Speak Dog

30/10/2025

Why Your Dog Doesn’t Get On With Every Dog, And Why That’s Perfectly Normal

It can be confusing when your dog gets along beautifully with some dogs but seems uncomfortable, or even reactive, around others.

Many people assume that dogs should “get on” with every dog they meet. After all, they’re social animals, right? But just like us, dogs have their own personalities, preferences, and comfort zones.

The Myth: Dogs Should Like Every Dog

There’s a common misconception that all dogs should be friends. But think about it, as people, we don’t naturally click with everyone we meet.

We all have different temperaments, interests, and energies that affect how we connect with others. Some people make us feel relaxed and happy, while others might make us feel tense or uneasy.

Dogs are exactly the same. They read subtle cues in body language, tone, and scent that tell them whether another dog feels safe or threatening. When we expect them to “just get along” with every dog they meet, we’re asking them to ignore their instincts, and that can lead to stress or even conflict.

The Importance of Dog Friendships

Having trusted friends brings comfort, joy, and confidence, for both people and dogs. A dog’s close friendships, built through positive experiences and trust, can:

Boost confidence and reduce anxiety

Improve social skills

Provide healthy play and exercise outlets

Support emotional wellbeing

Just like a person might have a small circle of close friends rather than a huge social network, many dogs thrive with one or two canine companions they truly trust.

Supporting Trusted Relationships

As loving dog owners, it’s our job to notice who our dogs enjoy being around, and to respect their boundaries when they don’t. Encourage playdates or walks with dogs your pup feels comfortable with. Let those friendships develop naturally over time through calm, positive interactions.

If there are certain encounters that make your dog uneasy or reactive, it’s okay to avoid them for now. Forcing interactions rarely helps and can damage your dog’s confidence.

Instead, work with a trusted, professional such as a force-free behaviourist who can guide you in understanding your dog’s social needs.

Your dog doesn’t need to love every dog they meet,that’s completely normal. What matters most is that they are trusted friends who make them feel safe and happy.

By supporting those relationships and protecting your dog from stressful encounters, you’ll be nurturing a more confident, content, and emotionally comfortable companion.

29/10/2025

Humping in dogs can be a concern for dog guardians and some dog businesses, but it’s not always about sex. Discover some of the reasons for this behaviour in our latest blog: https://wix.to/kjfcuI6

Humping, or mounting, is one of those dog behaviours that tends to grab attention, and often, concern. The first assumption many people make is that it’s sexually motivated, especially when the dog doing it is male. But this interpretation quickly becomes confusing when female dogs display the sam...

28/10/2025

This is a fantastic article by Suzanne Gould at Edinburgh Holistic Dogs.Its so relevant and helpful for dog guardians to understand why Behaviourist NEED this information and can push back when the clues lead to pain either being the cause or an influencing factor.

Pain and Behaviour: When your dog starts showing a new unwanted behaviour you go to the Vet to rule out a physical cause such as pain or illness.

28/10/2025

Trying to train a dog who’s acting out of emotion is like building a tall structure on weak foundations.

Before a dog can learn, they need to feel safe, calm, understood and healthy, rested.

If their emotions are all over the place, fear, frustration, anxiety, excitability etc, the brain isn’t ready to absorb and retain new information other than that they feel threatens thier immediate goals.

Learning can then often become another layer of pressure instead of something engaging and rewarding.

So before you start asking your dog to learn a new English word or connect it with an action, focus on emotional stability first.

A reputable professional will learn about you and your dog and together meet the dogs needs, investigate, help them regulate, and create a sense of safety, trust and open up conversations between caregivers and canines.

Because a supported dog is a learning dog, and that’s the true foundation of effective training. 🐾

26/10/2025

Honesty Is Responsible

As a guardian, caregiver, and professional, I’m not here to tell you my dogs are perfect, quite the opposite, they all have various likes and dislikes.

Some cope better in certain sitiatuions than others.

I’m here to say that if your dog struggles, being honest is the best thing you can be.

When something hurts, a thorn in a paw etc my dog Denzel will growl at me if I try to look.

He does the same with the vet. I don’t hide that, I tell them and discuss stratagies that minimise his worries.

I’m working on it, but I don’t make excuses. Honesty keeps people and dogs safe, and it also advocates for my dog.

If a dog might snap, i say so. " Sorry but they prefer space and might snap, can we get some space please.

I’ve told vets to take a break when I see my dog getting stressed. I’ve told class instructors we wouldn’t participate because my dog would panic. That’s not failure, that’s responsibility.

If I know my dog, I will speak up. Your judgment means nothing compared to my duty to protect and advocate for my dog.

Being honest about your dog isn’t shameful, it’s being responsible and can be a game changer for all involved 💛

25/10/2025

Trends and Tragedies

I keep seeing videos with thousands of likes and smiling emojis that think it’s “cute” or “funny” to scare or manipulate dogs for reactions.

Let me be clear: if you have to do things like bark in a dog’s face, startle them or blow a dog hairdryer in thier face just to get a laugh and likes, you are not funny to those who actually care about animals.

Those reactions aren’t harmless entertainment. They frighten dogs, break the bond between pet and person, and increase the chance the dog will react defensively.

In some cases that can create long-term anxiety or even lead to biting.

If being a harmful trend and getting likes from others who dont know better, is more important to you than being a responsible caregiver or professional, you should really reevaluate your perspective.

Beautiful picture credited to
DREAMLAND GALLERY | Tattoo | Artwork ( On Insta)

25/10/2025

Why are they “fine”?
(and why that’s confusing)

A lot of people get confused when their dog barks, lunges, or freezes at a single dog or person, yet seems casually “fine” in a busy park or on a crowded street.

That mismatch isn’t accurate. It comes from misunderstanding what “fine” actually looks like for a stressed dog.

Think of it like this: when you’re threatened by one person you might feel able to fight back, but facing a big crowd can make you shut down and stop reacting because it’s overwhelming. Dogs do the same. In busy environments some dogs go quiet or withdraw because they’re too overwhelmed, worried, or overloaded to express themselves. Quiet doesn’t always equal calm or coping..

Why that’s a problem
• Being quiet while overwhelmed doesn’t mean the stress goes away, it often embeds. Repeated exposure without help can ingrain fear or anxiety.
• That buried stress can make one-on-one encounters more explosive later: tolerance drops and a single triggering meetings can trigger a big reaction.
• Owners see the dog “behaving” in a crowd and assume everything’s fine, which delays help.

What to do next (short & practical)

Avoid forcing exposure. Management and avoidance are not “giving up”, they prevent training from backfiring and can stop stress from getting worse.

Get professional help.

Seek a force-free Behaviourist who can help you and your dog advance through thorough investigations and a carefully designed and supported step-by-step plan.

A good professional aims at listening and reducing the stress. Avoid people using outdated methods who talk of being pack leader and alpha or who use equipments such as prong collars, slip leads, shock collars etc.

A GOOD PROFESSIONAL REDUCES STRESS NOT JUST MAKES A DOG BEHAVE OR GO QUIET!!

Educate Yourself. Learn subtle dog communication signals. The sooner you spot the quiet stress, the sooner you can intervene with calm management and appropriate training.

Bottom line: if your dog appears quiet in a crowd but has a big reaction to a single dog or person, the likelihood is they are really not " fine".

23/10/2025

Just saying.....this might be factually correct 🤣

19/10/2025

There is nothing more rewarding than hearing dog guardians say " well before these sessions"

Those words are like verbal gold to my ears, why, because it means someone has evolved, learnt something new, the session has done what it i hoped it would

We had lots of amazing dogs guardians join this regularly run online session today, itbwas a pleasure to meet everyone.

Thank you to the wonderful people who attended today and chose to LEARN TO LISTEN 🎶

19/10/2025

I came across a post in a public group today that really boggled my mind.

It was a vague question, no real context, no background, and yet ten people had already jumped in with advice. Not one had asked for more information.

It reminded me of how often I see this happen with posts about dogs. Someone shares a concern, often about a serious behavioural issue, and before you know it, the comments fill up with random advice.

I get that it often comes from a good place, people genuinely wanting to help. But sometimes, it’s less about helping and more about the urge to say something.

The problem is, this “hit and run” advice can have real consequences. It’s not like someone recommending a movie, you watch it, think it’s rubbish, and turn it off.

We’re talking about lives here. Dogs who are often already struggling, which is why their humans turn to social media for help in the first place.

What if the advice someone gives, without knowing the dog’s history, triggers, or environment, leads to a bite, and ultimately euthanasia?

Sadly, it happens more than people realise. Advice given with no context, followed by someone desperate to fix a problem, can end in tragedy.

And who ultimately suffers?
The dog.

If your dog needs help with an element of theor behaviour, please speak to the right reputable professional.

If you see a post on social media asking for quick fixes or magic wand bits of advice, the best advice most people can normally give is to speak to a reputable professional.

If you truly want to help dogs, then we need to ensure they get ethical and reputable suppprt.

18/10/2025

Uncomfortable Truths 🐾

Many people hold deep seated beliefs about how dogs think and feel.

For decades outdated and incorrect beliefs still do the rounds. Humans still putting dogs through daily routines, experiences and " Training" all with a misguided confidence in outdated "knowledge"

But when you start to truly learn, when you invest time into understanding behaviour, and the emotional lives of dogs, things can start to feel… uncomfortable.

You might realise that much of what you believed, or were taught, doesn’t actually line up with what we now know. Reflection, acceptence and acknowledgement can be very uncomfortable indeed.

And that’s okay.
In fact, it’s more than okay.

Growth often feels uncomfortable.

It leaves you open, exposed, but it also shows you are willing to question, and ready to do better.

I’d rather see someone learn, reflect, and evolve than keep repeating outdated, misunderstood ideas just because they’re familiar.

Strive to be someone who’s not afraid to grow. ❤️

18/10/2025

I want to thank Facebook.

When you hate being on camera and Facebook ALWAYS freeze frames you at the worst momemts 🤣