In Stride Pet Dog Training LLC

06/09/2026

Things to remember 🐶💖🐾🤔

I AIN’T REALLY MISBEHAVING - I’M JUST DOING WHAT DOGS DO!

What we may label as bad behaviour is often nothing more than a dog behaving exactly as nature designed them to.

Dogs are not born understanding human rules, household etiquette or the expectations we place on them.
They don't automatically know that some things are not meant to be chewed, that food left on a countertop is strictly off-limits or that they’re expected to walk calmly on a leash.

When we bring dogs into our lives, we expect them to automatically adapt to a world that is not naturally theirs.
We confine them to houses and yards, expect them to fit into our busy schedules, keep quiet and ignore the countless natural temptations that surround them every day.

When we view behaviour through this lens, frustration should begin to give way to understanding.

Understanding behaviour does not mean allowing dogs to do whatever they want. It means recognizing that behaviour serves a purpose and is fulfilling a need.

Instead of punishing a dog for behaving naturally, we can guide them towards behaviours that are acceptable. We can prevent rehearsal of unwanted behaviour, teach new skills, meet their physical, emotional and social needs, and provide appropriate outlets for their natural needs.

Dogs who are given opportunities to sniff, explore, chew, forage, play, problem-solve and engage with their environment are far better equipped to cope with the expectations placed on them.

The more we understand why dogs do what they do, the more successful we can become at helping them navigate our human world.

When we stop viewing every unwanted behaviour as misbehaviour and start seeing it as communication, we shift from trying to control our dogs to supporting and meeting their needs.

One of the greatest gifts we can give our dogs is our understanding.

06/08/2026

Great post 💖🐾🐶😉

I watched a clip from Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly recently, and honestly, I was left feeling frustrated and quite angry.

The dog was a German Shepherd who was frantically biting and pulling at the lead, rolling around, almost appearing completely overwhelmed by the experience of being outside. It was difficult to watch, not because the dog was “bad,” but because everything about its behaviour was screaming, “I can’t cope with this environment.”

The solution presented was to fit the dog with a muzzle. Then, once the dog wasn’t biting or pulling, the owner was encouraged to reward that calmer behaviour with food.

To me, this is such a surface-level way of looking at behaviour.

The muzzle may stop the physical act of biting the lead, and the food may momentarily interrupt the behaviour, but neither of those things addresses the emotional state driving it. They don’t create safety. They don’t repair the underlying developmental gap. They don’t help the dog process an environment that it clearly finds overwhelming.

Behaviour is communication. It doesn’t happen in a vacuum. A dog that is obsessively biting the lead isn’t choosing to be difficult any more than a child who compulsively bites their nails, rocks, paces, or engages in repetitive behaviours when they are overwhelmed. Those behaviours emerge because the nervous system cannot cope with what it is experiencing.

Imagine seeing a child who constantly bites their nails through anxiety and deciding the solution is simply to tie their hands behind their back. The behaviour might stop, but the emotion driving it remains exactly where it was. The child is still anxious. They have simply lost their way of expressing it.

The same applies here.

We cannot create emotional safety simply by preventing the outward expression of distress or by rewarding its temporary absence. Mammalian nervous systems are infinitely more complex than that. Safety isn’t something we train into an animal through reinforcement schedules; it emerges through connection, co-regulation and the experience of being emotionally held by another.

From a behavioural perspective, I would be asking questions about attachment, early development, the dog’s emotional systems, its relationship with its owner, and whether it ever truly learned how to regulate itself through connection. What happened before this behaviour emerged? What is this dog trying to tell us?

Lead biting, spinning, frantic pulling, these are often signs of a deeper developmental gap. Somewhere along the line, this dog has not developed the internal safety needed to process the world around it. Covering the symptom does not heal the wound.

This is one of the reasons I think television dog training can be some of the worst advice available. It teaches people to suppress behaviour rather than understand it. It encourages us to focus on what the dog is doing instead of asking what the dog is feeling.

And until we start listening to behaviour as communication, we will continue treating symptoms while missing the suffering underneath them.

06/08/2026

Sam’s Friday Structured Play (part 4) 💖🐾 Kaia, Peter, Kevin, Sophie, Hazel, Daisy & Molly

06/08/2026

Sam’s Friday Structured Play (part 3) 💖🐾 Kaia, Peter, Kevin, Sophie, Hazel, Daisy & Molly

06/08/2026

Sam’s Friday Structured Play (part 2) 💖🐾 Kaia, Peter, Kevin, Sophie, Hazel, Daisy & Molly

06/08/2026

Sam’s Friday Structured Play (part 1) 💖🐾 Kaia, Peter, Kevin, Sophie, Hazel, Daisy & Molly

06/08/2026

Yesssss please 🐾🐶💖🤗

Our insistence is a problem.
We can be so focused on wanting them to play, wanting them to have friends and wanting them to meet that dog across the road, that we forget what we are trying to actually achieve.

It is always with the best of intentions.

Truly it is.

And then suddenly, “out of the blue”, your dog is now dragging you towards that dog in the distance.
They’re single mindedly intent.

It can start as puppies, its cute and you’re thrilled they want to make friends.

“She just wants to say hello to every dog”
She probably does but are we already knee deep into a well-rehearsed habit?

What happens when they don’t meet?

Is your dog scrambling to get closer on the lead?
Is there barking or whining?
Obvious frustration?

Are they able to walk away and accept “not now”?

More won’t necessarily teach the skills they need.

What does?
Being choosy and careful, especially when on a lead.

Because not every dog wants interaction.
Not every dog is socially skilled.
Not every dog is a good match.

And a few appropriate interactions often teach far more than dozens of random greetings.

06/08/2026

I LOVE the Find it cue!!! 🐶🐾💖🙌

06/08/2026

The most recent Doggie Day School students’ videos are up and available for your learning & viewing pleasure!

Phoenix, Zeke, Bodie & Teddy 💖🐾🐶

Welcome to In Stride Pet Dog Training! We believe in positive, fear-free training that builds confidence and strengthens the bond between you and your dog. Our channel showcases real training sessions from our Doggie Day School, where we work with students’ dogs on socialization, confidence buildi...