SDTI Monthly Newsletter
December 2025 Edition
Get future newsletters in your RSS reader Solstice Month: Getting the Most Out of Longer Nights
Season's Greetings from Donna, Bruce & Clover!
Featured Resource This Month
Settle-Relax Program
Working on “Settle/Relax” is a perfect behavior to focus on during the solstice with longer nights and a great time to capture calmer behavior.
ACCESS
24/7 for 2 years
FORMAT
Self-study
Regular Price: CA$75
Special Price: CA$37.50
Mini Quiz Challenge
Which of the following strategies supports rhythm, routine, and emotional regulation during the solstice season for service dog teams?
A) Creating a predictable “solstice routine,” such as dimming lights, adding soft music, massaging your dog, or releasing calming scents during each session.
B) Using winter’s longer evenings to practice shaping to build mental & physical flexibility for your dog and timing and criterion practice for you.
C) Leaning into the dog’s natural preference for warmth by offering a cozy mat near a heater or warm lamp to support calm, stationary training.
D) All of the above.
Did You Know?
You can use bright Halogen or LED work lights to extend training & exercise time in the dark in safe outdoor spaces? Many new lights use cordless rechargeable tool batteries so you can place them where they are most needed to brighten dark corners.
Using soft light (at the red end of the spectrum 2700K-3000 Kelvin) first thing in the morning and last thing before bed can help ease you into and out of the bright lights of full daylight (6400K).This helps to regulate your melatonin cycle to help with both awake and sleep cycles. The same applies to your dog!
If you are traveling for the holidays, keeping to your regular bedtime routines can help you and your dog settle in faster. It can also be a good time to start new habits with the support of others! A good night’s sleep can make your visit so much more enjoyable when stress levels are high.
That having blue light devices like tv and computer screens or a cell phone on in your bedroom at night suppresses melatonin production? While the ‘dark mode’ settings can help decrease the impact, it is still best to avoid them, especially if you are watching or listening to exciting content.
Featured Resources
Video: No Sew Durable Toy for Play and Chewing
Getting a gift for your dog doesn’t have to be expensive. You can make it from materials you have around the house! This octopus is easy to make and lasts a long time. Just ask Clover! 18 months later, we are still playing with it!
Free Blog Post: The Between Routine for Bonding: A Cozy Way to Connect, Check, and Keep Your Service Dog Flexible
This daily practice is a wonderful way to deepen the bond between you and your dog. The gentle bowing, stretching, and hands-on contact help keep your dog flexible and comfortable, and it also gives you a natural opportunity to feel for any new lumps bumps, or changes in their body every day. It’s a calm, enjoyable routine.
Paid Blog Post: Night Training for Real Life: Preparing Teams for Early Nightfall Public Access
As the solstice brings the shortest days and longest nights of the year, many service dog teams find themselves spending more time in low light—whether they planned to or not. Early sunsets mean evening walks become nighttime walks,…
Training Tips
Take Advantage of Having People Around Over the Holidays
The holidays are an ideal time to do set up training sessions with other people. Especially great for those who live alone!
Make sure to practice the behaviors before adding the human helpers as distractions to help you proof or generalize. Use dolls for demos, make an adult dummy or use stuffed toys as pretend dogs. Plan to do several sessions in a row with each behavior. Have a detailed plan and be ready to coach your helpers with what exactly you want them to do and not do.
- Greeting and non-greetings
- Settle with distraction
- Relax on a mat while the visitors eat
- Loose leash walking with other people and dogs
- Hand leash off to a helper to take dog a few steps away, working up to across the room, then out of sight.
Public Access Training
Choose the right gear for night work: reflective collars, clip-on lights, handler-worn visibility bands.
Carry a small pocket flashlight or use a phone light to illuminate curbs, stairs, or icy patches.
Work on navigating store entrances at night, especially those with sudden light changes (bright → dark).
Teach find the car in daylight, then practice at night coming out of stores. Take a buddy for safety.
Keep Visits Time-Limited
Instead of committing to a full holiday event, schedule:
15–20 min training visits, a short check-in or a drive-by hello
This helps your dog practice skills with real people while still protecting your energy.
Several Short Sessions Are Better than One Longer One
Five 2-minute training sessions scattered through the dark evenings often outperform one long session.
Cold weather and earlier sunsets help handlers remember to keep it small and doable. Put your dog in a settle, in another room or even in the car (weather permitting) to rest between sessions when away from home.
Events This Month
FREE QA Chat
Date: Sat. Dec. 13 at 1pm Pacific
Topic: Vagus Nerve & Tips to Calm Yourself and Your Dog
Bring your questions, share your experiences. Meet the community
The QA Chat will be recorded and added to the library so if you cannot attend, it will be available. At just CA$11 per month (~US$8.25), it’s a great way to support us. Sign up for a day, get access for the month. Cancel anytime!