Pawsitive Training NL

08/18/2026

Have We Really Reached the Point Where Dogs Don’t Need Exercise?

There seems to be a growing trend in the dog world suggesting that perhaps we’ve got it all wrong about exercise.

That dogs don’t need long walks. That physical exercise is overrated. That enrichment, training, sniffing, scatter feeding and mental stimulation can replace the need to get out there and physically move.

And I think we need to be very careful.

Because in our attempts to become more enlightened about dogs’ emotional and behavioural needs, I worry that we are in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Dogs still need exercise.

As long as I have owned dogs, exercising them has been one of my greatest sources of joy. Walking, hiking, exploring, watching them run, sniff, play and simply be dogs. It has been good for them, good for me and an enormous part of the relationship I have built with every dog I have owned.

And now, as a professional dog trainer and behaviour specialist helping people across the globe with behavioural challenges, one of the most common contributing factors I see is remarkably simple:

The dog isn’t getting enough appropriate physical exercise.

Not because the owner is lazy.

Not because they don’t love their dog.

Not because they’re negligent or a “bad owner.”

Life is busy.

People work long hours. They have children, families and commitments. Winter brings dark mornings and dark evenings. Summer brings extreme heat. Some people live in areas where safe off-lead exercise is difficult. Others have dogs with reactivity, poor recall or other behavioural challenges that make exercising them more complicated.

There are a hundred perfectly understandable reasons why exercise can become difficult.

But an explanation for something doesn’t necessarily change the dog’s need for it.

The Five Es

I talk extensively about what I call the Five Es:

Education.
Enrichment.
Exercise.
Entertainment.
Emotional Stability.

They’re all important.

And notice that exercise has its own category.

Enrichment isn’t exercise.

Education isn’t exercise.

Training isn’t exercise.

Giving your dog a stuffed Kong isn’t exercise.

Sniffing for treats in the garden isn’t the equivalent of being able to stretch their legs and physically move their body.

All of those things have enormous value, but they fulfil different needs.

Sometimes I think we’ve started treating these things as interchangeable when actually they should complement one another.

What Would the Ideal Look Like?

If we were talking about best practice, I would love to see the average healthy dog getting somewhere in the region of an hour to an hour and a half of appropriate physical exercise each day.

Ideally, where appropriate, some of that would involve freedom of movement.

Running.

Trotting.

Exploring.

Sniffing.

Playing.

Moving over different terrain.

Interacting appropriately with other dogs if they enjoy doing so.

Being able to choose where they go, what they investigate and how quickly they move.

In other words, opportunities to move and behave like a dog.

Obviously, that picture has to be adjusted for the individual.

A young Border Collie and an elderly Pug aren’t going to have identical requirements. Breed, age, health, physical condition, temperament and lifestyle all matter. Exercise needs to be appropriate to the dog standing in front of you.

And no, relentlessly throwing a ball for an hour isn’t necessarily healthy exercise either.

Exercise doesn’t simply mean exhausting your dog.

It means giving their body an appropriate outlet for what it was designed to do.

But What If I Can’t Do That?

This is where I think the conversation needs to become practical rather than judgemental.

Because telling somebody, “You should walk your dog for 90 minutes every day,” doesn’t magically give them another 90 minutes.

We have to help people think laterally.

If your lifestyle means you cannot provide the textbook ideal every single day, ask yourself:

How can I tick that box differently?

Perhaps it’s a dog walker.

Perhaps it’s secure field hire.

Perhaps it’s two shorter walks rather than one long one.

Perhaps it’s meeting somebody whose dog yours enjoys and arranging regular walks together.

Perhaps it’s incorporating exercise into training.

Perhaps it’s getting in the car and travelling somewhere once or twice a week where your dog can have more freedom.

There are solutions.

But first we have to acknowledge that the need exists.

Freedom Starts With Training

One of the biggest barriers I see to people adequately exercising their dogs is actually a training problem:

They can’t let the dog off the lead because they don’t have a reliable recall.

And I completely understand why.

If your dog disappears over the horizon, chases livestock, runs towards roads or charges up to unfamiliar dogs, letting them off lead isn’t responsible.

But rather than accepting a lifetime of restriction, make recall training a priority.

Work on:

* Name response games
* Collar grabs
* Restrained recalls
* Conditioning a strong recall cue
* Reinforcing voluntary check-ins
* Teaching your dog that coming back to you doesn’t always mean the fun ends

And while you’re working on it, use a long line appropriately or find secure spaces where your dog can experience greater freedom safely.

A recall isn’t simply a useful obedience exercise.

A good recall can dramatically improve a dog’s quality of life.

Find Safe Spaces

Public spaces aren’t always easy.

You’re at the mercy of other people’s dogs, other people’s decisions and occasionally other people’s lack of control. And however well trained our own dogs are, they’re animals — mistakes can happen.

So find environments where you can safely give your dog opportunities to move.

Secure fields have become enormously popular for good reason. They can be invaluable for reactive dogs, dogs in training and owners who simply want to allow their dog some freedom without constantly looking over their shoulder.

A secure space can transform what exercise looks like for a dog who otherwise spends their entire life attached to a lead.

Exercise Doesn’t Cause Every Behaviour Problem — But Lack of It Doesn’t Help

This distinction matters.

I’m not suggesting that every reactive, anxious, destructive, frustrated or hyperactive dog simply needs “a longer walk.”

Behaviour is far more complicated than that.

But when I’m looking at a behavioural problem, I want to know whether the dog’s fundamental needs are being met before I start trying to modify their behaviour.

Because asking a dog to demonstrate emotional regulation when their physical needs are chronically unmet is stacking the deck against them.

Sometimes the dog doesn’t need another protocol.

Sometimes they don’t need another enrichment toy.

Sometimes they don’t need another training exercise.

Sometimes they need to get out of the house and move.

We Made a Commitment

This might be the uncomfortable part.

When we choose to own a dog, we make a commitment to meeting the needs of another species.

Not just when it’s sunny.

Not just when we have spare time.

Not just when it’s convenient.

That’s part of the reality of dog ownership.

That doesn’t mean beating ourselves up when life occasionally gets in the way. It doesn’t mean that missing a walk makes somebody a terrible owner.

It means recognising the difference between occasionally being unable to meet a need and redefining the need because it has become inconvenient to meet.

Those are two very different things.

And that’s where I think some of the current conversation around exercise is becoming problematic.

Rather than helping owners find realistic ways to meet their dogs’ physical needs, we’re sometimes telling them those needs don’t really exist.

I don’t think that’s progress.

Don’t Replace. Complement.

Give your dog enrichment.

Train them.

Educate them.

Play with them.

Give them opportunities to problem-solve.

Teach them how to settle.

Build emotional stability.

Let them sniff.

Give them choices.

And…

Exercise them.

These things aren’t competing philosophies.

They’re pieces of the same puzzle.

The goal isn’t to create an exhausted dog.

It isn’t to create an overstimulated adrenaline ju**ie who needs three hours of running every day just to function.

The goal is a dog whose physical, emotional and behavioural needs are being appropriately met.

So perhaps instead of asking:

“Does my dog really need exercise?”

We should be asking:

“What does appropriate exercise look like for the dog in front of me — and how can I realistically provide it?”

Because sometimes the answer to improving our dogs’ behaviour isn’t found in another training technique.

Sometimes it’s waiting outside the front door.

Pick up the lead. Get outside. And go enjoy your dog.

08/18/2026

Today I saw a woman walking a dog who was clearly nervous, anxious or reactive.

She was keeping her distance, sitting calmly with her dog and doing everything she could to manage their space.

As we got closer, I could see her body language change.

I recalled the dog I was walking, got him sitting beside me and worked out which way I could go to give her more space.

Then another dog appeared from the other direction.

I could see her worry immediately. She turned around and I could almost feel the stress.

I've been there.

So I called over and asked if she'd find it helpful if I went another way and gave her more space.

She said yes.

So I did.

I also told her she was doing an amazing job and that I walk nervous dogs too, so I completely understood.

And it really highlighted something for me:

People don't always notice.

A dog being on a lead doesn't mean they want to meet your dog.

Someone changing direction isn't being rude.

Sometimes they're advocating for their dog.

Sometimes the kindest thing you can do is simply notice what's happening around you and give someone the space they're clearly asking for.

You don't need to know their story.

Just pay attention.

That little bit of awareness can make a HUGE difference to someone else's walk. 🐾

08/15/2026

🦋 Today, we remember the dogs we never stop loving. 🐾💜

Today, at ElderDog Land in Nova Scotia, ElderDog Canada is marking its 14th Annual Butterfly Release. Sponsored by Friends of ElderDog, this beautiful tradition is dedicated to remembering and honouring beloved canine companions who have passed.

At ElderDog, we know the bond we share with our dogs doesn’t end when we say goodbye. They become part of our lives, our stories, and our hearts forever. ❤️

As butterflies take flight today, they symbolize the precious time we are given with our dogs and offer a meaningful moment to pause, remember, and celebrate the love and companionship they brought into our lives. 🦋

Although the Butterfly Release takes place in Nova Scotia, its message reaches across the entire ElderDog community. Today, we hold close the memories of all the wonderful dogs who have touched our lives — those we have loved, those ElderDog has supported, and those who will always be missed.

Forever loved. Forever remembered. 🐾💜

08/13/2026

Congrats to all the dogs who have just completed our reactive class!
Message us for more details on this class and don’t miss out as it only runs during summer and early fall

08/13/2026

Puppy FUNdimentals with Jenna and Carrie
Introduced some funky new props exploring that leaning can be fun
Worked stay, leave it and so much more
Message us for more details on our classes!

08/13/2026

Focus and manners class with Jenna and Carrie
Had some fun new props working on foot targets and learning to love muzzles!
Worked on loose leash walking, stay, leave it and much more!
Message us for more details on our classes

08/11/2026

08/07/2026

Reclaiming the Word Balanced

I want to reclaim the word balanced.

There. I said it.

And before anybody starts reaching for their keyboard, I don’t mean “balanced” as in a bit of chicken in one hand and something unpleasant in the other.

I’m talking about reclaiming balance in how we raise dogs.

Because somewhere along the way, I think we’ve lost the plot a little bit.

We seem to have created two opposing camps.

At one end, there’s:

“Put this on your dog.”
“Correct that.”
“Press this button.”
“Don’t let them get away with it.”

And at the other:

“Don’t expose them to anything.”
“Close the blinds.”
“Don’t walk them.”
“Scatter some food.”
“Let them decompress.”
“Give them another lick mat.”

And somewhere in the middle of all this noise, I sometimes wonder whether we’ve forgotten something fairly fundamental:

How to actually raise a dog.

The things experienced dog owners don’t see as problems

I was working with someone recently, and it got me thinking.

I could see several tiny behaviours beginning to emerge in their dog. Nothing catastrophic. Nothing worthy of a Netflix documentary.

Just little flickers.

And it made me think about the dogs I’ve raised myself.

I’ve owned around 30 dogs during my lifetime and currently live with 15 of my own. That’s a lot of dogs. A lot of adolescence. A lot of hormones. A lot of inappropriate decisions.

And probably a lot of chewed things I’d rather forget about.

My dogs aren’t robots.

They’ve done stupid things. They’ve tested boundaries. They’ve had disagreements. They’ve developed inappropriate interests. They’ve occasionally made decisions that have made me think:

“Well, that was bloody stupid.”

They’re dogs.

But perhaps one of the biggest things experience gives you is the ability to recognise the flicker before it becomes a fire.

You see something and think:

“Ah. I know where this could go.”

And you deal with it.

Not six months later when it’s become an established behaviour.

Now.

Normal doesn’t mean leave it alone

Take a Border Collie chasing flies.

Border Collies are genetically predisposed to notice movement. We’ve selectively bred them for generations to be extraordinarily sensitive to it.

So a young Border Collie becoming fascinated by a fly isn’t exactly breaking news.

Initially, it can look quite funny.

Fly moves.

Dog stalks fly.

Dog chases fly.

Everyone laughs.

Except the dog is potentially getting something incredibly valuable from that interaction.

Movement triggers behaviour. Behaviour produces gratification. The dog gets its little dopamine hit.

“Oooooh. That was good.”

So it does it again.

And again.

And again.

Eventually, something that began as a relatively innocuous expression of genetics can become highly rehearsed and self-reinforcing.

Now try stopping it.

Suddenly you’re removing access to something the dog REALLY enjoys.

And that’s where frustration, conflict and even redirected behaviour can appear.

The behaviour wasn’t necessarily abnormal to begin with.

But normal doesn’t automatically mean desirable.

And understanding the difference is incredibly important.

Dogs resource guard. Humans do too.

Resource guarding is another example.

Put several dogs together and occasionally they’re going to disagree about stuff.

Food.

Toys.

Beds.

People.

Space.

That’s mine.

Move.

I had that first.

You have children? Congratulations. You’ve probably witnessed resource guarding too.

“THAT’S MINE!”

“HE’S GOT MY THING!”

“SHE CAME IN MY ROOM!”

“MUUUUUUUM!”

We don’t immediately diagnose the children with a behavioural disorder.

We educate them.

Sometimes you share.

Sometimes you don’t have to share.

That’s yours.

That’s theirs.

Don’t take things from each other.

Give it back.

Stop winding your sister up.

Basic social education.

Yet when dogs display perfectly understandable social behaviours, we can sometimes catastrophise them.

Of course resource guarding can become serious. Of course it needs appropriate management and intervention.

But the first tiny grumble over a toy doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve got Cujo living in the kitchen.

It means you need to pay attention.

And then adolescence arrives…

Oh joy.

The teenage years.

Your delightful puppy suddenly discovers hormones, independence and opinions.

Anyone who has raised a teenager knows roughly how this goes.

They test boundaries.

They make questionable choices.

They hang around with individuals you’d rather they didn’t.

They stay out later than you’d like.

They discover things you wish they hadn’t.

And eventually they bring home a boyfriend or girlfriend you can’t stand.

Welcome to adolescence.

We understand that humans need guidance through this period.

We don’t expect to tell a 14-year-old something once and have them respond:

“Thank you for your guidance. I completely understand your perspective and shall modify my future behaviour accordingly.”

If you have one of those, congratulations.

Perhaps have them cloned.

Yet with dogs, people become incredibly disheartened when they’ve redirected something three times and the dog does it again.

Of course it did.

Training takes repetition. Education takes repetition. Growing up takes repetition.

Some dogs are easy.

Some are tenacious little sods.

I’ve owned both.

Positive does NOT mean permissive

This has been one of my mantras for years:

Positive is not permissive.

Removing aversive tools from my toolbox doesn’t mean removing boundaries.

I don’t need to hurt a dog to tell it I don’t want it doing something.

I don’t need to frighten it.

I don’t need to intimidate it.

I don’t need to string it up, hit it, shock it or cause it pain.

But equally, I don’t have to stand there throwing cocktail sausages at it while it dismantles my sofa.

There is another option.

Education.

My dog starts chewing the sofa.

I interrupt.

“Nope. Not that.”

Here’s a bone.

Chew this instead.

Dog goes back to the sofa.

I interrupt again.

Here’s your bone.

Dog goes back again.

Okay. Clearly you’re currently more committed to interior design than I anticipated.

So perhaps I’ll put you on a lead for a while. I’ll prevent access to the sofa. I’ll make the appropriate option easier and more reinforcing.

And tomorrow we’ll practise again.

No drama.

No rage.

No battle.

No need for a medieval torture device.

But equally, I’m not letting you eat my bloody sofa.

That’s a boundary.

And I’m perfectly entitled to have one.

Sometimes the consequence is simply: that doesn’t work

This is something I think we’ve lost sight of.

Not every consequence needs to be painful or frightening.

Sometimes the consequence of an inappropriate behaviour is simply:

That avenue doesn’t work.

You try chewing the sofa.

I interrupt you.

You try again.

I interrupt you again.

You try for the 48th time.

Guess what?

I’m still here.

And I will calmly interrupt you for the 49th.

Eventually, the dog learns:

“This isn’t particularly productive.”

Meanwhile, I’ve provided appropriate outlets and reinforced the behaviours I do want.

That’s training.

That’s education.

That’s persistence.

And persistence is massively underrated.

Reinforcement isn’t pacification

I LOVE reinforcement.

My entire training philosophy is built around understanding reinforcement and using it intelligently.

But there’s a difference between reinforcing behaviour and pacifying a dog with food.

Food isn’t magic dust.

And indiscriminately feeding a dog isn’t necessarily training.

What behaviour am I reinforcing?

Why?

What is the dog learning?

What happens when the food isn’t available?

What skills am I actually developing?

Those questions matter.

Somewhere along the line, we’ve occasionally started behaving as though the alternative to punishment is simply feeding continuously.

It isn’t.

Just as taking treats out of your pocket doesn’t automatically make you a dog trainer, putting them into your pocket doesn’t make you permissive.

Reinforcement should have purpose.

The pendulum has swung

Dog training desperately needed to change.

We’ve learned more.

We’ve questioned methods that caused pain, fear and intimidation.

We’ve become better at recognising emotion.

We’ve learned about genetics, arousal, stress, reinforcement, environment and choice.

That is progress.

I have absolutely no desire to go backwards.

But progress shouldn’t prevent us from asking whether we’ve occasionally swung the pendulum too far.

Because the answer to:

“Correct everything.”

cannot simply become:

“Never tell a dog it can’t do anything.”

The answer to:

“Make the dog comply.”

isn’t:

“Remove every expectation.”

And the answer to inappropriate behaviour isn’t always:

“Scatter some chicken.”

Sometimes a dog needs us to say:

No. We’re not doing that. But let me show you what you CAN do instead.

Kindly.

Clearly.

Consistently.

That’s the balance I want back

So yes.

I’m reclaiming the word balanced.

Not balanced tools.

Not half reinforcement and half punishment.

Not chicken in one pocket and an aversive in the other.

I’m talking about a balanced perspective on raising dogs.

Love AND boundaries.

Freedom AND responsibility.

Reinforcement AND expectations.

Compassion AND clarity.

Understanding genetics without using genetics as an excuse.

Accepting normal behaviour without allowing every normal behaviour to flourish unchecked.

Managing when necessary without making avoidance a permanent way of life.

Allowing dogs to make choices while recognising that sometimes the answer to their choice is:

“No. Pick another one.”

I want dogs that are confident.

Social.

Resilient.

Happy.

Optimistic.

Amenable.

Able to cope with frustration.

Able to exist in the real world.

Able to hear “not that” without falling apart.

And able to make good choices because they’ve actually been taught how to make them.

I’ve raised enough dogs to know that none of that requires violence.

But it doesn’t require permissiveness either.

There is an enormous amount of space between those two extremes.

And perhaps it’s time we occupied it again.

Because kindness doesn’t mean weakness.

Boundaries don’t require brutality.

Reinforcement doesn’t mean bribery.

Management doesn’t mean avoidance.

And positive…doesn’t mean permissive.

That’s the kind of balanced dog training I’m more than happy to put my name to.

08/06/2026

Each August on the third Saturday of the month, Friends of ElderDog holds an annual Butterfly Release to honour the dogs that have passed away. This day of tribute at ElderDogLand has been a tradition since 2012 and holds a special place in many people’s hearts as a safe place to openly grieve the...