Mat Work

Mat Work is designed for dogs who are developmentally ready to focus on building calmness, confidence, and communication. For most dogs, that's around five months of age and older.

My free puppy resources are designed to help you navigate those first few months, so you'll have guidance for the questions that tend to come up most often. When your puppy is ready, Mat Work will be here waiting for you.

There is no upper age limit. I've worked with dogs in their teens who have benefited tremendously from these exercises. Whether your goal is improving behavior, building confidence, or simply providing meaningful mental enrichment, it's never too late to begin.

Yes.

Mat Work isn't about teaching your dog to go to a mat. It's about teaching your dog how to relax.

Many dogs I've worked with have already completed obedience classes—or even competed in obedience or agility—but still struggled with stress, overarousal, hyperactivity, or difficulty settling. Those dogs benefited from Mat Work because the goal isn't simply performing a behavior. It's building emotional regulation and teaching dogs how to return to a calmer state.

That's why I recommend Mat Work as the starting point for every dog, regardless of previous training.

Yes.

Safety is always the priority. In the early stages of the course, we'll discuss management strategies that help keep everyone safe while creating opportunities for learning. The goal is to develop a plan that feels realistic and manageable for both you and your dog.

Aggressive behavior is often influenced by fear, stress, frustration, or chronic overarousal. The exercises in Mat Work are designed to build emotional regulation, communication, and confidence, helping dogs develop the skills they need to navigate the world more successfully.

It's also important to set realistic expectations. Every dog progresses at a different pace. For some dogs, thoughtful management combined with a strong foundation creates the shift their families were hoping for. For others, meaningful change takes more time. Rather than rushing toward an outcome, the focus is on meeting your dog where they are, building trust, and creating steady, lasting progress.

Most owners spend about 10–20 minutes actively training each day. The weekly discussion and demonstration videos can be watched whenever it fits your schedule, then revisited anytime throughout the course. New lessons are released one week at a time, giving you and your dog time to practice before moving on.

The exercises are intentionally short, and consistency is far more important than long training sessions. Many of the skills naturally become part of your everyday routine as the course progresses.

That's perfectly okay.

If possible, I recommend completing the first three weeks before your trip. Those early weeks establish the foundation, and many people are pleasantly surprised to find that after taking a short break, their dogs return seeming even more confident and settled.

If you won't have time to complete those first few weeks before leaving, I'd recommend waiting until after your vacation to begin so you can build that foundation consistently.

The course is self-paced, it's flexible. The goal isn't to finish in six weeks, it's to progress at a pace that supports your dog's success.

I don't recommend it.

Every course in the Base Training Method builds on the skills developed in Mat Work.

The goal isn't simply to teach behaviors. It's to develop calmness, emotional regulation, communication, and thoughtful decision-making. Those skills make every course that follows more effective.

Starting with Mat Work gives both you and your dog the strongest possible foundation for long-term success.

It doesn't matter whether your dog is six months or thirteen years old. Progress isn't determined by age nearly as much as it is by creating the right learning environment.