25/08/2026
Julie is getting ready to sit her initial assessment in September to enter an Assistance Dog in Training program, so I recently caught up with her and Karina to see if there were any last-minute areas we needed to troubleshoot.
Alana has done amazing work with Julie around cause and effect, so we’re now progressing that further - actively creating movement and noise.
For now, we’re starting with Mum. Mum is Julie’s safe person. She’s someone Julie knows, trusts and can read really well, so she gives us the perfect starting point for introducing bigger or more unusual experiences.
Before something happens, Mum gives Julie a clear heads-up that something is coming. Julie then gets to make a choice. She can stay engaged and see what happens, or she can disengage knowing that Mum will listen and won’t continue at that intensity or sometimes not even at all.
That part is incredibly important.
We want Julie to learn that when she says “that’s enough,” she’ll be heard. When a dog genuinely understands that they have an out, they often become much more willing to explore and push their own boundaries because they know they’re never trapped in the experience.
Eventually, of course, real life won’t always give Julie a warning.
Things move. Things fall. Doors slam. Trolleys rattle. Objects wobble. People make noise. The world can be unpredictable.
The goal isn’t to teach Julie that nothing unexpected will ever happen. It’s to help her learn that movement, noise and unpredictability can happen without it necessarily meaning anything.
We’re building that understanding first with the person she feels safest with, giving her agency throughout, and then gradually helping that confidence transfer out into the real world. 🌏
