Dogs ‘N Action - DNA

11/03/2026

Please understand that dog training is unregulated. Anyone can say they’re a “trainer” but too many are uneducated. Know the red flags.

Trainer Tip Tuesday:

11/02/2026

This is an excellent read.

The Ultimate Irony of the Wall Street Journal’s Headline—Proclaiming a Vicious “war” That Is “getting nastier by the day”

In response to The Wall Street Journal’s recent coverage of canine behavior modification (“There’s a War Over How to Train Your Dog—and It’s Getting Nastier by the Day,” Oct. 27 ), I have prepared an evidence-based rebuttal to address the claims raised in the piece.

For credentialed animal behavior professionals, the outrage this piece sparks is not born of petty tribalism or thin-skinned defensiveness, but of the acute professional distress of watching a major media outlet validate disproven dominance myths and aversive tools that directly compromise animal welfare and public safety.

Framing this issue as an emotional, symmetrical culture war bypasses decades of peer-reviewed operant conditioning science and unified veterinary position statements.

The ultimate irony of the Wall Street Journal’s headline—proclaiming a vicious “war” that is “getting nastier by the day”—is that the article itself manufactures the very hostility it purports to report. Rather than offering an objective examination of modern learning theory, the piece acts as an incendiary accelerant, deliberately bypassing peer-reviewed science to pit caricature against caricature and platforming uncredentialed claims as legitimate counterweights to veterinary consensus.

By manufacturing a false balance and fanning the flames of division for clicks, the reporting becomes an oxymoronic self-fulfilling prophecy: it laments the nastiness of an ongoing conflict while serving as the exact fuel that perpetuates it.

As shared with editors at the paper, below is a structured analysis breaking down the primary arguments, the logical fallacies they rely upon, and the clinical consensus on humane training, with supporting references.

A Point-by-Point Rebuttal
https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/barks/barks-magazine-blog/the-ultimate-irony-of-the-wall-street-journals-headline-proclaiming-a-vicious-war-that-is-getting-nastier-by-the-day/

11/01/2026

What they said!!!

10/30/2026

This is abuse. Please sign & share.

10/30/2026

Don’t believe the balanced training community when they tell you aggression can only be “fixed” with punishment. It’s a lie. I’ve worked with many aggressive dogs, some with bite history and some who had yet to bite. I never needed to punish a dog.

Last week this dog was labeled a “biter”....a week and 4 lbs of chi...

10/29/2026

Are we being loyal companions to our dogs?

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