PivotalChange

PivotalChange PivotalChange(dot)ca is Changing its Services. We are expanding our reach to provide cutting-edge knowledge for parents of adopted dogs to thrive.

The Dog Parentology Podcast, available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and more is launched Aug'24.

Behaviour change doesn’t fail because of the client.It doesn’t fail because of the dog, the environment, the lack of tru...
06/04/2025

Behaviour change doesn’t fail because of the client.
It doesn’t fail because of the dog, the environment, the lack of trust, or motivation.
It fails when the structure to support it is missing — before the plan begins.

This work has shaped every part of my professional practice. I’m offering it here because it matters — and because it’s time others had access to it too.

There are three (3) natural-law-rooted, evidence-backed phases that reliably support behaviour change in complex cases.
And they are strategically absent from most formal training.

If you’re seeing compliance plateau, engagement drift, or results that don’t hold — this is likely why.

⸻

1. Align – This is not goal-setting. This is goal-elevation.
It means taking part-focused concerns (barking, reactivity, destruction) and helping the family hold a broader, achievable goal that reflects the full system their dog lives in.
A goal that connects — not fragments.
One that integrates the nervous system, the family, the environment, the rhythms of daily life.
Alignment gives you your touchstone. Without it, engagement collapses under confusion or misdirection.

David Stroh teaches that alignment lifts parts into shared system purpose — essential for coherence and momentum in change work.

⸻

2. Co-Create – This is where systems thinking becomes practical.
Milestones are mapped — not just by symptom or technique, but by identifying core influences shaping the behaviour.
Each milestone has multiple valid paths.
This honours complexity and keeps the family from feeling locked into one “right” method.
It allows for flexibility, adapts to context and capacity, and still holds the outcome.

Peter Senge reminds us that learning requires structures that allow reflection, iteration, and joint authorship — not prescriptive answers.

⸻

3. Sustain – This is the part most plans skip.
You build the structures that let change last — both internal (neurobiological readiness, relational stability) and external (routine, environment, caregiver capacity).
Change that isn’t supported will regress.
Not because the plan was wrong, but because the system never adapted to hold it.

Jay Forrester proved that structure drives behaviour. Donella Meadows warned: if the system doesn’t change, the outcome won’t either.

⸻

This three-phase design sits at the heart of Canine Neurobiological Systems Science (CNSS).
It isn’t a preference.
It’s what change requires.

⸻

Interested in learning how to implement this three-phase design in practice?
Leave a comment below — if I hear from 10 of you, I’ll host a webinar.
It will be barrier-free and pay-what-you-can.
No upsell. No pitch.

⸻

You’re invited to explore how it lives in practice inside the Dog Parentology Podcast —
Real-world cases, transparent failures, and what it takes to make behaviour change stick.

Start with the Dog Parentology Podcast — real case studies, real systems at play, and real change that held because the system changed first.
• RSS: https://rss.com/podcasts/dog-parentology-podcast/2037813
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/ThYzV0VTQwk?si=xYMQKWtOsPNb6FdL
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/the-dog…/id1767638360

⸻

For professionals:
See Canine Neurobiological System Science applied to medication and complex case planning in my latest paper:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391899664_Systems_Thinking_in_Dog_Medication

Their leash is not rope. It is trust.And that trust is tied to every handthat dares to touch it.To the doctor of cuts an...
06/03/2025

Their leash is not rope. It is trust.
And that trust is tied to every hand
that dares to touch it.

To the doctor of cuts and fever,
bend low.
Let no needle silence what your voice can soothe.
Speak, gently: Brave heart. Stay. But a moment. Stay.

To the one with blades and brushes, do not rush.
Each knot is a memory.
Each tangle tells
what no tongue could bear.
Cut with kindness. Hold with honour.
That’s not just fur you’re trimming—it is history.

Dog walker. Trainer. Stranger on the stoop.
You who pass by—you are written into the pact.
You are the quiet smile of assurance against a memory that still strikes.

The gate to the kennel, screams like a door between two worlds.
Behind it: Hunger’s hard arithmetic.
Before it: A hand that does not rise.

And in that body, barely breathing,
a question rises—not spoken,
but steady as a memory of home:
Will it be like this again tomorrow?

Kindness is not a feeling.
Kindness is what you do
when no one thanks you.
Kindness is the work.
The long work.
The staying work.

And when your patience thins, someone must remember that quiet question:
Will it be like this again tomorrow?
Because the dog will not ask again.
They will simply watch.
And wait.
And wonder.
And hope,
you are the kind of person
who keeps their promise.

One of the hardest moments in behaviour work?Telling a caregiver: “It may get worse before it gets better.”They’ve come ...
06/02/2025

One of the hardest moments in behaviour work?
Telling a caregiver: “It may get worse before it gets better.”
They’ve come to you needing answers. Relief. Progress.
And now you must say:
“Things may intensify first.”
And the caregiver quietly wonders — Are you the right person for the job?
In trauma cases, this moment is pivotal.
Because what happens next isn’t about skill or technique.
It’s about holding steady inside the system’s disorganisation.
As Jay Forrester taught us, delays and oscillations are built-in.
As Dan Siegel reminds us, nervous systems must unravel before they can stabilise.
Regression isn’t failure — it’s friction during realignment.
And the most effective professionals prepare for that friction in advance.
⸻
NEW BLOG for Professionals
“It Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better” – Systems Thinking for Dog Behaviour Professionals
On our blog now: https://www.dogparentology.com/.../it-will-get-worse...
This post helps you design for the harder times:
• Why behavioural instability is often evidence that change is taking effect
• How to identify neurobiological “doorway behaviours” using the Bio-Coloured Framework
• How to use feedback loops, delay windows, and high-leverage interventions to support progress
• What to say to caregivers who panic mid-protocol — and how to keep the system intact
It’s not just about calming fears. It’s about designing protocols that account for the turbulence.
⸻
Want to learn more about Canine Neurobiological System Science?
Start with the Dog Parentology Podcast —
real case studies, real systems at play, and real change that held because the system changed first.
Available on all major platforms — here’s our latest:
RSS: https://rss.com/podcasts/dog-parentology-podcast/2037813
Youtube: https://youtu.be/ThYzV0VTQwk?si=xYMQKWtOsPNb6FdL
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/the-dog…/id1767638360
For professionals:
See Canine Neurobiological System Science applied to medication and complex case planning in my latest paper:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391899664_Systems_Thinking_in_Dog_Medication

When behaviour change doesn’t hold, it’s not because the work wasn’t good — it’s because the system didn’t support it.Yo...
05/30/2025

When behaviour change doesn’t hold, it’s not because the work wasn’t good — it’s because the system didn’t support it.

You already know behaviour isn’t isolated.
You’re using neurobiology to understand more deeply.
You’ve seen the power of relational trust, nervous system regulation, and safety cues.
Many of you are doing extraordinary work — without ever being handed a systems map.

To those working with complex or trauma-based behaviour:

You may be doing everything you were taught —
– following structured protocols
– applying learned cues
– layering in desensitisation and counter-conditioning
– staying within scope, staying calm, staying flexible

And yet… sometimes change doesn’t hold.
Progress stalls. Relapses come. The dog’s system unravels.
Post-session, heads nod — but action stalls.

Not because you missed something obvious.
But because seeing behaviour as the output of causal loops — not just conditioned responses — requires learning to observe real cases through a systems lens, and understanding how to elevate what you already do.

As a master, it is mine to give. It is not for sale.

If no one taught you how to trace where behaviour starts, cycles, and re-emerges…
If your tools weren’t built to track when and where caregiver state loops back into reactivity…
If you were told your role was to teach change — but not build the conditions to hold it…

Then your brilliant work may benefit from a systems lens.

Trying to change behaviour without shifting the system is like setting a compass in a storm.
The direction is clear — but the environment keeps carrying it off course.

And that’s why post-session, plans can feel strong… but unstable.
Heard… but not held.
Promising… but fragile.

In Canine Neurobiological Systems Science (CNSS), we design for what continues after we leave the room.
We intervene at the level of nervous system regulation, relational safety, and structure — and we hold ourselves accountable for engagement at every level: from internal neurobiology to family patterns, neighbourhood rhythms, societal messaging, and ecological stressors.

We don’t replace your judgement.
We give it somewhere to land.

If you’re seasoned, CNSS makes sense of what hasn’t quite clicked.
If you’re newer, it offers a map — one that builds confidence without rigidity.

No one’s been taught this yet.
That’s why I’ve made it barrier-free.
Not because it’s low-value or light-touch — but because it’s deep, compelling, and profoundly necessary in today’s complex behaviour cases.

Want to learn more about CNSS?
Start with the Dog Parentology Podcast —
real case studies, real systems at play, and real change that held because the system changed first.

Available on all major platforms but you can begin here:
Youtube: https://youtu.be/ThYzV0VTQwk?si=xYMQKWtOsPNb6FdL

For professionals:
See CNSS applied to medication and complex case planning in my latest paper:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391899664_Systems_Thinking_in_Dog_Behaviour_Medication_A_framework_to_improve_prescribing_precision_in_complex_canine_behaviour_cases

The caregiver’s nervous system is part of the intervention.That doesn’t make us therapists.It makes us systems practitio...
05/29/2025

The caregiver’s nervous system is part of the intervention.

That doesn’t make us therapists.

It makes us systems practitioners working at the point of change.
In Canine Neurobiological Systems Science (CNSS), the dog’s behaviour is shaped by conditions — and one of the most powerful conditions is the state of the caregiver.

That’s why our role includes more than instruction.
It includes:
– Identifying patterns in human-dog co-regulation
– Tracking caregiver stress and its impact on system stability
– Offering nervous system supports like structure, ritual, and sometimes even meditation resources
– Facilitating co-created strategies that work within real-world constraints

We are not here to resolve childhood trauma, diagnose anxiety, or deliver therapy.

But we do work in a relational system where change in one agent affects the whole system.

So we step in where it’s appropriate — and we step back when it’s not.

When psychology reaches beyond our scope, we refer.

But long before that, we still have a job to do:
To be a change agent for the human, in service of the dog.

To learn more about CNSS and how it reframes behaviour work through a systems lens, including how caregiver states are supported without crossing therapeutic boundaries, explore the Dog Parentology Podcast.

It is barrier-free and embedded with over 100 real case studies showing how system-level change drives lasting behaviour outcomes — not through correction, but through structure, safety, and neurobiological coherence.

For professionals, you can see CNSS applied in clinical depth in my latest paper:For those professionals —
You can see CNSS applied to medication decision-making in my latest paper:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391899664_Systems_Thinking_in_Dog_Medication

Subscribe to the podcast here:
RSS:https://rss.com/podcasts/dog-parentology-podcast/2037813
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/.../the-dog.../id1767638360
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/

Impulse Control Reflects Neuroplasticity — Not Surface-Level BehaviourImpulse control is often misunderstood as a traini...
05/28/2025

Impulse Control Reflects Neuroplasticity — Not Surface-Level Behaviour

Impulse control is often misunderstood as a training outcome - safety or obedience, a behavior 'shaped'.

A sign that the dog has learned to hold back, respond calmly, or “listen better.”

But in Canine Neurobiological Systems Science (CNSS), impulse control is not a task to master.

It’s a neural milestone — a marker that the higher brain is beginning to take hold.

What we interpret as “good behaviour” is actually the emergence of prefrontal regulation — a shift in how the brain processes options, evaluates safety, and withholds reaction.

And here’s what matters:
- This development doesn’t happen through repetition or correction.
- It’s built through patterned, meaningful experiences — and it’s shaped by the caregiver.

Neuroplasticity is not a passive process. It’s orchestrated.
Through tone. Through timing. Through co-regulation. Through presence.

Caregivers aren’t reinforcing behaviour — they’re building brain systems.

What does it cost to learn CNSS? Nothing.

The Dog Parentology Podcast is barrier-free, excuse-free, and grounded in over 100 real case studies that show where medication helped, where it hurt, and what needed to happen first. It is grounded in CNSS, and identifies tools and frameworks freely available. Your investment? Time and focus.

And for those deeply invested, my most recent article to the veterinary community on behaviour medication can be found here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391899664_Systems_Thinking_in_Dog_Medication
Our most recent Dog Parentology Podcast episodes can be found here — subscribe to see Season 1 and 2 for a full learning experience:
RSS: https://lnkd.in/eSEKP4p3
Apple: https://lnkd.in/esPNz3EB
YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eauVkPW8

Most learning models start too late.They assume the dog is ready.Ready to focus. Ready to learn. Ready to respond.But th...
05/27/2025

Most learning models start too late.
They assume the dog is ready.

Ready to focus. Ready to learn. Ready to respond.

But the nervous system doesn’t file instructions when it’s in survival mode. No shaping plan will stick. Your efforts, energy investments, time commitments will stall.

CNSS (Canine Neurobiological Systems Science) begins where most behaviour models assume too much

— at the level of readiness.

If a dog’s nervous system isn’t regulated, learning can’t begin.

Engagement isn’t a protocol — it’s a state.

Rather than modifying behaviour alone, CNSS asks: is the dog’s system able to learn in this moment?

This builds upon the work of pioneers like Dr Susan Friedman, who reframed behaviour as a function of environment and consequence.

CNSS takes that further — recognising that neurobiological state is not just a context for behaviour, but a condition that determines whether behaviour change is even possible.

What does it cost to learn CNSS?
Nothing.

The Dog Parentology Podcast is barrier-free, excuse-free, and grounded in over 100 real case studies that model true caregiver engagement — not just compliance.

Here are links to our most recent episode – subscribe to see Season 1 and 2 for a full learning experience:
RSS: https://lnkd.in/eSEKP4p3
Apple: https://lnkd.in/esPNz3EB
YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eauVkPW8

Dogs don’t carry emotional safety around like a portable skill.They anchor it to context — the room, the smell, the soun...
05/26/2025

Dogs don’t carry emotional safety around like a portable skill.
They anchor it to context — the room, the smell, the sounds, the time of day, the energy of the person nearby.

This is why “he’s fine at home” means nothing when you step outside.

Because emotional safety isn’t generalised. It’s localised — encoded in the details.

CNSS teaches that safety must be re-established in each environment.

Scene by scene. Person by person. Moment by moment.

Success isn’t transferable unless the system surrounding the dog shifts too —
the caregiver’s regulation,
the tone,
the routines,
the expectations.

All of it matters.

What does it cost to learn CNSS? Nothing.
Simply watch the Dog Parentology Podcast, where CNSS is integrated into 100+ real case studies and lessons.
Barrier-free. Excuse-free.

Here are links to our most recent episode - subscribe to see Season 1 and 2 for a full learning experience.
RSS: https://media.rss.com/dog-parentology-podcast/feed.xml
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/.../the-dog.../id1767638360
Youtube: https://youtu.be/ThYzV0VTQwk

If you’ve ever been prescribed behavioural medication for your dog and felt like nothing changed… this episode is for yo...
05/25/2025

If you’ve ever been prescribed behavioural medication for your dog and felt like nothing changed… this episode is for you.
It’s not about whether medication is good or bad.
It’s about why it fails so often—and what actually makes it work.
The ah-ha moment?
**
Most behavioural medications aren’t failing because of the drug.
They’re failing because they’re dropped into a system no one assessed.
**
Trauma. Sleep disruption. Neurochemical imbalance. Lack of bonding. No trust architecture. These are not “extras.” They are conditions that shape outcomes.
This episode walks you through:
• The real reason medications backfire or seem to “wear off”
• What’s missing from most plans before medication is even discussed
• What to track if your dog is already medicated
• How to create the internal conditions that allow the dog’s system to benefit from support, rather than resist it
If you’re working with a reactive, anxious, or traumatised dog—or if you’re a vet or behaviourist feeling the limits of current options—this will reframe what success actually looks like.
🎧 Why Behavioural Medication Fails — And What Makes It Work
Now streaming on Dog Parentology.
Barrier free. No excuses.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/ThYzV0VTQwk
RSS: https://media.rss.com/dog-parentology-podcast/feed.xml
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/.../the-dog.../id1767638360

What’s a White Pathway — and why does it matter to you?Because that split second when your dog doesn’t react—when they p...
05/25/2025

What’s a White Pathway — and why does it matter to you?

Because that split second when your dog doesn’t react—when they pause instead of barking, lunging, or shutting down—that’s not just a fluke. It’s the opening.

In traumatised dogs, this moment rarely comes by accident.

It’s **earned**. With a conscious applied effort of bonding, developing safety and mastering impulse control. It’s neurobiological. And it’s the early marker of the prefrontal cortex coming online and beginning to mitigate the amygdala's threat response. It means the system is beginning to hold space between trigger and action

The White Pathway is a fragile in-between state - when they’re reachable.

And what you do next decides what grows.

How can you learn more about the White ... and the Red, Blue, and Green Pathways - the entire Bio-Coloured Framework?

Listen to the Dog Parentology Podcast where we discuss this and more and how it applies to over 100 cases.

Streaming everywhere.
Barrier free. No excuses.
Here are links to our most recent episode - subscribe to see Season 1 and 2 for a full learning experience.
RSS: https://media.rss.com/dog-parentology-podcast/feed.xml
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/.../the-dog.../id1767638360
Youtube: https://youtu.be/ThYzV0VTQwk

Behaviour isn’t random. It’s filtered.Every dog interprets the world through internal filters — shaped by neurobiology, ...
05/24/2025

Behaviour isn’t random. It’s filtered.

Every dog interprets the world through internal filters — shaped by neurobiology, memory, safety signals, trauma, and social context.

What we label as “reactivity” is often the result of a filter that misreads neutral as threat, calm as tension, silence as danger.

You can’t out-train a faulty filter.
You can’t suppress it, condition around it, or distract it away.

In CNSS, we don’t treat the behaviour. We rewire the filter.
That means:
– regulating the nervous system
– creating predictable sensory experiences
– engaging relational trust
– calibrating the vestibular system
– reducing system-wide noise

This is the work.
And when it’s done right, the filter changes — and so does the behaviour.

What does it cost to learn CNSS? Nothing.
Simply watch the Dog Parentology Podcast, where CNSS is integrated into 100+ real case studies and lessons.
Barrier-free. Excuse-free.
Here are links to our most recent episode - subscribe to see Season 1 and 2 for a full learning experience.
RSS: https://media.rss.com/dog-parentology-podcast/feed.xml
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/.../the-dog.../id1767638360
Youtube: https://youtu.be/ThYzV0VTQwk

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About PivotalChange.ca

“Hi! Sparky here!” is the usual way I start all my videos. I like to visualize that we are sitting together having a coffee, preferably way out in the forest with our dogs. I enjoy people. Their quirks, fragility, and the passion for their dogs. In every case I work on I hear all about the issue, and without fail it follows by, “he really is a wonderful dog”.

Deeply respectful of evidence-based facts and modern human-dog psychology, my career has spanned thirty years in changing belief systems. When dogs and humans become partners in life, it adds a dimension of complexity simply because of a language barrier, and of course, different needs and desires. When I work with my own dog, it is with a sense of daily wonder that a sentient being is connected to me in ways both treasured and fragile. It requires focused effort to keep our relationship strong and healthy. I bring this same attitude when I work with you and your dog. It is important to protect, maintain and ultimately enrich your partnership with your dog, while establishing a healthy relationship.

All dogs are about peace, love and cooperation. It is in their DNA. When we see something go awry on any of those dimensions, well, there is an imbalance to be fixed. Investigating where the problem lies is a lot like peeling back an onion. We can’t just look at the outside, but need to examine the layers of the dog’s beliefs, personality and characteristics relevant to the behaviour. It is essential when making lasting change in your dog to shift its mindset and feelings. Developing new skills through training is not enough with serious behaviour issues. A plan is needed to not only develop new ways of thinking, feeling and acting, but also to sustain it for life. It takes time and there will be challenges, and I coach my clients every step of the way.

The one characteristic clients have noted about working with me, is really getting to know them. Many become friends of mine for years, keeping me updated on fun anecdotes as a testament to strength of their relationship and peaceful joy of having a friend that is a dog.