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Here's a radical idea: You don't have to say hello to every dog you meet. And neither does your dog. Somehow, we've got ourselves into a strange social expectation where seeing a dog means we should interact with it. "Can I say hello?" "Is he friendly?" "What's his name?" "Does he like other dogs?" Or even worse, not even speaking to the human first — just diving straight onto the dog. And if the dog doesn't want to interact? Well, apparently that's a problem. Maybe the dog i

I've spent quite a lot of time recently questioning some of the biggest names in dog training. I've picked apart television programmes. I've questioned social media trainers. I've talked about equipment, methodology, science, marketing, editing, decontextualisation, quick fixes and the rather uncomfortable habit we've developed of treating dog trainers like football teams. I've told people not to believe somebody simply because they're famous. I've told people to look at the

Like dogs behaving very badly Id never watched "Its me or the dog" or the most resent version "bad dog academy" so in the interest of fairness I thought Id better try and watch a couple of them. One thing very quicky stood out to me. Victoria Stilwell isn't a force free purely positive trainer. So why did I, and probably quite a lot of other people, think she was? Apparently, I'm in my villain era. I've started asking awkward questions about dog training. I've been reading wh

I've been doing something slightly dangerous lately. I've been researching dog trainers. I have a file full of partly written articles. Not just trainers I agree with. Actually, quite the opposite. I've been looking at different trainers, different philosophies, different approaches and different arguments because I don't think much is gained from sitting in an echo chamber telling yourself that everyone on the other side is an idiot. I want to test my beliefs; I want to sit

I Don There. I've said it. I'm a dog trainer. He's a dog trainer. I disagree with some things he does. You’ve probably seen some of his videos. Maybe you've come across one of his videos filmed in a shelter, where Robert is standing with a particular dog that needs a home. A dog that's been overlooked. A dog that's struggling. A dog that somebody needs to take a chance on. And that's actually a big part of what made me pay attention to him in the first place. Because undernea

Apparently, I'm in my bad guy era. So naturally, I thought I'd pick a fight with one of Britain's best-known dog trainers. Excellent. Small independent dog trainer from South Wales takes on Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly. This should end well. Except there's a slight problem. I'd never actually watched the programme. Not until complete strangers started telling me I was doing everything completely wrong. Apparently, I needed to watch Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly. Apparently, the pr

I'd like to make something very clear before we begin. I'm not defending anybody here, Far from it. I'm trying to understand the world we live in. When I don't understand something, I feel a need to learn about it. I've been thinking about masculinity recently. Not in the usual internet sense. Not “men are terrible.” Not “men are under attack.” Something considerably more complicated. It started with a film. More specifically, Hutch Mansell. If you've seen "Nobody", you'll k

Apparently, I'm corrupting your dog with cheese. “You're bribing your dog!” “Yes, Karen, and yours is harassing that lady with the pram.” There. I've said it. Apparently, using food to train a dog is one of the great moral failures of modern dog ownership. Somewhere along the way, giving a dog something they actually value for doing something we've asked them to do became bribery. Apparently, I'm not a dog trainer. I'm a corrupt influence. A canine crime lord. Running some so

Protective. Is your dog really protecting you? “My dog would protect me.” It's something people love to believe. Ask a dog owner whether their dog would protect them and you'll quite often get a very confident: “Absolutely!” I once asked the question on a Labrador group: “Do you think your dog would protect you if you were attacked?” I was expecting a few different answers. Perhaps some people would say yes. Some would say no. Some would say, “He'd probably run away.” What I

Jealous. FOMO. Or just “Oi, what are they getting that I'm not?”

What happens when the dog trainer is struggling too? There is something we don't talk about enough in the dog-training world. We spend an awful lot of time talking about confidence. Confidence in our methods. Confidence in our knowledge. Confidence in our businesses. Confidence when dealing with difficult dogs and difficult situations. And yet, behind the scenes, I suspect that far more of us struggle with self-doubt than we'd ever admit. Everyone struggles sometimes. The tra

Aggression is a behaviour. It isn't a personality. “He's an aggressive dog.” It's probably one of the most frightening labels we can put on a dog. And unlike some of the other words I've looked at in this series, this one deserves a little more caution. Because aggression can be serious. Very serious. We've just seen the case in Wakefield in which a man died after being bitten by a dog, and the dog's owner has now been charged with manslaughter as well as being in charge of a

Or is your dog just trying to get your attention? “He's just attention-seeking.” It's one of those phrases that can make a behaviour sound immediately less important. The dog barks at you. Attention-seeking. Paws at your leg. Attention-seeking. Brings you a toy. Attention-seeking. Jumps on you. Attention-seeking. Stands directly in front of the television while you're watching it. Attention-seeking. Drops a ball on your lap. Definitely attention-seeking. Drops the ball on you

Arousal. The word we use when the dog has apparently forgotten how to dog. “He's too aroused.” It's become one of those phrases you hear everywhere in dog training. The dog is barking. Too aroused. Jumping up. Too aroused. Running around. Too aroused. Playing with another dog. Too aroused. Chasing a ball. Definitely too aroused. Doing absolutely nothing? Probably recovering from being too aroused earlier. And like so many words I'm going to look at in this series, arousal is

Disclaimer: This isn't aimed at any one person. I've just had a rather impressive run of enquiries that have gone absolutely nowhere — including a few where I've carried out visits, written and sent full reports and training plans, provided advice and support… and then somehow ended up with neither a client nor any money. So, before I spontaneously combust into a cloud of unpaid invoices and emotional damage, I thought I'd get it off my chest. No animals were harmed in the ma

Or is your dog just trying to tell you something? Loki being Stubborn “He's so stubborn.” It's one of those phrases that comes out of our mouths almost automatically. The dog won't come back. Stubborn. Won't sit. Stubborn. Won't walk in the direction we want. Definitely stubborn. Refuses to get out of the car. Very stubborn. You ask the dog to do something. The dog looks at you. You ask again. The dog looks at you. You say their name. The dog looks at you. You try again. The

Here's a word that gets thrown about far too much Dominance. One word. Far too many explanations. “He's trying to dominate you.” We've all heard it. The dog pulls on the lead. Dominance. The dog won't get off the sofa. Dominance. The dog growls when you move its food bowl. Dominance. The dog ignores a cue. Dominance. The dog walks through the door first. Definitely dominance. Apparently, if you have a dog who occasionally does something you don't like, there's a reasonable ch

Reactive. It is probably one of the most commonly used words in modern dog training. “My dog is reactive.” “He's a reactive dog.” “She became reactive after being attacked.” “My rescue is really reactive.” We hear it everywhere. But what do we actually mean when we say reactive? And perhaps more importantly, what happens when we stop thinking about the word and start treating it as an identity? Because words matter. Not just because we want to sound clever or use the correct

Dog Training FAQs: Real-World Advice for Dogs and Their People Training a dog can feel overwhelming. Training a rescue dog can sometimes feel like you've accidentally signed up for a degree you didn't know existed. You love your dog. You want to do the right thing. You may have watched the videos, read the books and been given completely conflicting advice by well-meaning people. “Just ignore it.” “Give them a treat.” “Be more consistent.” “Take them for longer walks.” “Get t

I recently came across a statistic claiming that only around 6.5% of dogs attend formal training classes. This surprising statistic raises a question: why do so few dog owners seek professional training for their pets? It’s not because they don’t care. Most owners deeply love their dogs and want the best for them. They celebrate small victories and worry about mistakes. So, the real question is why many feel unable to pursue training help. The Overload of Information Today Tw