11/06/2026
If you're holding your breath for MR2 footage, apologies, first I have to yell about my absolute biggest pet peeve, the advice my clients ALL arrive having gotten from every single previous trainer, whether "force free" or "balanced": using obedience spam aka prompting "incompatible behaviors" to avoid directly addressing unwanted ones.
I know it's long but please try to stick with me until the end on this one, because this is important. At its best, this method just delays the problem instead of solving it. At its worst, it actively ruins dogs.
Sure, SOME obedience is necessary, and it's important to have WHEN we need it. But ONLY WHEN. If your dog cannot function OUTSIDE of obedience, you still have a problem. And in 99.9999% of cases, this is the root of it.
Thank you as always for coming to my TED Talk. :)
EDIT: PLEASE NOTE, when I say "communicate 'no'" or "meaningfully tell the dog no," I mean to do that in whatever way makes the dog directly and clearly understand that you DO NOT like/want a particular behavior and they should not do it, the outcome will always be only dissuasive.
Earlier today, Reign tried to guard me from Midna by leaping in front of me as Midna approached (because I'd called her), and I said "ah!" and stepped towards her(Reign). That spatial pressure combined with my displeased voice was all the punishment she needed to immediately move away from me and "apologize" (show appeasement behaviors) to both of us and be polite and not try to guard me from her(Midna) again after that.
For some dogs and some behaviors, targeted ignoring might be all you need to make them see a behavior is unwanted. Other dogs might need more direct physical correction/intervention, but I am not using "tell the dog no" as a euphemism for that, nor do I necessarily mean tell them verbally, especially if the dog does not know what verbal no means and respond to it. I mean specifically and ONLY "make the dog understand that this is a 'no' behavior in whatever way works for you and that dog."
EDIT 2 because this post has reached sport people lol: To clarify further!, I do not mean using active, playful/energized "ob" like bursts of short heel/spins/luring/etc. to work through triggers (I love this method and use it very heavily myself), I mean static obedience keeping the dog in a passive control position more often than not, especially in situations where it otherwise would not and should not be necessary.
Also please note my word choice of "constantly," "most," etc. I'm not saying incompatible behaviors are never the play for any reason. I'm saying it's being pushed to the point to where it's being used as a 24/7 default solution and I am personally working with dogs who have lived like prisoners for years, to the point to where they don't know how to function OUTSIDE of obedience anymore, because of it. IMO, only a psychopath can actually be OK with that & the damage it does to their mindsets.
