Join the leash reactivity mentorship starting March 22nd

This episode is all about dogs that bark/lunge/growl at strangers, both on walks and inside the home. Lisa and I discuss:

• The difference between reactivity and aggression
• How to help dogs with stranger directed aggression acclimate to new people
• Why "first impressions" are so important for these cases
• How to tell if the dog is actually comfortable around a guest
• What to teach dogs who are reactive on leash towards people
• And so much more

About Lisa:

Lisa Mullinax is approaching 25 years of experience in canine behavior. A Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, Lisa has lead behavior programs at multiple animal shelters and provides behavior support to private clients. Specializing in aggression, Lisa now brings her insight and expertise to coaching behavior professionals on navigating their complex cases. Her Stranger-Directed Aggression series teaches dog pros how to get success and stay safe in high stakes cases.

https://www.lisamullinax.com
https://www.lisamullinax.com/aggressionbytes

And for additional resources mentioned on the show, click here.

Dog Professionals:

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Get on the waitlist for the next leash reactivity mentorship!

Washington area folks – sign up for the seminar with Micaela and Mercedes here!

Find the resource links mentioned in this episode here.

Behavior issues in dogs are almost always symptoms of other underlying issues. So when we focus only on the behavior issue itself, we’re missing the bigger picture, often excluding interventions that would likely make a bigger impact on the dog’s behavior than training ever could. One of the most influential factors in a dog’s behavior is how they feel physically. There is a very high number of dogs experiencing physical discomfort and expressing that discomfort via what we would label as a behavior or training issue.

To help unpack this topic, I brought in Micaela Young, DVM, CPDT-KA, FFCP, FDM and Mercedes Sonnier ABCDT, CPDT, CBCC, FMD. We cover:

• How discomfort and pain present themselves in dogs
• What to do when you suspect something is wrong, but the vet thinks the dog is “fine”
• How changing assessment procedures in the veterinary office setting can have a big impact on more accurate diagnoses
• Resources that pet parents and pet professionals can use to help diagnose discomfort in dogs
• Why you can’t “rule out pain” in dogs
• And so much more

About Micaela:

Micaela was a trainer before going to vet school and has always approached veterinary medicine through a behavior lens.Her business, Happy Lead Pet Behavior & Vet Care, which focused on in-home behavior & veterinary care for behaviorally-challenged pets, operated until she recently joined Urban Animal, a worker-owner veterinary cooperative in Seattle, WA. She now leads Happy Animal, a program that integrates virtual, ambulatory, and in-practice behavior consulting to maximize success with changing behaviors that happen in or out of the practice.

Micaela uses her experience as a human with chronic pain that’s been difficult to navigate even with an ability to verbalize the situation to help animals who are unable to advocate for themselves.

About Mercedes:

Mercedes Sonnier ABCDT, CPDT, CBCC, FMD has extensive education in posture and gait analysis. She operates her own business, The Motivated K9 near Tacoma Washington.

Offering private lessons, adventure days, board and train and specializing in boarding for dogs that are not suitable for traditional boarding.

Passionate about approaching behavior problems holistically. She believes that there are often many factors influencing a dog’s behavior and we should try to address as many as we can. She competes in a variety of dog sports and currently shares her home with an APBT and a GSD.

Mercedes and Micaela have bonded over their shared passion for approaching behavior cases holistically, with a particular focus on addressing underlying internal physical factors that often go overlooked or underaddressed.

Dog Professionals:

Subscribe to my mailing list to get Life As a Dog Trainer newsletter FREE, filled with training and behavior ideas, case studies, and resources to further your learning as a trainer.

Join me & Dan LIVE for a 2 day reactive dog workshop in Livermore, CA from February 14th-15th. Learn more and sign up here.

Join the waitlist for the March 15th cohort for the Leash Reactivity Mentorship for Professionals AND get $50 off.

If you have a reactive dog and you're out in the real world with them, it might feel like you are walking through a minefield. You have to keep track of and account for so many things - yourself, your dog, and whatever is going on in the environment.

In today's episode, I wanted to talk about the skills that handlers of reactive dogs need to be building, to be able to guide their dogs through the real world more successfully. And to have this conversation I wanted to bring in Dan Clark, a colleague and fellow behavior consultant. Dan takes a lot of leash reactivity cases and spends a lot of time with his clients out in the real world, helping them build their confidence and learn how to navigate a wide range of scenarios.

We discuss:

• Situational awareness and how to set your dog up for success
• The importance of body positioning so your dog can respond more easily to you
• How to work with your dog if they are over threshold
• How to build your dog's attention and training in a new environment
• And more!

About Dan:

Dan Clark is the Founder and Co-Owner of Out of the Bark, a dog training and behavior consulting company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP), with over eight years of professional experience and more than a decade of hands-on work with dogs.

Dan’s work is deeply shaped by his journey with his own reactive dog, Jax. After experiencing firsthand the limitations and fallout of punitive training methods, Dan shifted his approach toward science-based, trust-centered behavior modification. That experience led him to pursue formal education in animal behavior, volunteer with shelters, and dedicate his career to helping dogs struggling with fear, anxiety, and aggression.

Dan specializes in complex behavior cases, including reactivity, aggression, and dogs with bite histories. His approach emphasizes situational awareness, environmental management, handler advocacy, and building skills that translate to real-world environments. He is known for his calm, practical guidance and his ability to help owners understand not just what to do, but why it works.

Through his work, Dan focuses on empowering dog owners to advocate for their dogs, prioritize emotional safety, and build lasting trust that supports meaningful, long-term behavior change.

Links:

www.outofthebark.com - For in person consults and training. Zoom consulting and training is also offered for individuals outside of our service area.

Instagram: @outofthebark

Leash reactive workshop for pet parents: https://bigfeelingsclub.eventbrite.com

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