Archetypes: Changing The Game ...Literally

Key wellness / self-care / productivity strategies & takeaways

Use curiosity instead of frustration

• When your dog reacts, treat the behavior as a clue to internal “drivers,” not a personal failure.
• The goal is to stay approachable and understand root causes, rather than escalate control or correction.

Shift from “behavior correction” to “driver management”

• Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Behind actions like barking, fixation, or reactivity is an underlying motivational archetype.

Personalize training to the dog’s archetype

• The video frames dogs as having four archetypes (motivational drivers) that shape reactions:
  • Fixated: hard to distract; intense focus on distant stimuli
  • Cautious Observer / Restrained: safety/security driven; may withdraw/growl rather than explode
  • Full Throttle: purposeful/high acceleration; goes from 0→100 quickly and needs help learning to modulate drive
  • Wanderer: explorer/traveler; reinforced by the environment and may explore and return when given reasons
• Training changes depending on which archetype(s) show up in that context (and dogs can show mixtures).

Channel intensity into relationship-building (“turn problem into partnership”)

• For high-drive/fixated dogs: use drive as collaboration power, not something to suppress.
• For full-throttle dogs: don’t simply call for calm abruptly—teach judicious drive control and safer ways to work together.

Build emotional regulation by staying within the threshold

• Keep dogs below the overload line so training doesn’t worsen anxiety/emotional spirals.
• Use added support content when dogs are too noisy, emotionally reactive, or when owners need adaptations.

Give dogs autonomy with “freedom of choice” exercises (Veto / It’s Your Choice)

• A major theme: letting dogs make decisions reduces conflict and can create more peaceful lives.
• The “Veto” game trains pattern recognition and choice-making.
• Emphasis: you’re not forcing the dog to be what you want; you’re helping them use their natural motivations.

Generalize skills slowly across environments

• Start in settings that support success (confidence-building), then expand to other rooms and outside.
• This reduces setbacks and helps behavior transfer.

Improve owner execution with better coaching/tech support

• The program includes mechanisms to prevent owner mistakes (which can spike anxiety for insecure dogs).
• Example mentioned: “Your Moves”, where you can submit your technique video for refinement before working with the dog.

Use practical troubleshooting strategies for common training moments

• Example: if a dog fixates on one bowl/target during Veto-type training:
  • It’s framed as not “ruining” the dog’s skills.
  • Options include:
    • having someone else help
    • using extremely tasty food when the dog is hungry
    • using a search word cue
• Example cueing method:
  • Put valuable food on two close cardboard target circles
  • Repeat a cue like “search” so the dog learns targets mean “food is eatable”

Create supportive systems for emotional difficulty

• The approach emphasizes teamwork and built-in “support” content per game type, including:
  • puppy versions
  • emotionally sensitive versions
  • noisy-play adaptations
  • mobility adaptations

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Presenters / sources

• Presenter: Susan Garrett (Dogs That / Susan Garrett Dog Agility)
• Sponsor/Source mentioned for giveaway toy certificates: Formy Merls (formymerls.com)
• Other branded item/source mentioned: Blue-9 (Propel fitness equipment)
• Program/platform referenced: Recallers / Dogs (dogs.com / dogsat.com) and related series page dogs.com/series
• Individuals mentioned (examples/students/friends): Debbie; Kim; Linda Orton-Gill; Nancy; Diane; Britney; Dort; Max Sprint; Enya Habel; Brenda; Lidonne; “Clara” (owner example); Jesse (dog example); Prophet (dog example); Marley (Dalmatian example); Mumu/Moomin (name example).