http://www.confidentcanines.co.nz/, https://www.confidentcanines.co.nz/activeoutlet

Confident Canines NZ, Wellington (2026)

03/06/2026

If you've never lived with a reactive dog, it can be difficult to understand what life is really like.

You might see a dog barking, lunging, growling, or overreacting to something that seems insignificant and assume the owner just needs better training or more control.

What you don't see is everything happening behind the scenes.

You don't see the routes carefully chosen to avoid known triggers.

You don't see the early morning walks taken to avoid busy times.

You don't see the constant scanning of the environment, looking for potential problems before they happen.

You don't see the training sessions, management plans, behaviour modification, veterinary appointments, or the countless hours spent learning how to help a dog feel safer in the world.

You don't see the disappointment when a walk has to be cut short because something unexpected appeared around a corner.

You don't see the guilt owners often carry when people stare, judge, or offer unsolicited advice.

You don't see the celebrations either.

The dog that calmly looked at another dog from 50 metres away.

The walk that went five minutes longer than last week.

The successful recovery after a startle.

The choice to disengage instead of react.

The confidence that is built one tiny step at a time.

Living with a reactive dog often means learning to adjust your expectations. Progress is rarely linear. Some days feel easy. Some days feel impossible.

But what many people don't realise is that reactive dogs are often some of the most deeply loved dogs there are.

Their owners have learned patience.

They have learned observation.

They have learned advocacy.

They have learned to celebrate small victories that others might never notice.

So if you see someone giving you space, crossing the road, asking for distance, or turning away from an approaching dog, please don't take offence.

They aren't being rude.

They're doing their best to set their dog up for success.

And sometimes, the kindest thing you can do is simply give them the space they've asked for. 💜

03/06/2026

Hands up if you feel like you're failing at life sometimes 🙋‍♀️

Every now and then, everything gets a bit much and a few things fall by the wayside. And that's okay.

Try not to put too much pressure on yourself... or on your dog.

Forgive yourself for not being perfect. Forgive them for not being perfect too. Although, if I'm honest, I think dogs are already pretty perfect. 💜🐾

I've had a few fails recently. In the last few months I've run out of dog food not once, not twice, but THREE times. 😱

This morning the poor nightmares only got half their normal breakfast because someone forgot to order more food. The rest had to be topped up with treats.

Strangely, none of them seemed particularly upset about this arrangement. 🤔

Life happens. We all drop the ball sometimes.

So tell me... what's something you've "failed" at recently?

*A Loomis fail photo....she stole a t-shirt of mine and in her excitement of playing with her stolen treasure she got stuck inside it.

02/06/2026

If anticipatory grief has found its way into your life, you are not alone.

A few things that can help:

💜 Talk about it — with people who understand pet loss and the deep bond we have with animals.

💜 Let yourself feel both things at once. Love and grief can exist together. Joy and sadness can exist together.

💜 Stay in the present where you can. Not in a “just be grateful” way, but in small moments — the warm body beside you, the familiar routine, the way they still look at you.

💜 Create memories intentionally. Take the extra photo. Go to the beach. Share the cheeseburger. Let them sniff for longer on the walk. Make space for moments you will one day hold onto tightly.

💜 Take photos and videos of the ordinary things too. The way they sleep. The sound of their bark. Their goofy habits. The little things that become priceless later.

💜 Focus on quality of life, not fear. Ask yourself: what makes today meaningful, safe, joyful, comfortable?

💜 Be gentle with yourself. Loving deeply comes with a cost, and grief is part of loving.

And if you are carrying anticipatory grief right now — I see you.

Loving them while quietly fearing the day you will lose them is one of the hardest things about sharing life with dogs.

*Here is Krueger, my strength, showing his age.

After losing Craven so young and so unexpectedly, I have a deep appreciation for the privilege of watching Krueger and Myers grow old alongside me. Ageing is never guaranteed. It is a gift that not everyone gets to experience.

That gratitude, however, doesn't erase the sadness.

I can be thankful for every grey hair, every slower walk, and every extra day we share together while still feeling the ache that comes with knowing they won't be here forever.

Perhaps that's one of the hardest parts of anticipatory grief. Love teaches us to cherish the present, while grief reminds us that nothing lasts forever. The two can exist side by side.

And maybe that's okay. 💜

01/06/2026

Your dog can literally smell how you're feeling.

A dog's sense of smell is one of the most remarkable abilities in the animal kingdom.

While humans have around 5–6 million scent receptors, dogs can have up to 300 million, depending on the breed. They also devote a much larger proportion of their brain to processing scent information than we do. This allows them to detect incredibly subtle changes in the chemicals we release through our breath and skin.

Research has shown that dogs can distinguish between human stress and relaxation simply by smelling samples taken from people. When we're stressed, anxious, frightened, excited, or even happy, our bodies produce different combinations of hormones and chemical compounds. Dogs are often able to detect these changes long before we consciously notice them ourselves.

This helps explain a behaviour many people interpret as a "guilty look."

When you come home and find the rubbish tipped over, your dog isn't necessarily showing guilt or admitting responsibility. Studies suggest that what people describe as guilt is usually a response to the owner's body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, and emotional state.

Your dog can sense that you're upset.
They may lower their body, avoid eye contact, pin their ears back, lick their lips, or move away.

These are often appeasement or conflict-avoidance behaviours rather than an admission of wrongdoing.

In other words, your dog isn't thinking:
"I know I was bad."

They're more likely thinking:
"Something has changed. You seem upset. I'm not sure what's happening, and I'm trying to avoid conflict."

Understanding this distinction can change the way we interact with our dogs. Instead of assuming they know they've done something wrong, we can focus on teaching the behaviours we do want, managing the environment to prevent unwanted behaviours, and recognising the emotional information our dogs are constantly gathering from us.

Our dogs are paying attention to us all the time—often more than we realise.

Have you ever noticed your dog behaving differently when you're stressed, sad, or unwell?

We'd love to hear your experiences. 💜

31/05/2026

Be the one. 💜

Be the person who celebrates someone else's success instead of tearing it down.

Be the one who offers encouragement when criticism would be easier.

Be the one who remembers that behind every dog is a person doing their best, learning, growing, and navigating their own journey.

Whether you're involved in dog sports, training, behaviour, breeding, rescue, or simply sharing life with your canine companion, kindness costs nothing and can make a world of difference.

For the love of the dog.
For the love of the sport.
For the love of our community.

Choose kindness. Inspire others. Lead by example. 💜🐾

29/05/2026

Dogs will be dogs. 🐾

They’ll chase shadows, sniff the same patch of grass for five minutes, carry sticks twice their size, bark at invisible things, or suddenly zoom around the house at top speed. To us, some of these behaviours can seem random, silly, inconvenient, or confusing.

But behaviour is never meaningless.

Every behaviour serves a purpose for the dog in that moment. It may meet a physical need, provide emotional relief, express excitement, reduce stress, seek connection, create distance, explore the environment, or simply feel rewarding and enjoyable.

Dogs experience the world very differently to humans. Their senses, social communication, motivations, and learning history all shape how they respond to the world around them. What seems “naughty,” “stubborn,” or “weird” to us often makes perfect sense from the dog’s perspective.

Instead of jumping straight to correction, judgement, or assumptions, try pausing with curiosity:
💜 What might my dog be feeling?
💜 What are they trying to communicate?
💜 What need are they attempting to meet?
💜 What does this behaviour achieve for them?

Understanding behaviour starts with recognising that dogs are not trying to give us a hard time — they are simply trying to navigate their world with the tools and experiences they have. The more we observe with empathy and curiosity, the better we can support them. 🐶💭

27/05/2026

Anticipatory grief is the grief that occurs before a loss happens.
At its core, it is the anticipation of loss.

It is the emotional response to knowing that a change, decline, separation, or loss may occur in the future — while still living in the uncertainty of the present.

People often associate anticipatory grief only with elderly or terminally ill animals, but it can occur in many situations:
💜 Chronic illness or pain
💜 Cognitive or behavioural decline
💜 Progressive disease
💜 Major surgery or uncertain prognosis
💜 Rehabilitation after injury
💜 Retirement of a working or sporting dog
💜 Significant life or relationship changes
💜 Recognising the signs of ageing in an otherwise healthy animal

Anticipatory grief is not simply “preparing for death.” It can also involve grieving expected changes to routine, identity, lifestyle, ability, independence, or the relationship as it once was.

Many people experiencing anticipatory grief describe living in a constant tension between hope and fear. They may find themselves hypervigilant to small changes, emotionally overwhelmed by uncertainty, or struggling with guilt for grieving while their animal is still alive.

Others may minimise their own emotions because they feel they “shouldn’t” be grieving yet.

But grief is rarely neat or singular.

Different forms of grief can overlap and coexist at the same time:
💜 Anticipatory grief
💜 Ambiguous grief
💜 Disenfranchised grief
💜 Traumatic grief
💜 Chronic sorrow
💜 Caregiver burden and burnout

For example, someone caring for a dog with a progressive illness may simultaneously experience anticipatory grief about the future, grief for the abilities already lost, chronic stress from caregiving demands, and guilt surrounding difficult decisions.

Human emotions do not fit into perfectly separate categories.

Research in both human and veterinary psychology recognises anticipatory grief as a normal response to attachment, uncertainty, and perceived future loss. The stronger the bond, the more profound the emotional impact uncertainty can have.

Importantly, anticipatory grief does not mean someone is “giving up.” More often, it reflects deep love, attachment, responsibility, and the emotional effort of trying to remain present while also carrying awareness of an uncertain future.

One of the hardest aspects of anticipatory grief is that there is often no clear timeline. It exists in the space between “right now” and “someday,” which can become emotionally exhausting over time.

I experienced this myself with Loomis before her desexing surgery. After losing Craven following a neuter procedure, I became convinced I was going to lose her too. Part of how I coped was by emotionally distancing myself and trying not to love her “as if she were my dog.” Looking back, I can recognise that as a protective response rooted in anticipatory grief, fear, and trauma.

Compassion and understanding matter — both for ourselves and for others moving through these experiences.

27/05/2026

The Five Freedoms changed animal welfare forever.

They gave us a foundational framework for understanding that animals should be free from: 💜 Hunger and thirst
💜 Discomfort
💜 Pain, injury, and disease
💜 Fear and distress
💜 Restrictions that prevent normal behaviour

But animal welfare science has continued to evolve.

Today, many welfare and behaviour professionals use the Five Domains Model, which moves beyond simply reducing suffering and instead asks:

“How do we actively support an animal’s quality of life?”

The Five Domains are:

💜 Nutrition
Not only access to food and water, but appropriate nutrition, positive feeding opportunities, and the ability to eat comfortably and safely.

💜 Environment
Temperature, space, comfort, safety, predictability, rest, and whether the environment supports behavioural and emotional wellbeing.

💜 Physical Health
Injury, disease, pain, fitness, mobility, sleep, and overall physiological functioning.

💜 Behavioural Interactions
Opportunities for choice, control, exploration, play, social connection, training, and expression of species-typical behaviour in meaningful ways.

💜 Mental State
The dog’s lived emotional experience as a result of the other four domains — including fear, frustration, anxiety, contentment, security, confidence, pleasure, and positive wellbeing.

Importantly, the Five Domains recognise that welfare is not just the absence of suffering.

A dog can be physically healthy yet still experience chronic stress, boredom, fear, frustration, helplessness, or lack of agency.

Good welfare is about actively creating positive experiences, not just preventing negative ones.

The Five Freedoms laid the foundation.

The Five Domains build on it by recognising dogs as sentient beings with emotional depth and the capacity for both suffering and positive wellbeing.

Animal welfare is not just about survival.

It is about helping dogs thrive. 💜

25/05/2026

Anticipatory grief is a strange kind of heartbreak because the loss has not happened yet, and still your heart is already grieving.

It can begin quietly.

You notice the grey around their face getting whiter.
The stiffness when they stand up.
The longer naps.
The cloudy eyes.
The slowing down.

And suddenly time feels very loud.

I notice Krueger, my larger-than-life boy, greying. He is a little slower now. I get more cuddles than I used to. The changes are subtle, ordinary even, but they remind me of something I do not want to think about — that he will not live forever, no matter how many times I have told him he has to.

When you have already experienced loss, anticipatory grief can arrive sooner.

It can hit harder.

After losing someone you love, you become painfully aware that forever was never promised. You notice the signs earlier. You fear the future sooner. Sometimes the grief of what may come takes a little of the shine off what is here right now.

And that is one of the cruellest parts of anticipatory grief.

You are still loving them, still laughing at them, still soaking in the routines and cuddles and quiet moments — but somewhere in the background grief is already whispering, reminding you that time is moving.

There can even be guilt in it. Guilt for grieving while they are still here. Guilt for feeling sadness in moments that should feel joyful.

But anticipatory grief is not giving up.

It is loving someone so deeply that your heart begins trying to prepare for an unimaginable absence.

And perhaps there is something important to remember in the middle of all of this:

The grief of the future deserves space, but so does the love of the present.

The cuddles still matter.
The slow walks still matter.
The ordinary moments still matter.

Maybe especially because they are ordinary.

Because one day, these are the moments we would give anything to have back 💜

*here is Krueger a younger boy showing some of his personality.

25/05/2026

What is your dog doing right now?

Loomis is currently preventing me from moving while staring at me lovingly. Krueger is on the seat beside me, and Myer is snuggled up under a blanket.

Mine have fully committed to maximum comfort and zero productivity 💜

What are yours up to? Show me a photo!

Confident Canines NZ

03/06/2026

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02/06/2026

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31/05/2026

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