Di's Dogs - Retired Dog Walker

05/09/2026

❤️

Emotions above actions. A great reminder from Charter Director and Founder of The IMDT, Steve Mann.

05/09/2026

Reactive dogs need space 👇

05/09/2026

🐾😍

05/09/2026

If you're against using aversive/"balanced" methods for "training", please sign. These methods harm dogs.

Global Ban on Aversive Dog Training Tools and Methods.

03/09/2026

Force/fear free (reward based) or balanced training for your dog?

You decide 👇

You got to love the term “balanced dog training”…
Sounds lovely, doesn't it?
Balanced diet.
Balanced lifestyle.
Balanced dog training.

Then you realise it basically means:
“Yes, we use rewards… but we like to keep those correction handy too"
(you know, like a trachea squashing noose, or a quick electric shock, or maybe some metal spikes to pierce the neck)

Science has spent decades learning more about how dogs learn, including reinforcement, fear, stress and emotional wellbeing.
Yet you still hear:
“I've been training dogs this way for 30 years!”

Imagine your dentist proudly saying:
“Don't worry, I haven't updated my methods since 1996.”
Suddenly 30 years without changing anything doesn't sound quite so impressive.

Then comes the classic:
“BUT IT WORKS!”

So did VHS.
So did dial-up.
So did fax machines.
Four TV channels worked too.

We didn't move on because they didn't work.
We moved on because we found better ways.

But apparently dog training is different.

Technology can evolve.
Medicine can evolve.
Science can evolve.
But the slip lead?
Apparently we've reached the absolute pinnacle of human knowledge there. 😂
Dogs haven't become soft.
We've simply learned more about them.

But if new evidence feels a bit too modern for some of you balanced lot, don't worry…
I'll record it onto VHS, fax over the references and pop the Ceefax page number in the post.

Wouldn't want anyone overwhelmed by progress. 📼📠📺😂🐾

03/09/2026

I have shared similar before but this is so important, particularly if your dog pulls.

*Harnesses do NOT make your dog pull*
That's a myth.

03/09/2026

Me too 🥰🐾

03/09/2026

Love this post. Reactive dogs need understanding. These are our most sensitive dogs struggling to cope in our world. And the majority of them will have some pain or fear going on.
👇👍🐾

No dog needs a heavy hand. Understand them, treat them kindly 🥰🐾

I find there seems to be rather a lot of miss guided assumptions when it comes to reactivity. People assume a reactive dog is an agressive dog.
This is NOT the case, a reactive dog, is a dog that over reacts to an external stimuli (people, animals, noises, other dogs)
It is the EMOTIONAL state when in the presence of the object of their anxiety or frustration.

A dog might overreact by barking, lunging, growling etc for several reasons, it is a communication.
Trying to shut down this communication though fear and pain (lead flicks, choking the dog, startling noises, yelling/shouting, prong or shock collars etc.) may well look as though the dog is "fixed" but the underlying emotion will still be there.
The dog just learns there is no point asking for help, none will come...... just pain, so they shut down

Keeping a dog in close proximity to the stimulus with no chance of escape (say a dog reactive dog in a enclosed area with several other dogs) thinking they will "get used" to other dogs, is a very outdated and dangerous technique called flooding.
This again does NOTHING to help the dog, they will just shut down
(They are ticking time bomb dogs)

Whereas if you actually listen to your dog and work on changing that underlying emotion, you will be surprised how the behaviour automatically changes.

Behaviour modification takes time, dedication and knowledge, each dog is different as to how quickly they can move forward.
It's like us going to a psychiatrist/counsellor for a mental issue, you aren't going to be "fixed" after one session.

You DONT "CORRECT OR TRAIN" a reactive dog, you "HELP" a reactive dog.

There is NEVER a need to use pain or fear when training any animal

02/09/2026

Great take on "It's ok, he's friendly"

People know this. But it doesn't "apply".
Not to their dog.

I'm more and more convinced this is an "I don't care" problem, rather than a lack of knowledge
Because surely, by now, people know.

There's information everywhere about dogs rushing up to other dogs.

About recall.
Giving dog's space
About what can happen when one dog simply won’t leave another alone.

So maybe lack of information isn’t always the problem.

They know that allowing their dog to charge up to a dog on lead isn’t fair.
They know that repeatedly calling a dog who is completely ignoring them, while reassuring everyone around that “they’re friendly!”, isn’t fair.
They know that when another dog is trying to move away and theirs keeps following, chasing or pushing back into their space, the interaction isn’t friendly.

Maybe I've become more hardened in my view on this.
Because I'm really over it.

So why does it keep happening?

Maybe that’s the question we should be asking.

Is it just complacency?

Is it because calling their dog away would interrupt what their dog is enjoying?
Maybe because nothing bad has happened before, so they assume nothing ever will?
Is it because dealing with it in the moment feels inconvenient?

Or is there still a good old dose of:
“My dog is fine. It’s your dog that has the problem.”

I’m becoming less and less convinced this is a knowledge gap.

What do you think is really behind the “they’re friendly” problem?