Young's Dog Training LLC

08/26/2026

08/23/2026

As you're working through reactivity with your dog, a few successful exposures to a protocol doesn't mean your dog is suddenly fixed or no longer has underlying concerns around that situation. How intense the behavior is and what's actually driving the expression can influence how much time and support your dog truly needs. Remember appropriate management and down time while continuing to practice gives your dog opportunities to actually work through and process those underlying issues, rather than focusing only on making the expression disappear.

There are certainly ways to make things easier for you when life is already chaotic, including suppressing those expressions through the use of shock or prong. I've worked with quite a few dogs who came to me able to perform basic cues, but displayed learned avoidance behaviors associated with those previous experiences in an attempt to prevent an anticipated outcome or interaction.

Below is Bocephus out working on his reactivity on walks.

08/18/2026

Did you know that the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviorists recently released a guideline to help you evaluate dog trainers? Their new position stance identifies balanced training (full spectrum, NePoPo...) as a red flag and encourages pet parents to seek trainers who promote outlets for normal dog behavior, choice, and overall well being

Part of evaluating a trainer is looking at how they understand and explain concepts related to behavior and welfare, including enrichment A recent local balanced trainers post described enrichment as “puzzle feeders, snuffle mats, chew toys” and characterized these as mental stimulation used to keep boredom away. It then separated “fulfillment” into a different category involving outlets for natural instincts and suggested that a lot of problem behavior is instead related to a lack of “structure, leadership, and purpose”

Sadly, this reflects a limited description of what enrichment actually encompasses. Puzzle feeders, snuffle mats, Kongs, and chew toys can all be used as part of enrichment, but providing those items is not what defines enrichment. Enrichment involves providing opportunities for an animal to engage with their environment, express species typical behavior, and meet behavioral and biological needs in ways that support their welfare

For dogs, this can include opportunities to sniff, explore, forage, search, chew, dissect, move, play, interact socially, problem solve, rest, retreat, and exercise choice and control within their environment. Enrichment also extends beyond these behavioral opportunities by considering the dog's broader physical, emotional, social, sensory, environmental, and biological needs. What is enriching depends on the individual dog, including their preferences, abilities, health, environment, developmental stage, experiences, and current needs

Providing outlets for natural behavior is already part of enrichment. Enrichment is not limited to providing activities or objects for mental stimulation. It considers what the individual animal needs and provides opportunities for behaviors that are relevant to that animal's biology, preferences, environment, and welfare. Calling those opportunities “fulfillment” does not make them separate from enrichment; it overlooks a significant part of what enrichment actually encompasses

Describing problem behavior primarily through a lack of “structure, leadership, and purpose” also leaves out much of what can contribute to behavior. Physical health and comfort, genetics, development, previous learning, emotional state, the environment, access to resources and behavioral opportunities, and the consequences surrounding behavior can all influence what we observe

The explanation assigned to a behavior can influence what is done in response to it. Looking at the individual dog and the variables contributing to their behavior allows for consideration of learning, environment, physical and emotional welfare, behavioral needs, and whether changes in any of those areas may be appropriate

This is also a way to gauge whether a trainer's education reflects current behavior and welfare knowledge or is simply obsessed with control and compliance. If a trainer tells you they provide enrichment and their explanation amounts to giving dogs Kongs, puzzle feeders, or snuffle mats, that doesn't actually tell you how they are assessing or meeting your dog's needs. Those items can certainly be used as a part of enrichment, but simply providing them does not demonstrate an understanding of enrichment, whether the dog's needs are actually being met, or whether an unmet need may be contributing to the behavior you're currently struggling with

A trainer should be able to explain what needs they are considering for the individual dog, why particular opportunities are being provided, what behaviors those opportunities allow the dog to engage in, and how the dog's preferences, environment, and responses influence those decisions. When enrichment is described primarily as providing a collection of toys or food dispensing products, it can indicate that the trainer's understanding does not extend to the broader role enrichment plays in meeting an individual dog's biological needs

Asking what a trainer means when they say they “provide enrichment” can tell you considerably more than simply asking whether enrichment is included in a training or boarding program. Their answer can give you insight into whether they are actually assessing your individual dog's needs and understanding how the opportunities they provide are intended to meet them over forcing compliance.

AVSAB's recent guidance provides additional areas for pet parents to consider when making that decision, including the methods and equipment a trainer uses, the terminology they use when discussing dogs, how they respond to unwanted behavior, whether they support normal behavior and choice, and how their practices account for the dog's overall well being

08/09/2026

08/08/2026

A recent study done by Arizona University into the human perception of dog's emotions found that we are highly influenced by external factors and context, over looking at the dog's actual body language indicators. But what does this mean for owners and training professionals? 🤔

It is extremely important for dog professionals to be aware, not only of their own bias', but those of their clients. We have all heard 'my dog is guilty' situation, where a dog is anthropomorphised into being guilty when it is just the owner's perception of a behaviour the dog is displaying in context (they see the dog's body language and then find destruction or other damage, so presume guilt for it), rather than there being any actual guilt. This idea of guilt then creates a perceived knowledge of wrongdoing, and therefore a feeling of being justified to punish the dog for the behaviour, when there is no knowledge of wrongdoing here at all and 'punishment' won't change what is going on. In fact, the 'punishment' or negative experiences with the owner coming home, is likely to be why certain appeasing body language is displayed on return, because the dog expects a negative reaction on their return rather than linking the reaction to their own behaviour.

But there are also many other ways this bias can affect dogs. Owners can perceive an afraid dog who reacts as 'protecting them' rather than fearful themselves, or not notice fear or discomfort until a far bigger issue has occured, a dog is called 'stubborn' rather than noticing pain or overwhelm, that a dog toiletted inside for revenge rather than stress or health issues, and they may even think their dog enjoys or wants belly rubs when they are actually afraid and submissive. All these things can mean there is a perceived idea of what is going on and what needs to be resolved, but if this perception is inaccurate the steps put in place to resolve them will be ineffective. This is obviously terrible for the dogs, but the owners too, who won't get the resolution training they need from the training either.

It is our job as dog professionals to be aware of biases, and owner
anthropomorphisation, of dogs and have a strong knowledge of canine body language outside of relying on context cues, and to be able to guide owners to understand their dogs better. I always advocate for owners to do thorough reading on dog body language, instead of relying purely on guesses in context.

You can find a link to the study mentioned below: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08927936.2025.2469400?fbclid=IwY2xjawTcfvVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETA0aXhHTFJ5QkhnNzN3TXowc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjbbJ_KkeJYvyKRtYzYn3j9F6NelusXdfYm59Ko_EjxSBnjdY2LcDSPFPV7U_aem_V5I14IZLg87zehGZ6cDdzw

08/08/2026

What do you think Enrichment means? Taking your dog on a walk? Giving them a frozen kong or puzzle toy? Unless we are truly evaluating how our dog perceives the intended event it's the outcome from that choice that tells us whether it fulfilled a need or not.

The learning process affects our dogs needs if we choose to subject them to an uncomfortable feeling (whether its a head halti, restrictive harness, pinch or shock collar....) to stop the lunging, pulling, barking, jumping and so forth we are failing to meet their needs and, in some cases, increase the underlying issues we were intending to stop. The other cases leave us with a dog that only acts good with that specified tool or device on but back to trouble without it. The dog only stopped to avoid an uncomfortable feeling. This translates to a red flag in one of the core areas of enrichment.

There are 14 key areas that pertain to meeting your pets needs and giving them the best life possible without causing havoc to ours.
Give us a call to look into training options that puts your dog first and assesses your needs in the process

07/31/2026

Incase anyone is curious about what a council chair member of St Louis County has in mind for the dogs at the County Shelter is. Hint: has nothing to do with developing enrichment strategies to increase welfare while in their stay and odds towards adoption. See link below.

https://youtu.be/3CxrqUcPQGE?feature=shared

07/31/2026

A recent post came across my feed raising awareness over the continued concern regarding people not following leash laws. That post stemmed from a tragic incident about a month ago, when two dogs escaped from a home and killed another dog that was simply out on a walk. In response to that event, a local training business created yard signs encouraging people to keep their dogs leashed within that area. I want to be clear that I do value their intention behind keeping both dogs and people safe.

It left me thinking about a larger message being conveyed and everything that message may leave unexplored

For instance, there are already many people in our community who are frightened of dogs. A client I have been working with on reactivity shared similar concerns their friends have expressed about seeing and even interacting with dogs. In the comments from that businesses post, people described feeling nervous at parks, becoming anxious when they see an off leash dog, or worrying whenever an unfamiliar dog moves toward them. People should feel safe when they see dogs not terrified

🛑As trainers, our responsibility is to advocate for the dogs. Advocacy also requires us to understand the dog's perspective, their needs, their learning history, and the environments they are in. This means shifting away from a purely human centric mindset that will allow us to ask not only how to respond after something goes haywire, but also how to create conditions that make those outcomes less likely in the first place

🫣Which also means asking whether posts that focus on dogs running loose as a threat unintentionally deepen people's existing fears. As trainers our responsibility is to help people look beyond the incident and consider the dog's L.E.G.S. Their learning history, environment, genetics, and lived experiences that contributed to the behavior being expressed

🐕‍🦺 Its important to understand the context. A captive dog escaping from a household is not automatically a representative of every dog living outside direct human control. Dogs who have lived within established free roaming populations may develop within very different social, ecological, and learning environments than owned dogs who suddenly escape from homes. Recently abandoned dogs, lost pets, feral dogs, and community dogs are not one uniform population

🚩If we don't make a distinction between those populations. It's real easy to view every dog found outside through that same lens

The message we advocate doesn’t just impact what is going on today. It also shapes how society understands dogs, how people respond to them, and ultimately the kinds of lives dogs are able to live within our communities. So if those messages unintentionally strengthen fear without expanding understanding, we may also be influencing adoption decisions, shelter outcomes, and another part of the same welfare crisis

⁉️So what happens when that perception follows dogs into our shelters and rescues? Many of the dogs entering those systems were found abandoned or free roaming. If public perception increasingly links dogs found outside with danger or unpredictability, how might that influence people's willingness to foster or adopt them?

How man posts have you recently seen about the increased overwhelm these rescues are currently dealing with? When dogs can't be placed into homes then their option becomes euthanasia. Why is death viewed as the acceptable outcome over asking whether those dogs could exist in the same world squirrels, raccoons, and countless other animals already navigate?

This also raises a much larger and deeply uncomfortable question

❓Did we build a system in which dogs must successfully fit inside human homes and remain under constant human control, or they lose the right to continue living?

⏸️I'm not suggesting that dogs should simply be released into neighborhoods or that public safety should be ignored. I'm asking whether we've fully examined the assumptions behind the systems we've created and whether we've limited ourselves to thinking about only one acceptable way for dogs to exist

🔇😶We also cannot discuss dogs who escape or become difficult to manage without examining the lives they were living beforehand. It’s why I value family dog mediation because it pushes you to ask What is the dog experiencing and what needs are driving the behavior we are seeing?

❓What access did they have to movement, exploration, social interaction, choice, rest, and other breed specific needs?

❓Were they living with chronic frustration or repeated restriction?
❓Were training methods helping them develop flexible coping skills, or teaching them primarily through discomfort, pressure, escape, and avoidance?

Every learning experience contributes to how a dog perceives and responds to the world. Training is only one part of that picture, but it is one of the parts we intentionally choose

When we allow dogs to be repeatedly controlled through shock, tightening equipment, restrictive handling, or other methods designed to make discomfort stop once they comply, those learning experiences impact how they interpret and navigate the environment we allow them to exist in

That doesn't mean one training tool explains one tragic incident. Behavior is far from that simple but bias impacts perception and survival means creating coping strategies to avoid or escape from such experiences

It is important that we are examining training methodologies, unmet needs, health, genetics, development, confinement, learning history, management, and accumulated stress because these all influence the choices available to a dog when circumstances change or our management protocol fails

Seeing posts that focus only on leash reminders makes me worry about what message is actually being conveyed. They become a band aid rather than an attempt to address the root issue. Public safety may entail having leash laws and secure containment in place for dogs. The sad part is they only address the final point at which a dog enters shared space and has to react to conflict. These laws don't answer the deeper questions about everything shaping that dog before that moment

❓The question is not simply whether dogs should be leashed. It’s more about how we allow the tragedy to help us better understand and improve the systems surrounding dogs and whether they function primarily as a band aid over deeper issues that also involve breeding, training, confinement, welfare, rescue capacity, public perception, and the current state of captivity we have placed dogs in.

These are not simple questions, and I don't believe they should be reduced to one organization, one breed, one owner, or one incident

As trainers, we have a responsibility to help people stay safe. Our responsibility to also advocate for the dogs whose lives are shaped by the systems currently in place and those we continue to create.

Both of these aspects depend on one another which is why I believe these questions deserve to be asked

07/31/2026

Its all about shifting the lens. Instead of hyperfixating on the activity, assess the core needs that activity was fulfilling. Thats what really matters to your dog.

We’ve all been there. The standoff where your dog is dancing and staring, waiting for you to do the thing, and you’re trying to negotiate a different plan. Maybe it’s 105 outside, and the heat has reached dangerous levels. Maybe wildfires have made the air unbreathable. Maybe it’s hurricane season, and you’re watching rocks fly through the sky. Or maybe it’s Monday, and you’re doing your Sunday routine.

While you know why it’s different, your dog is just staring, waiting for you to follow the rules, and has no interest in a different plan. On this week's podcast episode, Emily and Allie talk about how to use enrichment, not reason, to help your dog meet their needs, even when their entire routine is knocked off kilter.

"Episode 177 - When You Can't Give Your Dog What They Want" is now available on Enrichment For The Real World Podcast. Tune in on Apple, Spotify, Youtube, or wherever you podcast!

➡️ http://petharmonytraining.com/episode177

07/30/2026

Worth bringing back to the top