Should we be looking for ways to train our dogs NOT to do something? Or should we be seeking to understand our dogs and support them to FEEL better? We live in a 'Fix it' society. We want things to be fixed (and fast!) and we want problems to resolved or simply go away. We don't want to feel the discomfort or experience the inconvenience and irritation that challenges present for us. I think this is also true when it comes to our dog’s challenging or ‘problem’ behaviours?

What was the #1 reason you decided to bring a dog into your life? I posed this question to hundreds of fellow dog loves, colleagues, family and friends. Here are some of the responses I received, which I believe reflect the most common reasons we bring dogs into our lives, at least for most of us here: *Companionship & unconditional love. *Their sweet presence and unconditional acceptance. *I was looking for that unbreakable and unspoken bond that dogs offer and that rarely e

Whilst I can think of at least 20 reasons why your dog won’t respond to your request, I am going to ask 5 questions here, which I believe you should be asking yourself instead of presuming that your dog is simply being disobedient. 1. Does your dog even know what ‘Sit’ means? Dogs are contextual learners. That means when they learn a new behaviour, like a sit on command, they take the entire situation as part of the learning context. That would include the dogs position (whi