Unleashed Behavior and Training Services

06/19/2026

😍🐾

🐾 Enrichment: One of the Most Important, Yet Most Overlooked Needs of Our Dogs 🐾

When people think about caring for their dog, they often focus on the basics:

✅ Food
✅ Water
✅ Exercise
✅ Veterinary care

All of these are important.

But there is another essential need that is often overlooked:

🧠 Enrichment

In fact, enrichment is one of the most powerful tools we have for improving welfare, preventing behaviour problems, building resilience, and helping our dogs live happier, more fulfilled lives.

So, what is enrichment?

Enrichment is anything that allows a dog to engage in natural, species-appropriate behaviours that satisfy their physical, emotional, and cognitive needs.

In simple terms, enrichment gives dogs opportunities to:

🐾 Sniff
🐾 Search
🐾 Explore
🐾 Forage
🐾 Chew
🐾 Lick
🐾 Shred
🐾 Dig
🐾 Problem solve
🐾 Learn
🐾 Investigate their environment

These are not “extras.”

These are behaviours dogs have evolved to perform.

When we provide opportunities for these behaviours, we improve welfare.

When we consistently prevent, restrict or avoid them, frustration often follows.

Why is enrichment so important?

Many behaviour problems are not caused by dogs being stubborn, dominant, naughty, or trying to make our lives difficult.

Often, they are simply dogs whose needs are not being fully met.

A bored brain will find something to do.

That may look like:

🐾 Excessive barking
🐾 Digging holes in the garden
🐾 Destroying furniture
🐾 Chewing household items
🐾 Hyperactivity
🐾 Restlessness
🐾 Difficulty settling
🐾 Attention seeking behaviours
🐾 Frustration related behaviours

The dog isn’t trying to be difficult.

They’re simply trying to meet their own behavioural needs.

🔺Enrichment is more than exercise

One of the biggest misconceptions in dog ownership is that physical exercise alone is enough.

Many people believe that if they walk their dog far enough, their needs have been met. Or that a dog just needs more physical exercise to be “worn out”. I have seen countless, high energy dogs, who spend hours each day exercising/ running, and yet at home - they never settle down ….

🤔But imagine if all you did every day was jog around your neighbourhood.

Your body might be tired, but your brain would still need stimulation.

Dogs are exactly the same.

A dog can walk for miles and still have significant unmet mental needs.

In fact, many dogs benefit more from a 20-minute sniffing session than they do from an additional mile of walking.

➖Mental effort is tiring.

➖Thinking is tiring.

➖Problem solving is tiring.

➖Using the nose is tiring.

And often these activities satisfy needs that physical exercise alone simply cannot.

🔆The magic of sniffing

If there is one enrichment activity that almost every dog should be allowed more of, it’s sniffing.

👃Dogs experience the world primarily through their nose.

While we gather most information through our eyes, dogs gather most information through scent.

Allowing your dog to stop and investigate scents isn’t wasting time.

It’s the canine equivalent of:

📰 Reading the news
📱 Checking social media
☕ Catching up on local gossip
🗺️ Finding out what’s happened in the neighbourhood

Every scent tells a story.

Who was here?

When were they here?

Were they stressed?

Healthy?

Male?

Female?

Friend?

Stranger?

Dogs can gather an extraordinary amount of information through scent alone.

Sniffing can also help lower arousal levels, increase confidence, encourage calm exploration, and provide enormous mental stimulation.

Different types of enrichment

👃 Scent Enrichment

Sniff walks
Scatter feeding
Find-it games
Scent work
🦴 Food Enrichment

Stuffed Kongs
Lick mats
Scatter feeding
Slow feeders
Food / treats hidden in cardboard boxes or rolled up towels
🧩 Cognitive Enrichment

Training sessions
Learning new skills
Interactive puzzles
Problem-solving activities
Games of “find it”
🌿 Environmental Enrichment

New walking routes
Different surfaces
Novel environments
Safe exploration opportunities
🐕 Social Enrichment

Positive interactions with suitable dogs
Positive interactions with people
Cooperative activities with family members
🦴 Species-Specific Enrichment

Chewing
Digging
Shredding
Foraging
Sniffing
Why enrichment should start early

One of the biggest mistakes I see is relying almost entirely on physical exercise to meet a dog’s needs.

Physical exercise is important.

But it should never be your dog’s only outlet for normal canine behaviour.

👀Why?

Because there will come a time in every dog’s life when physical activity is reduced or unavailable.

It isn’t a question of if.

It’s a question of when.

Your dog may:

🐾 Need surgery
🐾 Sustain an injury
🐾 Be recovering from illness
🐾 Develop arthritis or mobility issues
🐾 Be placed on crate rest by a veterinarian
🐾 Experience extreme weather conditions
🐾 Have an owner who is temporarily unable to walk them

Life happens.

And when it does, what happens if your dog’s entire lifestyle revolves around physical exercise?

Most dogs will struggle.

Not because they are difficult.

But because the only coping strategy they know has suddenly disappeared.

Building behavioural resilience

This is why introducing enrichment from puppyhood is so valuable.

A dog who has learned to enjoy sniffing, searching, licking, chewing, shredding, foraging, training games, and problem-solving has multiple ways to meet their needs.

They have options.

They have flexibility.

They have resilience.

Think of enrichment like building a diversified investment portfolio.

If one outlet becomes unavailable, there are many others to fall back on.

I’ve worked with many dogs recovering from surgery or veterinary restrictions where owners worried their dog would “go crazy” without walks.

Yet many of those dogs coped remarkably well.

Why?

Because enrichment was already part of their daily lives.

Their bodies needed rest.

But their brains could still work.

Their behavioural needs could still be met.

In some cases, a dog can comfortably go days, and sometimes even weeks, with significantly reduced physical exercise when medically necessary because they have a rich history of engaging with enrichment activities.

Not because they don’t need exercise.

But because exercise isn’t the only thing meeting their needs.

⚠️The goal isn’t to replace walks

Walks are wonderful.

Most dogs enjoy them.

Most dogs benefit from them.

But walks should be just one part of your dog’s enrichment portfolio, not the entire portfolio.

🟢The more ways your dog can engage with the world, the more adaptable they become.

✅The more adaptable they become, the better they cope when life inevitably throws challenges their way.

👉Enrichment isn’t a luxury.

It isn’t a trend.

It isn’t something to do only when you have spare time.

⚠️It is a fundamental welfare need.

Because a tired body is good.

But a fulfilled mind is even better. ❤️🐾

06/18/2026

❤️🐾🥰

06/17/2026

❤️🐾

06/15/2026

🐾❤️

🐾 What Causes “Unwanted” Dog Behaviours?🐾

*This is a very complex topic, so here’s a simplified summary.

When dog guardians seek help for behaviours such as:

• Reactivity 🚨
• Resource guarding 🍖
• Separation anxiety 😢
• Aggression 😠
• Excessive barking 🗣️
• Fearfulness 😟
• Destructive behaviour 🏚️

The focus is often on the behaviour itself.

But behaviour is a symptom, not a diagnosis.

Just as a cough can be caused by a cold, allergies, asthma or infection, the same behaviour can have many different underlying causes. If we only address the outward behaviour without understanding why it is happening, we risk missing the real problem entirely.

🩺 1. Pain & Physical Discomfort (Often Overlooked)

The (best in my experience) review of clinical behaviour cases, by Daniel Mills (and others) at Lincoln University, found that undiagnosed pain / discomfort was involved in approximately 82% of referred behaviour cases, depending on the presenting problem. They concluded that pain is significantly under-recognised as a cause of behaviour problems.

Pain can contribute to:

✅ Aggression
✅ Reactivity
✅ Resource guarding
✅ Handling sensitivity
✅ Anxiety
✅ Avoidance behaviours
✅ Reduced tolerance of people or dogs

Think about it.

If your hips hurts on / off or non stop - how patient would you be?

If movement was painful, wouldn’t you try to keep others away?

If you are in discomfort - what’s your ability to cope with life is ?

😨 2. Fear

Fear is probably the single most common emotional driver behind aggression and reactivity.

Numerous studies have shown that fearful dogs are more likely to display defensive aggression, because aggression is often a strategy to create distance from something they perceive as threatening.

A reactive dog is often saying:

➡️ “That thing worries me.”
➡️ “Please stay away.”
➡️ “I don’t feel safe.”

Unfortunately, when those subtle signals are ignored, dogs often escalate to barking, lunging, growling or snapping. And sadly, the subtle signs are almost always ignored.

🧠 3. Previous Experiences & Learning History

Dogs learn through consequences and associations.

If a behaviour works, it is more likely to occur again.

For example:

🐕 Dog barks at another dog.
🐕‍🦺 Other dog moves away.
🎉 Relief!

From the dog’s perspective, barking worked.

Similarly, a dog that has experienced:

• Rough handling
• Punishment-based training
• Repeated frightening situations
• Attacks by other dogs
• Lack of choice or control

may develop fear, defensive aggression or reactivity as a result of those experiences.

The brain remembers what kept it safe.

🍖 4. Resource Insecurity & Resource Guarding

Resource guarding is defined as behaviours used to maintain control over a valued resource in the presence of people or other animals.

Despite common myths, resource guarding is not usually about “dominance.”

More commonly it stems from:

• Fear, or perceived fear, of losing something valuable
• Competition over resources
• Previous deprivation or scarcity
• Learned associations with people taking things away
• Anxiety around access to resources

In fact, guarding itself is considered a normal canine behaviour that can become exaggerated by fear, conflict or previous learning experiences.

It’s also a normal behaviour across all species - think how you would react if a stranger walked up to you and tried to take away your phone!

😢 5. Separation Anxiety & Separation-Related Problems

Many people assume separation anxiety is caused by a dog being “spoiled.”

Research shows separation-related behaviours are complex and may involve:

• Anxiety
• Frustration
• Attachment-related distress
• Hyperattachment
• Emotional vulnerability
• Individual temperament differences

Dogs with separation-related problems are often found to be more fearful, anxious, excitable or prone to negative emotional states than unaffected dogs.

Common signs include:

🏠 Destruction
🗣️ Barking or howling
🚪 Door fixation
💦 Salivation
🚽 Toileting accidents
😰 Pacing

🧬 6. Genetics & Temperament

Dogs are not born as blank slates.

Genetics influence:

• Confidence levels
• Fear responses
• Sensitivity to stress
• Sociability
• Resilience

Just as some humans are naturally more anxious than others, some dogs are genetically predisposed to be more cautious, sensitive or reactive.

Genetics do not determine destiny, but they influence the starting point.

🧠 7. Neurological & Medical Conditions

Behaviour changes can sometimes be caused by:

• Cognitive dysfunction
• Neurological disease
• Brain abnormalities
• Hormonal disorders
• Sensory decline (hearing or vision loss)
• Seizure disorders
• Chronic illness

A dog that suddenly develops aggression, anxiety or behavioural changes should always receive a thorough veterinary assessment as a matter of urgency.

Behaviour and health are inseparable.

⚡ 8. Frustration

An often overlooked cause of behaviour problems.

Dogs experience frustration when:

🚫 They cannot access something they want.
🚫 They are restrained by a lead.
🚫 They are prevented from reaching a trigger.
🚫 Their needs are unmet.

Frustration can look remarkably similar to aggression or reactivity.

In reality, many dogs are not trying to harm anything at all 👉 they are simply overwhelmed by an inability to access or escape from something.

❤️ The Take Home Message

When we see a dog displaying “unwanted” behaviour, the most important question isn’t:

❌ “How do I stop this behaviour?”

It’s:

✅ “Why is this behaviour happening?”

Because behaviours such as aggression, reactivity, guarding and separation anxiety are not personality flaws.

They are communication.

They are information.

They are clues.

And when we listen to what the dog is trying to tell us, we move from punishment and suppression towards understanding, welfare and lasting behaviour change.

🐾 Behind every behaviour is a reason.

Our job isn’t to silence the message.

It’s to understand it. ❤️

06/11/2026

❤️🐾

🐾❤️ A Positive Vet Experience – Is It Possible? ❤️🐾

My little dog, Ziggy, isn’t very well at the moment.

We’ve had 3 vet visits in 5 days, and today we attended a specialist referral appointment.

🥰And what an amazing experience it was.

The appointments in the US are structured differently, tend to involve a vet technician and the vet themselves (just for some context).

History was first gathered by the technician, from a distance.

Then, the vet entered the room, after a very quiet knock on the door. Her movements were slow and calm, her voice quiet and soft.

Already a great start for any dog.

⚠️ And then… wait for it…

She pulled out a pup cup! 🥹❤️ At the beginning of the appointment, they had asked whether Ziggy could have treats. I explained that he has no teefs, so soft treats only. But I never expected a pup cup to appear!

She gave him plenty of time to enjoy this high value treat, without rushing him.

😌And then came the part that impressed me the most.

The vet waited for Ziggy to consent to being touched and examined 🎉

Let me say that again:

👉 The vet waited for consent.

In all my years of owning dogs, fostering dogs, helping clients with dogs, and attending countless veterinary appointments, this is not something I’ve seen often enough.

🙌 It was absolutely brilliant.

🐶 Why does consent matter for dogs?

💢Consent doesn’t mean a dog verbally says “yes.”

💢It means we pay attention to their body language and allow them the opportunity to choose to engage, rather than forcing interaction upon them.

💢A dog that approaches voluntarily, leans in, remains relaxed, and chooses to stay is telling us something very different from a dog that freezes, turns away, lip licks, yawns repeatedly, attempts to leave, or avoids eye contact.

💢When we ignore those signals and proceed anyway, we teach dogs that their communication doesn’t matter.

💢When we respect those signals, we teach dogs that they are safe, heard, and that humans can be trusted.

💡 Dogs who are given choice and control are often:

✅ Less stressed
✅ More cooperative
✅ Easier to handle
✅ Less likely to develop fear around veterinary visits
✅ Less likely to need restraint or force

For nervous, anxious, reactive, or previously traumatised dogs, this can make an enormous difference.

💠 Of course, there are times when urgent medical treatment is needed and consent isn’t possible. Health and safety must always come first.

🟢But whenever we can, giving dogs a voice in the process benefits everyone involved.

Today’s appointment was a perfect example of what compassionate, dog-centred care can look like.

Dog professionals, whether trainers, groomers, physio, walkers, etc. who treat dogs as an individual, respect his feelings, and understand that dogs too can be scared, stressed, overwhelmed, make a massive difference.

Cooperative care is hugely undervalued, yet it can change a lot of experience for dogs from stressful and unpleasant, to something they enjoy, because they can say “stop” at anytime.

And, cooperative care starts at home, it’s never too early or too late .

06/10/2026

🐾❤️

Contrafreeloading: Because bowls can be boring! 💤

Contrafreeloading is the idea that most animals prefer to work for their food, rather than having it freely available. This idea has been shown across multiple species, including dogs and rats!

We don't want you to interpret this as "all food must be worked for". Instead, we want this post interpreted primarily from an enrichment standpoint. Many pets are understimulated in our homes. Whether it be a lack of appropriate exercise or mental stimulation, or both!

Our pets must live fulfilled lives. This can include having some meals from a bowl, and other meals (or portions of meals) being dedicated to enrichment activities, you keeping food in your pockets to reward desired behaviors, and much more.

06/09/2026

❤️🐾

The Dog Aware funnel is designed to help families slow down and look at interactions through a safety-first lens 👶🐶

It allows for families to understand that for each situation, we must actively be reading the dog, reading the moment, and choosing the appropriate level of supervision for that interaction!

We start with the foundation:

➡️ Body Language

Learning how to recognize stress signals, calming signals, and consent cues helps us better understand what our dogs are communicating before situations escalate.

Then we look at:

➡️ Sensitivities

Every dog has things that make them uncomfortable — touch, noise, movement, space, handling, children, or certain environments. Understanding these sensitivities helps us set everyone up for success.

Next comes:

➡️ Proximity

How close is too close? We help families learn how distance impacts comfort levels and why creating space is one of the most powerful safety tools we have.

And finally:

➡️ Supervision

True supervision means active, awake, and aware supervision — not multitasking from across the room. Safe interactions happen when adults are intentionally present and ready to make adjustments as needed for safety!

The 4 Pillars of Dog Aware work together to help create safer, more successful relationships between dogs and children 💛

Don’t forget to like, comment save and share to help others to become more Dog Aware!

06/08/2026

❤️🐾

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.

06/05/2026

🐾❤️

06/04/2026

🐾❤️

🐾 Imperfectly Perfect Dogs 🐾

Somewhere along the way, we’ve created a version of the “perfect dog” that simply doesn’t exist.

We expect dogs to bark when there’s danger 🚨… but never bark at anything else 🤫.

We expect them to be friendly with every person 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦, every dog 🐕, every child 👶, every visitor 🚪, every day 📅.

We expect them to tolerate being touched 🤲 when they don’t want to be.

We expect them to happily share their space 🏡, food 🍖, toys 🎾 and owners with everyone around them.

We expect them to never feel anxious 😟, worried 😰, frustrated 😤, overwhelmed 😵, scared 😨 or grumpy 😒.

We expect them to walk perfectly on lead 🦮 despite being surrounded by exciting sights , smells and sounds.

We expect them to ignore squirrels 🐿️, rabbits 🐇, cats 🐈 and moving objects 🚴, despite being descendants of predators.

We expect them not to chew, dig, shred , chase , bark, sniff, scavenge or explore 👉 even though these are all perfectly normal canine behaviours.

We expect them to understand that “Come here!” means come immediately, but “Go play!” means don’t go too far , and “Leave it!” means ignore your instincts.

We expect them to somehow recognise that sometimes we mean exactly what we say 💬, and other times we don’t 🤷.

And when they struggle with these impossible expectations?

We label them:

❌ Reactive
❌ Stubborn
❌ Dominant
❌ Difficult
❌ Naughty
❌ Bad

But what if they’re none of those things?

🤔 What if they’re simply being dogs?

Dogs are living, feeling individuals ❤️ with their own personalities, preferences, fears, likes and dislikes.

🐕 Some dogs are confident.
🌱 Some are nervous.
📢 Some are vocal.
👀 Some are cautious.
🎉 Some are social butterflies.
🧩 Some are socially selective.
❤️ Some love everyone.
🤗 Some prefer a small circle of trusted friends.

And that’s okay. 💙

We don’t expect every person to be outgoing, sociable, fearless and cheerful 24 hours a day.

We accept that humans have different personalities and emotional responses.

🤷 Why do we struggle to offer the same understanding to dogs?

The truth is that many of the dogs we describe as “problem dogs” are often just dogs trying to navigate a world full of unrealistic human expectations.

🚫 A reactive dog isn’t a failed dog.

🚫 An anxious dog isn’t a broken dog.

🚫 A vocal dog isn’t a bad dog.

🚫 A socially selective dog isn’t a problem dog.

✨ They’re simply a mix of genetics, preferences and previous experiences.

Perhaps instead of asking:

❓ “How can I make my dog fit into my expectations?”

We should ask:

❤️ “How can I better understand who my dog is?”

Because when we replace expectation with understanding, frustration with empathy, and judgement with compassion, that’s when our relationship with our dogs truly begins to flourish.

🐾 Not every dog needs fixing.

💙 Sometimes they simply need acceptance for who they are.