The Canine Complexity Academy

Are you completely exhausted? Overwhelmed? Frustrated? Spending sleepless nights worrying or running different scenarios through your mind while feeling confused and as if you just can't get a sense of clarity on what is going with your dog or your client's dog(s) despite your best efforts to date? 

Do you ever feel as if you're trying to solve a problem that simply cannot be solved despite having all of the puzzle pieces?

You've read all of the dog training and behavior books, listened to all of the behavior podcasts, and spent hours binge watching dog training videos.  While the training and behavior modification you've attempted has helped alleviate some of the behavior problems you're experiencing, you can't shake the feeling that you're missing something or that there has to be more.

As a committed and conscientious dog professional or dog guardian and tenacious problem solver, you've most likely taken additional courses, attended dog training and behavior seminars and workshops, and consulted with dog behavior experts and other pet pros.

And yet, despite all of your time and effort, you're still left with unanswered questions about the complex behavior issues you or your clients are facing, and you don't feel like you're progressing as quickly with your dog or the dogs of your clients as you might expect.

If this describes you, you can breathe a sigh of relief because my Canine Complexity Course – The Core might be precisely what you've been looking for. 

My name is Cat Harbord and I am a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and Family Dog Mediator based in Calgary, Alberta Canada. 

About ten years ago, I found myself in a similar predicament.  

This started the day I welcomed my dog Mouse home from the shelter after rescuing him. It didn't take me very long to realize that I was way over my head with Mouse as a long-term shelter resident with a never-ending list of behavioral issues!

Mouse circa 2014

Even as a dog behavior expert, I couldn't fully comprehend Mouse's behaviors. I noticed patterns and interconnections that none of the prevailing methodologies could fully explain.

By the end of our first five years together, I felt confused, frustrated, disappointed, and overwhelmed. I had hit a brick wall in Mouse's training despite having all of the best and most well-researched tools at my disposal. Despite all of my time, resources, and considerable efforts, our lives were perpetually in a state of turmoil and chaos.

During this time, I began to see the same behavioral patterns in my clients' dogs.

This ultimately led to a personal and professional dilemma for me. Either I needed to change careers or I was missing something.

Determined to help Mouse, I ventured off the beaten path, studying and applying a wide range of scientific disciplines, including a few that had never been applied to dog training before.

As I started to rearrange the puzzle pieces and apply scientific disciplines outside of the conventional dog training "boxes" to Mouse's behaviors, clarity replaced my previous state of confusion, and Mouse's behaviors began to transform on their own.

As I began to apply what I was learning, Mouse's behaviors started to change right before my eyes, seemingly on its own, like a struggling seedling beginning to sprout after a season of drought.

At this point, I discovered true and lasting solutions to Mouse's behavioral issues. Solutions that focused on me supporting Mouse in restoring and enhancing his innate capacity for changing his own behavior. Solutions that ultimately empowered me to "take the hands off the wheel" and allow Mouse to grow, change and evolve on his own.

Excited to share what I had discovered with other dog guardians, pet professionals, and anyone else who would listen, I took a 7-year detour into complexity sciences, also known as "the science of sciences," which provided the theoretical and philosophical foundations for Thrive Learning System and, ultimately, The Canine Complexity Course.

Let me walk you through the paradigm-shifting approach that has transformed my life, Mouse's life, and the lives of countless dogs and clients.

Let me help you and your dog, or the dogs of your clients, truly blossom.