🐾 ACE Free Work: Letting Dogs Lead the Way

Understanding Calm, Choice-Led Support

In a world where dog training often focuses on cues, commands, rewards, and corrections, ACE Free Work offers a radically different, deeply compassionate invitation: slow down, watch, listen, and let the dog explore. Created by canine behavior expert Sarah Fisher, ACE Free Work is part of her wider Animal Centred Education (ACE) philosophy — a multi-modal approach that prioritizes the dog’s experience, physical comfort, and emotional safety.

🌱 What Is ACE Free Work?

At its heart, ACE Free Work is a sensory, choice-based activity designed to help dogs reset, rebalance, and release. Rather than guiding a dog through structured exercises, Free Work invites dogs to move freely through an environment with carefully placed items — textures, smells, platform heights, obstacles, and more — allowing them to explore at their own pace.

This isn’t enrichment in the casual sense. ACE Free Work is built so that:

• Dogs experience the world on their terms. They choose where to go, what to touch, and how long to engage.

• Guardians learn to observe deeply — noticing posture, breathing, movement habits, and subtle signals that often go unnoticed in traditional training settings.

• Support becomes physical and emotional, not just behavioral. Free Work reveals where a dog may be tense, uncertain, or confident — giving caregivers actionable insights into their dog’s needs.

In ACE Free Work setups, dogs aren’t practicing skills for an external reward. They’re learning through self-directed exploration, which builds confidence, reduces stress, and invites genuine engagement with their environment.

🧠 Why “Do Less” Really Means Supporting More

A fundamental principle of Free Work is shifting away from doing things to dogs toward allowing dogs to experience, choose, and express themselves. This means:

• Less pressure, more release: Instead of cueing outcomes, we invite dogs to relax into movement and curiosity.

• More observation, less interpretation: By watching how a dog navigates stations — their pauses, fluidity of movement, or avoidance — guardians learn truths about their dog’s perception of safety and comfort.

• Better understanding of posture and emotional state: These observations often reveal hidden tensions, pain signals, or emotional barriers that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Sarah Fisher often describes Free Work as giving dogs the pilot’s seat in their own learning experiences — a perspective that has been transformative for trainers, behaviorists, and everyday guardians alike.

💬 Real Impact on Dogs and People

Professionals and guardians using ACE Free Work report profound shifts: READ MORE!

🐾 Indoor Enrichment Ideas for Dogs (At-Home)

🧠 Mental & Cognitive Enrichment

Supports problem-solving, curiosity, and confidence.

• Food puzzles (Toppl, Kong, LickiMat, snuffle mats)

• DIY puzzle boxes (towels, cardboard, paper bags)

• Muffin tin game (food hidden under tennis balls)

• Hide-and-seek with treats or toys

• “Find it” scent games using food

• Shape or object discrimination games

• Slow scatter feeding instead of bowls

💡 Tip: Mental enrichment should engage the brain, not frustrate it. Adjust difficulty as needed.

👃 Olfactory (Sniffing) Enrichment

Sniffing is one of the most regulating activities for dogs.

• Scatter feeding across different rooms

• Scent trails made with kibble or treats

• Hidden food in rolled towels

• Cardboard box sniff stations

• Scent jars (vented containers with different smells)

• Frozen scent cubes (broth, sardine water)

• Sniffing games with household items

💡 Tip: Sniffing lowers heart rate and supports emotional regulation.

Dogs Rely on Body Language to Avoid Conflict and to Reduce Stress

For dogs to feel confident and secure, they need to trust that their body language will reduce conflict and relieve stress. When these signals are repeatedly ignored or disrespected, dogs feel less safe, become more anxious, and may develop reactive behaviors.

When humans learn how dogs communicate through body language—expressing emotions, needs, and boundaries—dogs are better able to connect, and the relationship becomes safer, clearer, and mutually beneficial.

For the remainder of January, I’m offering 75% off our online Dog Communication Course, packed with videos that show how dogs use body language in everyday life. And that’s not all—you’ll also receive our Enrichment Over Obedience course FREE.

Coupon Code: HUMED. You will receive a discount code for Enrichment over Obedience after purchase.

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