I don’t know whether there’s more of it lately, or whether the algorithms have simply decided this is what I should see—but my feed is flooded with videos of trainers being harsh with dogs. Dogs being heavily corrected (punished), intimidated, told they “just need to hear no.” Then the camera pans to a dog who is afraid and shut down… and that state is labeled submissive, calm submissive, or who has clarity. Kindness is not spoiling your dog.Compassion is not ruining your dog.Cuddling with...

Are you managing your dog—or training your dog? Ideally, you’re doing both. In the picture above, Jubilee was about 2 years old, at the worst of her health and behaviour problems. We were in a hardware store when another dog walked into our aisle. I gave her a fun game to play - I distracted her. That is management. All dogs need management. Puppies, new dogs, and dogs who are still learning all rely on management to stay out of trouble and to prevent rehearsing behaviors we don’t want. But...

One of the hardest things for many of us is really resting. And our dogs—especially dogs with big feelings—need real, quality rest too. Our well-meaning go-to is often to do more or to wish we could do more, to beat ourselves up for not doing more. Yes - training is important. But so is teaching our dogs to relax. A dog who is always expecting more is exhausting—for them and for us. And often, that pattern isn’t because we’ve done something wrong, but because no one ever showed us how to say...