Discover the Truth about Your Dog
the Education Center revolutionizing the pet dog industry
Welcome to
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR DOG PROS
Hey dog pros, it’s not your imagination—behavior issues in pet dogs are getting worse. But these problems are really just symptoms of unmet needs in increasingly restrictive pet lives. Dogs are facing a welfare crisis, and their behavior is a natural response to unnatural conditions.
If you work with dogs in any capacity, understanding the full picture is no longer optional. You need to grasp the real scientific roots of behavior, tailor your services to meet their needs, and evolve as our industry shifts toward true solutions.
COURSES & WORKSHOPS FOR DOG FAMILIES
Our modern world & the average family home is a strange & difficult place for our dogs. They’re not disobedient & broken. They’re simply out of their element & lost. Being a “pet” is harder than it seems. It’s a whole lot more complex that just “dog training”. You’re ready to go beyond dog training and find the whole truth. You’re ready to really meet your dog. We’re ready to help you come together around new interventions, understandings, & agreements in the relationship – for everyone’s sake. Welcome to Family Dog Mediation®.
This is just what the dog industry needed - A REBOOT
Kim’s style of delivery is so engaging and having worked with dogs for over 30 years – this course has validated a lot of what I was thinking, but often felt unsure (maybe even afraid or scared to say out loud) to say anthing. I feel really privileged to have taken this course and cannot wait to start implementing what I have learnt – my clients will get a massive benefit from this. Now I need to digest, and then I am doing it all again :)…a MUST TAKE course.
Jon Davison
L.E.G.S.® Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation® Professional Course
Between the Myths there lies the Truth
“Behavior problems” are NOT about “dog training”
“Humans and dogs have lived together for tens of thousands of years, and for the vast majority of that time (99%) most dogs were not “pets” as we know them. They were invaluable partners and companions working alongside people in critical capacities that enabled us to hunt, farm, protect, and survive. But, in contrast to what we’ve been taught about our dogs in the 21st century, the modern pet environment and lifestyle is seriously difficult for most dogs, given their natures, instincts, and heritage. The chronic “behavior problems” that have come to define an entire generation of pet dogs, creating an unprecedented demand for professional dog trainers in hopes of “fixing” these problems, is an enormous red flag indicating the severity of the REAL underlying issues for them.”
Understanding changes everything
As a culture, as humanity, we have simply forgotten who our dogs are, the history that we share with them and the cornerstone natural laws that dictate the behaviors of all life on Earth. “Behavior problems”, common as they are in dogs these days, are unnatural. “Behavior problems” tell us that something is terribly wrong beneath the surface. Understanding, not more training, is the missing key to helping them. If we don’t understand something, then we will have the wrong expectations about it, and that will lead to frustration when it doesn’t work the way we expect it to.
The most helpful & enlightening course I've taken to date
What an amazing instructor Kim is – a sheer pleasure to listen to and learn from, I feel so fortunate to have found this course – it has changed the way I approach dog training completely.
by Karyn Ellis
Total Welfare, Step 1: Identify & Understand - The L.E.G.S. Model
Kim Brophey’s L.E.G.S. model of Integrated Canine Science, endorsed by leading canine scientists and celebrated by dog pros worldwide, has been called “the single most important development in the dog behavior industry” and “the future of dog training.” As an applied ethologist, Kim introduces us to the foundational system of orchestral elements that direct the behavior of every animal on Earth—and explains what this means for our modern canine companions living in captivity.
Every animal’s behavior is influenced by the dynamic elements of their phenotype—the interaction between the nature of their genetics and the nurture of their internal and external conditions and experiences as an individual. The L.E.G.S. model helps us clearly identify the elements of Learning, Environment, Genetics, and Self so we can fully understand our dogs, their welfare needs, and their behavior as their keepers.
Learning
an animal’s experiences & education in life
Environment
the external conditions of an animal’s world
Genetics
the DNA that designed the animal inside and out
Self
the internal conditions of a given animal (health, age, sex, personality etc)
We Need The Whole Truth
These elements are designed to work cooperatively for every animal’s benefit and survival, creating the unique individual recipe of L.E.G.S. that each animal is. “Behavior problems” tell us that the L.E.G.S. of an animal are imbalanced. Modifying their behavior through training without a full appreciation for the complete picture of an animal’s L.E.G.S. can not only fail to get to the source of a problem, but can even further harm an animal psychologically, behaviorally and emotionally. Suffice it to say that we need the WHOLE truth about our dogs if we are to understand and help them in any meaningful way, and as such find resolutions for our own frustrations as their housemates, partners and friends.
To create the important paradigm shift we desperately need to have as a dog loving culture and profession, we need YOU to join us in making the difference. A win for you, a win for your dog, and a win for millions of dogs for the road ahead.
Meet Kim Brophey (applied ethologist, FDM, CDBC, CPDT-KA)
Kim Brophey has garnered international attention in the industry for bringing applied ethology to the table, & wants you to pull up a seat & discover what you’ve been missing.
Kim’s vision is to facilitate a critical paradigm shift in our relationships with dogs- building bridges and inspiring others with comprehensive, practical science to redefine how we perceive, talk about, and treat our canine companions as a society.
Kim is in a very unique position in the dog behavior and training industry, having an academic background in the highly specialized discipline of applied ethology which examines the specific implications that captivity and other human interventions have on various species living under direct human control. As most of us don’t readily consider companion animals to be “captive” like farm and zoo animals are, their welfare in our average pet homes has gone largely unexamined by science and culture. Bringing this particular lens to her hands-on work with families spanning over two decades has enabled Kim to do the kind of extensive field research that many traditional ethologists only dream of, and as such she offers us a rare opportunity to understand a much larger picture about our dogs’ behavior than is generally appreciated in our modern culture – one she asserts we desperately need to attend to.
This distinct integration of scientific knowledge and practical applications has earned Kim Brophey awards both internationally and locally in her own community, as she has worked tirelessly to advocate for the evolution of the dog training industry and common practices regarding the psychological and emotional welfare of our canine companions.
Kim has launched a coordinated grassroots movement to facilitate a paradigm shift and market disruption in the pet industry through: her trademarked L.E.G.S.® Model of Integrated Canine Science, her book MEET YOUR DOG- The Game-Changing Guide to Understanding Your Dog’s Behavior, her online canine genetic heritage software program – The Dog Key®, her TEDx talk – The Problem with Treating a Dog Like a Pet, and her Family Dog Mediation® service model, and the Family Dog Mediation® Education Center online education platform for pros and families.
She genuinely believes that it will take a village to raise our dogs as we raise the bar and EVOLVE TOGETHER as dog lovers and professionals. She wants you to join us in finally revealing the truth to help dogs and break the cycles of our collective misunderstandings.
The single most important course in my career
This course has been the single most important course in my career. It has brought me closer to dogs and their people. The coursework and integrated sciences have given me a more complete and thorough understanding of the living world. It’s filled with compassion for all and will challenge how you work with and see dogs, bring out questions and creativity you didn’t know you had.
Carrie Davis, FDM, CPDT-KA
L.E.G.S.® Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation® Professional Course
What is Family Dog Mediation®?
Dog training, evolved. That’s what family dog mediation is. And it’s about time. The dog behavior and training industry has so far failed to reflect and deliver the complete picture of our dogs’ behavior in both concept and practice, continuing to follow outdated models of “obedience training” built on erroneous ideas about dogs. Though the profession has impressively developed far more effective, efficient, and humane methods of modifying behavior in dogs over the years, the emphasis on training to manipulate the expressions of behavior without a true appreciation for the causes of behavior have left us all just scratching the surface, and our heads, as we continue to struggle with a host of behavior problems in our dogs. More…