Jamie Whitehead - The Speed of Hound Dog Training

02/13/2026

Management can absolutely replace training.

Typical training is performance, management is living. Especially when the training isn’t accessible. And so much of it isn’t.

There is a heavy focus on training behaviours *out* of dogs. Looking for this external validation of a “well behaved dog”. It isn’t actually about focusing on meeting you and your dog’s needs along the way.

Being disabled means I have limited capacity. It does not mean that I shouldn’t get to enjoy having pets. And a massive lesson I learned very quickly is that typical dog training can be incredibly inaccessible to so many people.

Another thing I learned? There are so many things that I am not going to waste my energy on that I would so much rather just manage.

- Penny eats cat poo, so the cat litter is behind a gate

- Penny LOVES visitors, and so to allow people to get inside and keep everyone safe, there’s a gate.

- If we’re outside in the yard, since Penny gets excited when people come in, guess what? There’s a double gate system so that people can get in and safely close the gate behind them and she can’t potentially run out.

- Penny gets excited to see people and she jumps, and while I do worry about her physical safety, I don’t actually care about the behaviour itself. So people can reach down to her level to greet her, or not greet her at all.

Caption continued in comments! 👇

02/11/2026

As a disabled human who has been dealing with the medical system for almost 20 years now, I fully understand the excitement and the hope of coming across that article, or post.

You know, the one that says “just use these phrases at your next appointment to be taken seriously!” And thinking, well this is it. It all makes perfect sense. I’m the problem and I’ve just not been communicating these issues clearly.

And then you practice the magic phrase in the mirror, with friends, with family, anyone who’ll listen. You repeat it to yourself over and over again on the way to the appointment, only to be completely dismissed… again.

Not being able to hold back the tears before you’ve even made it out of the office. And then back to the shame and blame spiral.

“Well maybe I just didn’t say it right.. maybe I should have been more clear..”

But friends, I promise you. There is no magic phrase. You should absolutely be able to walk into a doctor’s or vets office and say “here are my concerns” and be heard.

Doctors are cops. The system is rigged. It’s not your fault. There is no magic phrase, and I’m gonna say this again, it is not your fault.

has a wonderful explanation post about doctors being cops that I highly recommend checking out!

08/31/2025

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Official 2025 Community Voting Awards Platform for Abbotsford, BC. Where the community votes for their favourites every year.

05/28/2025

Just a reminder, I will be out of office for the month of June. But you can still check out my website for more information, blog posts, and even start the process while I’m away!

You can fill out the inquiry form (for both guardians and pet professionals), and even start filming your first video submission so we can hit the ground running in July! 😊

05/01/2025

Hi, I’m Jamie, and I am disabled. I was in a car accident 17 years ago, and just a few years ago I was diagnosed with ADHD.

I have spent the majority of my life learning about the new needs of my body, struggling through the medical world and advocating for myself with no support.

Enter Penny - this tiny little puppy who immediately started showing obscure signs of pain herself. Which came with years of fighting for answers, despite multiple vets telling us she was “too young”.

All of this spurred on a massive passion to be a support system for humans and their dogs who are struggling with the same issues.

Recently, I have been spending a lot of time learning about accommodations and accessibility because I want to make sure that my clients are able to easily access and work their way through my services.

One of the biggest lessons I am learning is that in order to be accessible for others, I need to first be accessible for myself and look at my own internalized ableism. So I am trying something new and my schedule is changing!

In order to try to take care of myself and my needs, and continue to offer accessible services to the best of my ability, my working schedule will now be two months on, one month off. I will be away for the month of June.

You can still get in touch via the contact form on my website, and while you’re there check out my blog post, Dog Guardianship and Disability.

08/20/2024

So you think your dog may be in pain, but aren’t quite sure what next steps to take?

I’m here to help!

Of all my clients, one thing remains consistent - They are all concerned that pain may be a factor for their dogs, and so far? Not one of them has been wrong 😳

If you are interested in a pain assessment for your dog, check out my website for more details!

06/14/2024

Our goal is to prevent, treat and effectively manage behavior problems in companion animals to enhance and strengthen the human-animal bond. If you have any questions about your pet’s behavior please contact us.

06/13/2024

The connection between chronic pain and anxiety - part 4!