07/17/2025
Gracie, one of my current trainees, celebrates her birthday today. They left her a doggie “cake” treat, and I will strive to make her day fun. Cooper came in after his potty this morning and went straight to his crate to eat breakfast like a good boy for the FIRST time! He’s a very typical low pack drive dog. His desire to be with and do things for people is low. This probably came from being in a rescue situation where he didnt haveve the chance to develop relationships with humans at a very early age.
It’s interesting how using the e-collar to communicate with him has helped him begin to pay attention and even want to be close to me. Yesterday, after training, he came and sat close to me, seeking touch and interaction for the first time, as well. This is completely the opposite of what humans are being taught by the force-free, positive only training movements. It’s truly such a line of lies and pseudo science they convince everyone with.
It’s a movement that not only plays on human emotions and guilt trips owners constantly for even looking cross-eyed at your dog—much less actually punishing bad behavior. In the 30 years I’ve been working with dogs, I’ve seen an uptick in reactivity and aggression. I believe this is due to people treating dogs like humans and not correcting bad behaviors when it is necessary. It also comes from frustration—dogs were not meant to live in apartments and go for two walks per day, sent off to “daycare” and treated as emotional crutches by humans. Yet, that’s exactly what they’ve become.
Humans have not only overbred dogs, they’ve turned them into genetic cesspools and neurotic messes. Dog training NEEDS to help rectify this, which means educating people and being part trainer, part mental health therapist, and part physical therapist for your dogs. There is harmony in balance. A balanced mind/body connection is a phrase viewed with positivity. Yet, tell people you are a balanced trainer and this is immediately greeted with negativity, particularly by “positive only” trainers who will attack you unprovoked.
Rather than PROVE their methods can help dogs that are now overly reactive and aggressive, most of them will recommend euthanasia. Veterinarians are far too quick to medicate dogs for the owners who don’t understand the needs of their dog and would rather drug it than train it and teach it. I’ve also watched pretty silently as these “trainers” take weeks, months, and even years to make little to no progress with dogs—taking precious time and bleeding owners dry of both money and hope.
Dogs are dying in shelters and pounds all across the country because they are nippy, jumpy, scared and growling, and their lives are ended because humans have been convinced that killing them is better than CORRECTING them by punishing bad behavior. Obviously, they need to be taught replacement behaviors too. I’ve seen shelters refuse the help of a balanced trainer simply because they believe in corrections—preferring to just euthanize a dog or keep it a prisoner in a kennel run at a no kill shelter for years.
For me, it’s exasperating that I can take a dog now and stop pulling and reactivity in generally ONE session of training. I regularly send dogs home after two weeks to owners who say, “our dog is so much different!” I hear things like, “This is life-changing for our family!” “This is incredible.” Yet, it should be the norm.
I have three dogs in training right now that are all working and acting like new dogs after just a few days. Their e-collars are on levels 5,6, and 8. There are 100 levels, and I cannot feel a thing at those levels. Seriously. I feel nothing until 12 and that is barely. A horsefly bite is way worse! The trainers who whine and cry about how you will “destroy your bond” or “make a nervous dog worse” have never used one or seen the dogs like Cooper suddenly WANT to learn and begin to bond with people differently.
They believe the bu****it they have been taught by a movement based on anthropomorphizing animals and selling worthless certificates in an unregulated industry. I know because I used to be one of them. I evolved, learned how to be a better trainer, and I continue learning and analyzing the behavior patterns and progress of dogs in my care. Frankly, I feel bad for all the dogs I didn’t use balanced methods with because I believe strongly that I could have helped more dogs to be even better. I could have saved more lives and know it. It’s a guilt I have to live with.
I’ve grown over THIRTY YEARS of doing this to understand that you have to train the dog in front of you. They are all a little different and have different needs. A cookie cutter approach of begging dogs with constant treats isn’t going to work in the long term. You are going to encounter pushback at times and ignoring you at other times. What happens when you don’t have your treat and now your dog ignores you unless they see that cookie in your hand? Rewards can be fine but shouldn’t be RELIED on entirely, nor are they going to fix dog behavioral issues.
Aggressive dogs, reactive dogs, and all around naughty dogs are welcomed here. And I will not make them treat dependent. Guaranteed. Call me and we will talk about my Funnel Flow Method and how it can help you and your dog communicate. Let’s talk about the FREE lifetime support I offer you. And let’s get started changing your life with your dog right NOW.
