A Bit About Alex

Hi, I’m Alex.

I started The Dog Decompression Center to help dogs and their humans.

Since 2017 I've spent most of my time in dog rescue and shelter environments – I've spent countless thousands of hours observing, studying, practicing, learning from/with other humans and thousands of wonderful unique personalities of incredible canine teachers (a.k.a. dogs), and it is very clear that there are a lot of misunderstood dogs in shelters, rescues, AND in homes - they’re everywhere!

I was born with a lot of sensitivities and for most of my life I've had various difficulties with my health - as a result, I often wish and dream to simply be happy and comfortable in my own skin, to find peace in the present moment - this is something that I do my best to find for myself, and share with others, especially with very special shelter and rescue dogs.

The Dog Decompression Center is my dreams turning into reality  - it is the culmination of the very ongoing lifelong process of developing all the different tools and skills I rely on to do my best as a dog professional and as a very imperfect human who shares this planet with so many other humans and non-humans.

Since I can remember I’ve had a strong interest in nature and the outdoors in general - especially a very wide variety of animals and plants, both domesticated and wild, big and small.

I very quickly developed a strong interest in using methods that reduce stress when catching, observing, and releasing lots of insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish, crustaceans, small mammals, and other creatures.

I quickly learned that especially with wild animals, reducing their need to defend themselves and/or run away was a great way for me have a higher successful catch/release rate, and to avoid personal injury. I also learned that certain creatures can be very easily harmed by the stress from handling and it can lead to potentially fatal or extreme harm, for the creatures, and/or myself - especially when relocating rattlesnakes, and handling other potentially fragile or dangerous creatures.

I usually find it very helpful to avoid making rattlesnakes (and other creatures) feel the need to defend themselves.

It can be incredibly helpful to generally have a good idea about what a  rattlesnake will very likely do – will it: Run away? Go on defense? Try to strike? ...Or maybe if I behave in a certain way, will it not feel the need to strike, and it calmly slithers into the bucket so I can relocate it?

These concepts translate to other dangerous and less-dangerous living beings - ESPECIALLY dogs, and their +15,000 year history of selective breeding for friendliness and cooperation with humans!

When considering my continuing education after graduating high school, I seriously thought about pursuing zoology, entomology, fisheries biology, or herpetology. I chose freshwater fisheries biology, but the thought of standing in a remote creek counting fish eggs quickly made my interest dwindle, and I went many years without any idea about what I truly wanted to do.

I think over time I naturally gravitated towards dogs, then eventually in 2016, finding out that dog training and dog behavior “is actually a thing” was very exciting – something that I actually want to study! It is incredibly rewarding when my efforts go towards understanding the one I call “my best friend/buddy in the whole wide world”. To learn the best practices and hone my abilities to ensure that my best buddy is as happy and comfortable as possible!

My heart is definitely in the shelter world- I found that I absolutely love it. One of my life’s missions is to help dogs find their home and family + stay in homes by increasing understanding for dogs and their humans - It has given me great meaning and purpose – something I can dedicate my life to.

From at least early elementary school, I grew up watching certain TV shows about “so called dog experts who did dog training and rehabilitation for difficult dogs”. While I greatly liked the idea, watching certain parts of these popular TV shows often gave me a lot of mixed feelings - at the time I was not able to pinpoint exactly why I did not like the “training” I was seeing, but it left me feeling uneasy with bad feelings in my body.

I grew up proudly telling myself “I know dogs! I'm super familiar with them because I've lived with dogs my whole life, I love dogs, I know some things from TV, I learned some things from what I’ve heard from other people, and I'm confident in my way!”

Learning more about things like the existence and importance of dog body language, emotions, feelings, learning theory, situational awareness, and the relationship with internal and external environments has been eye opening and life changing...and learning more about how so many dog-related concepts translate to the other sentient beings we share this planet with!

In 2017, I somehow stumbled upon a book called “How to Behave So Your Dog Behaves” by Dr. Sophia Yin and soon after, I stumbled upon her Low Stress Handling course - this was life changing - immediately, the shelter dogs I was volunteering with seemed to greatly appreciate it, especially the individual dogs with the most Fear, Aggression, Anxiety, Stress, other difficulties and/or sensitivities.

Thank you, Dr. Sophia Yin! RIP, you and Jonesy are greatly missed!

For resources + more about the late great Dr. Yin’s incredible work and her legacy:

• https://cattledogpublishing.com/dr-sophia-yin/
• https://cattledogpublishing.com/blog/the-low-stress-handling-movement-how-sophia-and-her-cattledog-started-it-all/

Thank you to the team at Cattle Dog Publishing for continuing Dr. Yin's work and her legacy!

Learning and practicing Low Stress Handling continues to be life changing – it gives me a framework and rules for a lifestyle that can be very helpful for the dogs + my own physical, mental, and emotional health.

In 2019, getting Fear Free Certified continues to help reinforce the lifestyle! 

Thank you to the Beckers and the team for their continuing work!

For resources and more:

• Fear Free: https://fearfreepets.com/about/what-is-fear-free/
• Fear Free Happy Homes: https://www.fearfreehappyhomes.com/

In my experience, non-human animals are generally a lot simpler, straightforward, and much easier to understand, while a lot of humans (including myself!) can be very complicated and difficult to understand! Humans can be (among many other things) ...absolutely fascinating, and I am still learning a lot about understanding humans better!

Ultimately, it is the humans who must advocate for the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of dogs - working with dogs has given me a lot of opportunities and motivation for improving my abilities to work with other humans!

For me to more successfully connect with other humans, I think I've always felt I had to rely more on using things that transcend spoken language, like common interests such as animals, plants, nature, fishing, organic gardening, the NFL (especially the San Francisco 49ers), competitive sports, physical movement...and dogs!

I grew up running around basically everywhere, and I grew up with an interest/obsession with practicing and observing the physical movement of humans, other animals, and other living creatures – running, changing direction, accelerating, decelerating, jumping, catching, throwing, explosive movements, strength, stability, flexibility, efficiency, etc.

Football (and the NFL in particular) has been my favorite since I can remember. It can be a lot of fun to watch the incredible high performances of athletes in sports like American Football, Figure Skating, Gymnastics, Ballet, Track and Field, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, Rugby, Soccer, American Ninja Warrior, Parkour, Strong Man + a variety of other Strength Competitions, and other sports/events that showcase the potential of human athletic abilities.

It can be super cool to think about the very ongoing lifelong process of developing all the different tools and skills I rely on to do my best as a dog professional.

The relationship with dogs has the potential to be sacred, so it is a tremendous honor and privilege to work with dogs and their human family.

If you and your Canine Family Member are struggling, I hope I get the opportunity to help you both live a successful life together!

If you and your Canine Family Member are struggling, please contact us by  sending an email to behaviorincontext@gmail.com!