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ABC Dogs NZ. All Behaviour is Communication. Sharing insights on reactivity, body language, and relationship-based learning. Based in New Zealand.
(13)

01/11/2026

We all have that one friend 😂
You say "be a little more creative" and they take it as an Everest challenge.

But this is actually why I love hoop work - you don't need a new trick, you just need to make the old trick look a little different.

Same hoop, four new games:

Hide with it
Around a corner, behind a chair - so they find you and the hoop is the bonus surprise.

Change the height
On the ground to step over, low and angled to crawl under, a little higher for those extra spicy days.

Change the room
Kitchen hoop and garden hoop can be two totally different puzzles to a dog.

Change you
Do it sitting down, facing away, whispering the cue. Same hoop, brand new twist.

Dogs rarely get bored of the game itself. They get bored of it always being identical.
One tiny tweak and it goes from "this again" to "oh, so like this now?!"

31/10/2026

It just doesn't make sense.
You have perfect timing.
The best rewards money can buy.
You're following the plan to the letter.
And still getting nowhere.

If your dog is over threshold the second you step out the gate, the answer isn't better rewards. It's a different gate. A different time. A different place to walk entirely.

And what about the dog who spends all morning scanning and barking like a banshee at the fence, barking at the window, on edge and reacting to every sound outside?

He's rehearsing that behaviour for hours. Every single day.
Then we expect 20 minutes of perfect training to just "click."
It just doesn't add up.

Then there's your dog themself.
How much sleep do they actually get?
Day in and day out.
Is it truly good quality sleep? Or barely a 2-minute cat nap and they're up again investigating that noise. Patrolling inside, then outside, then repeat, all day long?
Some dogs are so "wired" that one or two good sleeps won't even touch the surface.

How stressed were they BEFORE the walk even started?
That's the change we need to focus on more.

And the big one we don't ask enough: could they be uncomfortable?
Discomfort changes everything. If you notice that odd foot lift, that stiffness, or panting when they shouldn't be panting, that's a veterinary check first. Training can't fix an underlying physical issue.

And when they've had a really rough encounter - do they get time to decompress? Or are we dragging them straight back out there to "do better" all over again?

These sound harsh when I'm writing them.
They're not intended to.
They're said to help, but I know these helpful solutions are often seen as criticism.

Here's another helpful but uncomfortable one.
We push them far too much, far too soon. In our rush to get them "used to it," we keep putting them in situations they're clearly telling us they can't handle.

And sometimes we're so focused on stopping the barking and lunging, we miss the tiniest wins right in front of us.

And the hardest truth of all?
We are the ones who have to change.
Our routines. Our routes. And our habits.

You can have the best plan in the world. And yep, the tastiest food packed into your pocket.
But if you're spending 20 minutes helping your dog, and the other 23 hours and 40 minutes are just "untouched" by us?
Letting them bounce around for 10 hours straight.
In a state of high alert watching out the window.
Watching the fence running which we insist is "their fun" for the day.
That all matters.

And I know you want those walks to change.
You've been doing brilliantly looking at how to help them in those 20 minutes.
Now though?
It may be time to zoom out a bit more.
A few more changes here and there may just be what's needed.

Ease the pressure across their whole day. Give them more opportunities to genuinely rest, recover and feel safe. And give the training you're already doing a better chance to work.

30/10/2026

The "aha" moment will be there.
Once you see it, you really can't unsee it.

Tricky thing is, sometimes we actually don't want them to show us.

A shredder might aim all that energy and enjoyment onto a couch cushion.
A mover? Maybe a bit of parkour in your lounge.
And a chewer might just decide the wooden chair leg has the perfect mix of hard and soft they want.

Then you've got your sniffers.
One lamppost, 15 minutes of snuffling and sniffing. That's their happy place.

Your solvers? Has to figure it out. Just has to. And they won't be satisfied until they do, thank you very much.

The movers?
A run, jump, flirt pole, frisbee or zoom around is what they love.

And then your observers. Everyone thinks they're doing nothing. But they're quietly just watching the world go by and taking it all in.

Most dogs are a mix. But they tend to have a favourite.

We spend so much time trying to make a shredder love a puzzle, or a mover love a snuffle mat.
What if we just let a shredder shred?

What lights your dog up?
How can you replicate it and turn it into an activity we can provide?

Your dog already knows what he loves. We're just a bit slow to catch up sometimes.

29/10/2026

Noticed that weird thing with walks?

That pulling? It's never as bad on the way back.

Even if it's a short one.

So to save your shoulders from that "Arnie" workout your dog insists on- I put this together.

It's not all the ways to help. But it's a start. A really good one.

That circuit around the chairs and table?
I know. Sounds like it can't possibly help.

Try it anyway. Give it a go.

If you're developing muscles where muscles really shouldn't be.
Or your elbow is now where your wrist should be.

This is for you.

28/10/2026

You've spent $300 getting everything ready for your new dog.

But they'd probably prefer the old, hair-covered bed they arrived with.

Welcome to dog ownership!

We've bought the bowls, the toys, the bed, the harness and probably a few things we didn't need.

We've thought of everything.
Or have we?

Because that plush new bed is right beside the television.
The food bowls are in the busiest part of the kitchen, right where the cat eats too.
And the lovely new toys are scattered around a house the dog hasn't even figured out yet.

We can get so caught up in WHAT a new dog needs that we forget something just as important.

WHERE those things are.

And then there's the stuff we may not actually think we need, but need in buckets.
Like patience when a previously toilet trained dog suddenly starts having accidents.
Or a little extra supervision when our new arrival turns out to be a rather talented escape artist!

It's not just about getting the house ready for a dog.
And I know it can feel just as exciting as it does overwhelming.
Deep breath.
It's going to be amazing!

27/10/2026

Some dogs are tethered to a kennel.
Others are tethered to our expectations.
And that tether is much harder to see.

They live inside our homes now.
They sleep on orthopaedic beds.
A few toys to play with. A wardrobe full of coats.
They are loved. Oh, how they are loved.

But a loved life is not always a lived life.

We shrink their world for convenience.
We want a dog that fits into our life,
not a life that stretches to fit a dog.

So before they even arrive, the plan is made.
They will be calm when people come over.
They will be fine with 10 minutes around the same block.
They won't complain when we skip it.
Five minutes of fetch while dinner cooks.
And they will be my loyal companion.

But what if who they are doesn't fit the plan?
What if they were bred to run for miles and we give them a block?
What if they were bred to use their nose, and we never give them anything worth sniffing?

So the cracks show.
The chewed rug.
The paint scratched off the wall.
Whining at the door.
Jumping all over guests because it's the most excitement they've had in 8 days.

And we call it misbehaviour.

So we train them harder.
Not to understand them better-
but to make them fit neatly again.
Calmer.
Quieter.
They need to accept this is the life we decided they should have.

After all, dogs are meant to be loyal companions.
We never stop to ask if we are being a loyal companion to them.

We look at photos of dogs chained to kennels and feel angry.
We all agree, that's no life for a dog.
We give ours a bed instead of a rag on the ground.
A beautiful home instead of a chain.
A couple of toys instead of dirt and twigs.
We just don't see that the chain can still be there

26/10/2026

"Fixation doesn't matter."
I'm hearing that a lot right now.

I think we're having the wrong conversation.

Because the people I work with aren't trainers.

They're the person standing at the end of the lead, with their heart in their throat, thinking,
"Where did that come from? He was fine a second ago."

But he really wasn't fine a second ago.

It was in that tiny, half-second longer stare. The ears that just shifted. The mouth that just closed.

In three seconds flat, their dog "checked out" and locked on.

And it was missed. Not because they weren't paying attention. But because no one ever showed them what to see - or worse, they've been told it doesn't matter.

It does matter.

Those few seconds where that focus narrows and the world goes a bit too quiet for their dog? That's everything.

If we tell people that moment doesn't matter, we leave them with nothing until their dog is already over threshold. Already reacting.

Then they're stuck in that exhausting loop of reactivity, guilt, and "Why can't I help my dog?"

So call it what you want.
Intense look. Locked on. Fixation. Hyper-fixation.
The word isn't the point.

The message that "it doesn't matter" is.

Because when people recognise it, they can finally help their dog.

25/10/2026

Sometimes we don't want advice, we want permission to ignore it.

"My dog has started growling at the kids. Is this normal?"

20 replies.
"Get a trainer in to assess him."
Crickets from the author. No like. No reply.
"Could be pain. Vet check first."
"She said in the post, don't say vet check."

Then one comment:
"My dog did the EXACT same thing! He grew out of it! Don't worry! 🥰"

And the author finally replies: "Thank you!! This makes me feel so much better!!"

There it is.
Not the right answer. The comfortable one.

We've all done it.

We ask a question when we already know what the answer might be. We're just aren't ready to hear it. So we keep shopping. Another group. Another thread. Until someone finally says what we want to be true.

There's a name for it. Confirmation bias. We cling to what comforts us and ignore what scares us.

But with dogs, that bias has consequences.

The dog who was supposed to grow out of it might not. The growling continues. Then it becomes a snap. Maybe, eventually, a bite.

The dog who was "just being naughty" might actually be in pain. And while everyone was busy reassuring each other, the reason for his behaviour was still there.

And I get why we do it. Help costs money. Life is already bills and kids and work and exhaustion. Being told your dog has a serious problem is overwhelming. I really do get that.

Sharing your experience is kind. But there's a massive difference between:

"My dog went through something similar, here's what helped us."
And
"Don't worry, he'll grow out of it."

One is support.
One is a gamble.

Every dog is different. Every single situation is different.

"He'll grow out of it" isn't a plan.

That reassurance might make you feel better in the moment. But it doesn't make your dog or your family any safer.

If that's you right now - stuck in the middle, Googling at midnight, hoping it just stops, you're not a bad person for feeling overwhelmed.

Vet check first.
Then a trainer.

You don't need to have it all figured out.
But you really do need a plan that doesn't rely on luck.

24/10/2026

Yup. We confuse our dogs.
And half the time, we don't even realise we do it.

It's not fair to get frustrated at a dog for breaking a rule we never taught clearly.
We do this to them all the time without realising.

One of us says "Off".
One of us says "Down".
And one of us says nothing.

And then we say "he knows what he did"

He doesn't.
He really doesn't.

He's just trying to guess the rules in a house where the rules keep changing.
And so do the words.

Dogs don't need us to be perfect, but they do need us to be clear and consistent.
Same word. Same response. From everyone.

It's about being fair to them.

If we want them to get it right, we need to make it possible for them to get it right.

So today, pick one.
One word, one plan, whole family.

We need to stop blaming dogs for confusion we created.

23/10/2026

Oh I hate telling people this.

"He loves belly rubs!"

He might. Just not this one. Not right now.

That belly up, paws tucked, whale eye, mouth tight? That's not "more please." That's a "please stop."

A lot of dogs learn to tolerate touch that they don't actually enjoy.

So we pause. We check.
Does he actively seek more?

If not, we let it end.

If we only listen when they say yes, we're not really listening.

Address

Mosgiel

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Monday	8am - 9pm
Tuesday	8am - 9pm
Wednesday	8am - 9pm
Thursday	8am - 9pm
Friday	8am - 9pm
Saturday	8am - 9pm
Sunday	9am - 9pm

Website

http://abcdogsnz.com/

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