Embrace Dogs - with Heather Medway

02/06/2026

What makes your dog walks stressful?

Dealing with other dogs? Squirrels? Pulling on the lead? Feeling like your dog has completely forgotten you exist?

Whatever it is, it usually comes down to this:

Your dog is telling you something in the environment is REALLY important to them.

And when something feels that important, emotions rise.

Thinking goes down. Habits take over. Listening to you drops way down the priority list.

So what do we do?

👇 One of the recipes I often use:

• Temporarily avoid the thing your dog finds important
• Build up importance for engaging with you (or another behaviour)
• Gradually reintroduce the old “important thing” while practising engaging or re-engaging with you or the new behaviour

There’s a bit of an art to it, and every dog is different.

But when broken down into a dog-led, and simple step-by-step process, it can completely change walks.

And honestly, there are few better feelings than your dog choosing to turn to you (or expert level: do nothing) instead of launching into chaos!

So, what’s your biggest stress on dog walks? Let me know below or send me a message.

01/06/2026

Batman (the dog) does not agree that this is a 3-4 seater sofa.

Here he is demonstrating it clearly only fits 1. 2 max.

19/05/2026

This food is 50% of what I feed my own dogs.

Good food is essential for good health. And good health massively supports good behaviour.

All dogs are different, but generally speaking, the less processed the better.

If you're looking to try out fresh cooked dog food, use my refferal link to save 40% on your 1st box + 20% off box 2nd and 3rd http://rwrd.io/9zdiumb?s

19/05/2026

Your dog's behaviour might be affected by something you've never even thought about...

Your floors!

Here's why 👇

Behaviour isn't just something they do in the moment. It's also influenced by how they feel overall.

In general, when dogs feel healthy, safe and relaxed, their behaviour tends to be more settled too.

One of the biggest things influencing how a dog feels day-to-day is their environment at home.

Many dogs struggle to move confidently on hard, slippery flooring because they can't get good traction on it.

Watch closely and you might notice:
- paws sliding slightly (or a lot) when sitting, or moving, especially around corners
- hesitation before moving
- seeking out rugs or carpet

Slippery flooring can increase the risk of slips, strain and muscle tension from the extra effort needed to stay stable. Over time, that effort can become tiring. Even more so for dogs who are already older, anxious, physically disadvantages or lacking confidence.

And when a dog is physically uncomfortable, tense or even simply fatigued from the extra effort it takes to move on these surfaces, that can influence mood and wellbeing and therefore behaviour too.

It's all connected.

I'm not saying it's time to carpet your whole house, but a few well-placed rugs or runners can make a huge difference. Even just creating stable pathways through the main areas your dog uses most can help them feel more comfortable moving around their home.

Have you spotted how your dog's behaviour changes on different surfaces? Let me know!

18/05/2026

Working on a client plan today, primarily for reactivity towards other dogs.

I'm currently studying a level 6 clinical dog behaviour course and it's really helped me level up the amount of clarity around creating and working through behaviour plans, both for my benefit and my clients, improving both the process and hopefully the results too.

I like to create an overall plan first so I know where we're heading, and then zoom in on the nitty-gritty details of each step after.

Sometimes, when you're in the trenches or only at the early stages of working on a problem, it can be really hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Having a plan makes all the difference.

13/05/2026

I always used to think of myself as a dog person, not a people person.

Honestly, little me was probably quite cynical and anti-people.

Dogs felt easier.

They were honest in how they felt. Consistent. Safe. Uncomplicated.

Growing up, I found connecting with people difficult, my relationships with dogs always made sense to me.

So when little, cynical me decided to become a dog trainer and behaviourist, I thought my future would involve working directly with lovely misunderstood dogs.

I wasn’t really thinking about the humans who would be the ones actually hiring me.

But once I saw the error in my thinking, I realised I needed to put as much work into caring about and understanding people as I do dogs.

Now I view people in much the same way I view dogs. (No offence intended, coming from me thats a very good thing)

With curiosity.
With compassion.
With a desire to understand rather than judge.

Honestly, that’s one of the greatest gifts dogs have ever given me.

Read more about this journey I've taken in my latest blog post. Link in the comments 👇

08/05/2026

I'm supposed to be writing up client notes.

But I have been chosen. So work is respectfully postponed by a dog who has kindly reminded me that breaks are essential.

06/05/2026

While mistakes happen, it’s just a regular occurrence now that, another dog will run over regardless of lead on, change of direction, communication.

Until you are the one with the nervous, vulnerable, reactive, recovering dog, it’s hard to understand the repercussions of this. But it can make walks unpleasant, the anticipation of what could happen, anxiety inducing.

We deserve our peaceful walks back, our dogs deserve to stay on track with training. We should live in a world where dogs are under control.

22/04/2026

2 years later, I'm happy to update that I'm no longer concerned with what people think of me when I'm out with dogs.

Since writing this post, I also adopted a dog and human reactive rescue, and my anxiety around what people must think when he got overwhelmed and would bark and lunge was huge for me in the beginning.

I know this is a big hurdle for many of you too.

But with determination to be the best person for my dogs and those I work with, I found ways to overcome these blocks so they no longer hold me back.

If you're open to it, I believe our struggle with our dogs give us opportunities to become better people as a whole, not just as dog owners.

This is probably my favourite part about working with other people on their journey with their dogs.

Waiting is a big part of all my dog walks, whether it’s my dog or a clients. Just hanging around, while they get ALL of the information from a sniff spot, or sniffing the air or observing something.

But I was thinking today how uncomfortable I can get if I’m just stood around waiting when there are other people around.

Not so much when my dog is sniffing as thankfully awareness of the importance of sniffing for dogs has grown.

However, there are many other reasons dogs like to stop on walks and I like to honour them as much as I can. On today's walk alone, my dog stopped because…

She was air scenting

She was taking time to decide which direction she wanted to go

She wanted to watch the person walking on the opposite side of the road

There was another dog walking towards us and she needed time to decide how she was wanted to handle the situation

All of these are perfectly valid reasons to stop. But I’ve found that just waiting around makes me feel a bit embarrassed. I assume that onlookers must think how silly I look, just standing around.

While I know I’m giving my dog time to do what she needs to do, I suspect to others that it just looks like my dog is also just standing around doing nothing. How odd that must look.

Sometimes I let my self-consciousness get the better of me, and encourage my dog to move along before she’s ready.

I know all of these beliefs I have on what others must be thinking are just my own thoughts and not fact, but I figure that if I feel this way, there’s probably others that do too.

Time to stop on walks is super important for our dogs. We live fast paced lives and we tend to sweep our dogs up in our rush to keep moving forward. But I suspect that losing the ability to stop, take in information, and take a moment to decide what they want to do with it, could be the source of many behavioural struggles for many dogs.

I encourage you to watch your dog on your next walk when they stop, and stop with them. If you haven’t paid close attention before, it may have looked like they stopped for no reason, but there’s always a reason. Consider what information they might be absorbing and allow them time to do it.

It probably wasn’t all that long ago that it was less common to see people patiently waiting for their dogs to finish sniffing on walks, but now it’s encouraged and normalised.

So I’ve decided that instead of worrying about how strange I look when I’m pausing on a dog walk, instead I will think about how I'm advocating to others that it's ok to just stop and wait with your dog, and play my part in normalising it.

Please join me in doing the same. We’ll be leading the way forward by standing still.

14/04/2026

As a dog trainer and behaviourist, I often feel a lot of pressure to have the answers.

You come to me when you're feeling stuck or frustrated with real problems impacting your day to day with your dog and I'm brought in to have the solutions. And I care deeply about finding them. It’s an all-consuming part of my work.

But in reality, I dont always have all the answers straight away.

All dogs have different blend of experiences, genetics, lifestyles, homes, and relationships. That creates unique situations which need individual solutions.

No matter how much I learn, I've never read the manual for 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 dog.

At the recent Emotional Wellbeing in Animals Conference, there was a quote that stayed with me:

"To be uncertain is to be uncomfortable, but to be certain is ridiculous."

It served as a valuable reminder that my role isn’t to arrive with all the answers.

It’s to listen. To observe. To stay curious about what your dog is communicating.

When we accept that we don’t know everything, we give ourselves space to be open to hear what the dog is really saying.

And from there, we can start to find a way forward.

If you need help finding your way forward, send me a message.