28/10/2026
100%
I have to say, the resistance to seeing and acknowledging reality will never not be amusing.
Any trainer who’s not soft, emotionally out of balance, and permissive themselves knows precisely what I’m talking about.
Us trainers who deal in reality spend at least as much time, if not more, working to encourage owners to dig deeper and to develop the emotional skills to feel comfortable and believable being more firm and assertive… and less like pushover ninnies.
And while this may sound harsh, I share it not to shame, but to enlighten. Because 99% of behavior issues are the direct result of the owner’s consistent daily presentation, and not a direct result of a lack of complex training protocols and tools.
Dogs who know there are firm, non-negotiable rules, and predictable, consistent, and valuable consequences—strangely almost never develop behavior issues.
I mean, if you really give what I just shared some thought, it should be quite the wake-up call if you’re struggling.
And lastly, we see the same exact pattern with trainers who exhibit the same personality and temperament qualities as the weak owners described above. They mysteriously, and consistently, also have problem dogs… often quite severe, and of course they never manage to totally resolve the issues. They avoid, manage, make excuses, and medicate. And they will recommend the same for you and your dog.
I’ll keep saying this until I’m blue in the face. Dogs with firm, fair, and fun owners, rarely have behavior issues. You can hate this, ignore this, and rationalize this, but reality just keeps doing reality.
TLDR, at the foundation of the current deluge of behavioral issues, it’s an emotional “software” problem, not a fancy training problem.
