Natural Dog Training Provides New Ways To Understand And Manage Stresses Of Canine Assistance Work

Limiting dis-stress experienced by assisted therapy, crisis response, and combat comfort dogs is a concern of handlers, organizations, and researchers. Dogs communicate feelings via body language especially muzzle expressions and physical behaviors that people and other animals recognize. Projection of dis-stress by dogs negatively impacts therapeutic interactions, distracting and detracting from beneficial flow of feelings. Dog welfare is risked. Behan's Natural Dog Training ("NDT") presents an alternative paradigm for understanding dog dis-stress. NDT is an energy flow model that is different from but compatible with positive reinforcement techniques and attuned to Adrian Bejan's constructal law of nature, a physics principle. NDT provides a framework for: raising puppies to become resilient working dogs; managing handler and dog energy in overstimulating therapy, combat, and disaster environments; and, rehabilitating dogs who have become stressed out from work. NDT gives handlers practical ways to convert their dog's dis-stress into flowing with whatever environment they are part of. Behan describes and demonstrates eight stress management techniques for use before, during, and after therapy visits and deployments: pushing; tug-o-war; climb challenges; rope play; hide 'n seek; long downs at place; gutty barks; and re-sensualizing touch. These techniques objectify the free floating anxious, hyper, and fearful dis-stress into physical e-motion that the dog can metabolize then return to a state of being in sync with its environment. The dog's well-being and therapeutic work are enhanced by increased attraction to and focus on empathic flow of feelings with the humans they serve.

PRIMARY PRESENTER: KEVIN BEHAN developed Natural Dog Training ("NDT) based upon years of experience training and rehabilitating dogs. He has written two books, Natural Dog Training: The Canine Arts Kennel Program-Teach Your Dog By Using His Natural Instincts (1992; reprinted 2002) and Your Dog is Your Mirror (2011). The November 2011 Dog Fancy issue featured NDT. Behan is a frequent guest on pet interest radio and television programs. He regularly lectures on the East Cost. Behan authors a blog for Modern Dog magazine and his own social media pages. He owns and operates a training facility in Newfane, Vermont.

DR. JEAN MARIE THOMPSON pioneered comfort dogs as a State of Indiana asset for disaster mental health. She is credentialed as a State of Indiana All-Hazards Incident Management Team member. Dr. Thompson has extensive experience providing crisis response to first responders and survivors of various local and national disasters. She specializes in trauma recovery. She graduated as a dog trainer from the Animal Behavior College with honors and apprentices with Kevin Behan. Dr. Thompson holds a doctorate degree in clinical psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.