most all dog parents understand the potty waddle and if you don't initially, a few accidents will get you tuned into their body language.

After this you can probably notice when your dog is excited or feeling tired, maybe even nervous or scared. So what this means is as you recognize their body language, you can also notice your own body language and match theirs. You may even need to flex to another emotion to get them out of a trance, aka staring at a dog or barking at the door.

The easiest way I've found to train all breeds is by recognizing their unique body language patterns, superpowers, and believing all dogs and people fall into 5 elemental categories.  

  • Wood 🪵
  • ​​Fire 🔥
  • ​​Earth 🌎
  • ​​Metal ⚔️
  • ​​Water 💦
dog body language TEMP
Mocha running with a ball
Boba at the ocean

Credit to Stephen Cowan and his book Fire Child, Water Child

Big-Hearted: Tuning into the big picture

Wood 🪵

“The True Hero”
Attracted to movement
Ambitious
Loves exploring
Goal-driven
Learns by pushing
boundaries
Decisive
“In the flow”
Archetype: The Pioneer

Fire 🔥

“The True Leader”
Attracted to novelty,
sensation
Charismatic
Loves drama
Humorous
Learns by intuition Compassionate
“High engagement”
Archetype: The Wizard

Earth 🌎

“The True Caregiver”
Attracted to attachments
Accommodating
Loves pleasing others
Loyal
Learns by context and association
Diplomatic
“Being present”
Archetype: The Peacemaker

Metal​​ ⚔️

“The True Judge”
Attracted to order, detail
Discriminating
Loves logic
Righteous
Learns by patterns and cause
Ethical
“Precision”
Archetype: The Alchemist

Water​​ 💦

“The True Sage”
Attracted to deep meaning
Introspective
Loves theory
Imaginative
Learns by deep inquiry
Self-ref lective
“Immersion”
Archetype: The Philosopher

5 elements

Barking Puppy: Tuning Out the World

Wood 🪵

“The Wild Child”
Distracted by stillness
Fights constraint
Easy frustration
Hyperactive
Hostile
Shouting
Tension headaches
Muscle twitching
Numbness

Fire 🔥

“The Class Clown”
Distracted by boredom
Impulsive
Easy meltdowns
Overstimulated
Panicky
Sensory overloaded Hypoglycemia
Reflux
Diarrhea

Earth 🌎

“The Worrywart”
Distracted by separation
Anxious
Disorganized
Indecisive
Obsessive thinking
Meddlesome
Bruising
Stomachaches
Muscle weakness

Metal​​ ⚔️

“The Stuck Child”
Distracted by disorder
Rigid
Hyperfocused
Self-righteous
Compulsive
Disappointed
Constipation
Eczema, asthma
Tics

Water​​ 💦

“The Daydreamer”
Distracted by ideas
Withdrawn
Apathetic
Stubborn
Depressed
Dread
Malaise, fatigue
Back pain
Hypochondria

If you discovered your core element and your interest is peaked, lets talk more about how the 5 elements can help your puppy or dog!