Pooch Peacebuilding Professional Course
Train & Transform Together
A living philosophy and daily practice that helps dogs and people live peacefully
Hey Dog Pro!
Have you noticed the elephant in the room? You know the feeling.
That quiet tension always lurking in the background of your work with dogs and their people.
The tug-of-war between:
Theory and practice
Science and intuition
Expectations and reality
Complexity and simplicity
Linear and non-linear thinking
Then there are all the models, and all the lenses:
Ethology
Learning theory
Attachment theory
Cognition
Neuroscience
Each one holds pieces of the puzzle. But in the moment with a real dog and a real human in front of you, it’s not always clear:
Which tool do I use now?
Which lens fits this situation?
How does it all come together in practice?
And when the answers don’t come easily, the weight starts to build.
Burnout.
Overwhelm.
Frustration.
Self-doubt.
Imposter syndrome.
That internal conflict can grow loud even if no one else sees it
I Lived With the Elephant
It came to me in the most unexpected way - the day I rescued my now late dog, Mouse, from the Bow Valley SPCA in Canmore, Alberta. He had spent 1.5 of his first 2 years there, after being found on a “walkabout” near the Trans-Canada Highway at just six months old.
It didn’t take long before I found myself crushed under the weight of an elephant I didn’t yet have a name for. A constant tension between who Mouse was and who I wanted him to be. I became his enemy, not his ally.
His seemingly endless list of behaviour challenges including separation anxiety, aggression, jumpy, and jumpy mouthy behaviour became a source of constant embarrassment and disappointment for me.
Despite all of my education, and my efforts to train and “fix” him, behaviour modification only got us so far. Sure, things improved a little over time, but it always felt like we were just treading water.
I was drowning.
That same tension followed me into my professional work. There was this constant conflict between theory and practice. Between the linear models I had been taught and the messy, non-linear reality of behaviour. Between neat categories and the tangled web of emotions, history, relationships, and context that actually shaped what I was seeing.
I thought it was me.
I wasn’t good enough.
I didn’t know the science well enough.
My skills weren’t where they needed to be.
I almost left the industry.
And Then Something Shifted…
I started to see Mouse, and his behaviours in the context of the whole.
Not just as problems to fix, but as part of a living, breathing system.
I started to notice the web of relationships. The invisible threads tying everything together. The constant ebbs and flows e.g., approach and retreat and excitement and calm.
I started to pause.
To listen.
To be present.
I started to see Mouse.
To work with the system, not against it.
And over time began to understand something that changed everything:
The solution isn’t outside the system. It emerges from within it.
That’s when everything began to shift.
Introducing Pooch Peacebuilding
This work is a true labor of love, born from my lived experience with Mouse. It brings together systems theory, peace and conflict studies, relational holon theory, and systems research methodology into a living, breathing philosophy and practice that helps dogs and people live peacefully together.
While the heart and soul of this work is my love for both dogs and people, as someone with a deep commitment to science, this work is in the process of being published academically too.
In this course, dog professionals will learn:
How to see the whole system e.g., the dog and the behaviour in context.
How to sense and detect the natural dynamics and ebbs and flows within the system.
The universal logic (pattern) that underlies all systems!
Disciplines to implement in daily practice to become generative peacebuilders in your work.
How to think and problem-solve in a way that mirrors the nature of the system itself with the help of systems research methodology.
How to support dogs and people in a way that fosters growth and learning from within the system (no more burnout and feeling like you’re carrying the load).
How to co-create training plans for any behaviour your clients and their dogs will love.
How to integrate all of your knowledge, experience, and what makes you uniquely awesome into your practice.
How to face the elephants in the room and leverage them as catalysts for growth.
This course gives you freedom outside of the training boxes (though you can still apply those, too!). It will help you carve a path to transformation through the messiness of life with dogs and people and make a meaningful difference in your practice.
Ready to Train and Transform Together?
Join Pooch Peacebuilding today and start seeing dogs, people, and your work in a whole new way.
Why Sign Up for Pooch Peacebuilding
See the big picture (dog and behaviour in context)
Navigate conflict with confidence
Create lasting, sustainable change
Train with science & intuition
Expert coaching and mentorship with Cat
Renew your passion and purpose
Set yourself apart from the crowd