Canine Evolutions

10/06/2025

🌕🐕 TONIGHT’S SUPERMOON & YOUR DOG — MYTH, MAGIC, OR SCIENCE? 🧬✨

Did you feel that strange pull in the air last night? Step outside tonight and it might feel stronger.
Because tonight , Monday, October 6th, the last and brightest supermoon of the year will rise, peaking at 8:48 PM Pacific / 11:48 PM Eastern. While we’re admiring the glow, your dog is already sensing something far deeper.

This isn’t just a beautiful full moon. It’s a rare celestial convergence , the lingering energy of the Harvest Moon merging with the rise of the Hunter’s Supermoon. For us, it’s stunning. For animals, it’s electric.

🔬 The science: dogs have an internal compass

Inside your dog’s eyes lives a remarkable light-sensitive protein called cryptochromes. This same molecule is what scientists believe allows migratory birds to fly thousands of miles, sea turtles to return to the exact beach where they hatched, and salmon to navigate back to their spawning rivers, all by feeling Earth’s magnetic field.

When moonlight hits cryptochrome, a quantum process known as the Radical Pair Mechanism begins. Light excites pairs of electrons in the protein, making them sensitive to the direction and strength of Earth’s magnetic field. Your dog isn’t “seeing” magnetism like a color, but they may feel it as an orientation sense that helps them know where they are in space.

During a supermoon, the extra-bright light and the moon’s stronger gravitational pull subtly affect the Earth’s magnetic environment. To us, those changes are imperceptible. To a creature wired to read the planet’s field , a dog, a wolf, a migrating bird — it’s like background noise turning into a low rumble.

🧠 Why your dog might act different tonight

That restless pacing? Their inner compass recalibrating.

That sudden howling? A primal response to a sky that feels “different.”

Even sleep can be disrupted when natural light levels spike , wolves and wild canids have long adapted hunting behavior to lunar brightness.

Other animals show this too:
• Migratory birds change flight altitudes and orientation during supermoon turtles rely on moonlight cues to find the ocean — brighter nights alter their paths.
• Deer and wild canids become more active when nights are unusually bright.

🐾 What to do tonight

If your dog seems extra alert, vocal, or restless under the moon, don’t scold , it’s not bad behavior. It’s biology. Offer calm reassurance, safe exploration, and mental play before dark (sniff work, slow leash walks, puzzle feeders).

👇 Share what you’re seeing. Where are you in the world, and how is your dog reacting to this supermoon? Pictures, videos, stories — let’s watch how our companions experience this night.

Bart de Gols

10/03/2025

If You Think Crate Training Is Cruel, You’re Probably Doing Everything Else Wrong Too

Every few days someone tells me, “I’d never crate my dog , it’s cruel.” I understand where that comes from. Nobody wants to harm their dog. But here’s the truth that may sting a little:

Crates aren’t the problem. Your lack of structure is.

If you believe a crate is automatically mean, it usually signals a bigger misunderstanding about what dogs actually need to feel safe, calm, and connected.

A Crate Is Not a Cage — It’s a Bedroom for the Canine Brain

Humans see bars and think prison. Dogs don’t.

Dogs evolved from animals that slept in dens, enclosed, predictable spaces where they could fully let down their guard. The limbic system (the emotional brain) is wired to feel safe in a contained space when it’s introduced correctly. That safety lets the autonomic nervous system shift out of hyper-arousal and into rest.

When I say “kennel” or “crate” in my house, I mean bedroom. It’s the place my dogs retreat to when they want zero pressure from the world , to nap, chew a bone, or just exhale. My German Shepherds and Malinois will often choose their crates on their own when the house is buzzing with activity.

Why So Many Dogs Are Stressed Without Boundaries

Freedom sounds loving, but for many dogs it’s chaotic and overwhelming:
• Hypervigilance: They scan every sound and movement because no one has drawn a line between safe and unsafe.

• Over-arousal: Barking, pacing, and destructive chewing are the brain trying to find control in a world without limits.

• Problem behavior rehearsal: Every hour a dog practices bad habits (counter surfing, jumping, door dashing) is an hour those neural pathways strengthen.

From a neuroscience standpoint, the prefrontal cortex — the impulse-control center — is limited in dogs. They rely on our structure to regulate. A dog without clear boundaries burns out its stress response system, living in chronic low-grade cortisol spikes.

A structured dog isn’t “suppressed.” They’re relieved , free from the constant job of self-managing a complex human world.

Crates Give the Nervous System a Reset Button

Here’s the part most people miss: A properly introduced crate isn’t just a place to “put” a dog. It’s a tool for nervous system regulation.

• Sleep: Dogs need far more sleep than humans , around 17 hours a day. A crate gives them uninterrupted rest.

• Decompression: After training or high stimulation, the crate helps the brain down-shift from sympathetic (fight/flight) to parasympathetic (rest/digest).

• Reset: Just like humans may retreat to a quiet room to recharge, dogs use the crate to self-soothe and recalibrate.

But here’s the catch: PLACEMENT MATTERS!!! My crates in my bedroom are for Little Guy, Ryker and Walkiria, Garage is for Cronos, Guest Bedroom for Mieke and my bathroom is for Rogue and my Canace is in my Shed.

Stop Putting the Crate in the Middle of the Storm

Most people stick the crate in the living room because that’s where they hang out. But think about what that room is for your dog: constant TV noise, kids running, doorbells, guests coming and going, kitchen clatter.

That’s not decompression. That’s forced proximity to stimulation with no way to escape.

If you want the crate to become a true bedroom, give it its own space , a quiet corner of your house, a spare room, a low-traffic hallway, garage , shed. Somewhere your dog can fully turn off. The first time many of my clients move the crate out of the living room, they see their dog sigh, curl up, and sleep deeply for the first time in months.

Why Some Dogs “Hate” Their Crate

If your dog panics, it’s almost never the crate itself. It’s:
• Bad association: Only being crated when punished or when the owner leaves.
• No foundation: Tossed in without gradual acclimation or positive reinforcement.
• Total chaos elsewhere: If the whole day is overstimulating and unpredictable, the crate feels random and scary.

I’ve turned around countless “crate haters” by reshaping the experience: short sessions, feeding meals inside, rewarding calm entry, keeping tone neutral. In a few weeks, the same dogs trot inside happily and sleep peacefully.

Freedom Without Foundation Hurts Dogs

I’ve met hundreds of well-intentioned owners who avoided the crate to be “kinder” , and ended up with:
• Separation anxiety so severe the dog destroys walls or self-injures.
• Reactivity because the nervous system never learned to shut off.
• Dangerous ingestion of household items.
• A heartbreaking surrender because life with the dog became unmanageable.

I’ll say it plainly: a lack of structure is far crueler than a well-used crate.

When we don’t provide safe boundaries, we hand dogs a human world they’re ill-equipped to navigate alone.

How to Introduce a Crate the Right Way
1. Think bedroom, not jail. Feed meals in the crate, offer a safe chew, and keep the vibe calm and neutral.

2. Give it a quiet location. Not the busiest room. Dogs need true off-duty time.

3. Pair exercise + training first. A fulfilled brain settles better. Every Dog at my place get worked at east 4-5 times per day (yes this is why I am always tired)

4. Short, positive sessions. Build up time slowly; don’t lock and leave for hours right away. (I work my dogs mentally for max 15 minutes, puppies shorter, physical activity and play around 20 minutes, when I take dogs for a workout walk around 1 hour walk )

5. Never use it as AVERSIVE punishment when conditioning. The crate should predict calm, safety, and rest. When you are advanced eventually we can use the crate as "time out" to reset the brain after proper conditioning has taken place.

6. Create a rhythm: Exercise → training → calm crate nap. Predictability equals security. ( I have 10 dogs on my property right now so every dog works about 15 minutes x 10 dogs = 150 minutes = 2 1/2 hours. Every dogs get worked every 2 1/5 hours, I do that minimum 4 times per day = 600 minutes or 10 hours. yes this is why I wake up so early and go to bed late lol )

The Science of Calm: What’s Happening in the Brain

When a dog settles in a safe, quiet crate:
• The amygdala (fear center) reduces activity.
• The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis down-regulates, lowering cortisol.
• The parasympathetic nervous system engages: heart rate slows, breathing steadies.
• Brain waves shift from high-alert beta to calmer alpha/theta — the same pattern seen in deep rest.

This is why dogs who have a true den space often become more relaxed and stable everywhere else in life.

The Bottom Line

If you think crates are cruel, you’re missing the bigger picture. The crate isn’t about punishment — it’s about clarity, safety, and mental health.

A dog without structure lives in a constant state of uncertainty: Where should I rest? What’s safe? Why am I always on guard? That life is stressful and, over time, damaging.

A well-introduced crate says: Here is your safe space. Here’s where you rest and reset. The world makes sense.

Kindness isn’t endless freedom. Kindness is clarity. And sometimes clarity looks like a cozy, quiet bedroom with a door that means you can relax now.

Bart De Gols

10/02/2025

She was an incredible human who had the same teacher as I, DOGS, her favorite animal was not the chimpanzee as most people think..It was the dog.. RIP Dr. J. Goodall

09/25/2025

Big thanks to

KJ Shepherd, Tracy Kaufman, Katharina Schächl

for all your support! Congrats for being top fans on a streak 🔥!

09/25/2025

Thanks for taking the pics Cory! After "official" class I like to goof off with my dogs.. Impulse control is one of my favorite things to teach, especially with very high drive dogs, like my malinois or GSD's - Bart De Gols

09/04/2025

In this episode of The Canine Deep Dive, cynologist Bart de Gols tackles one of the most misunderstood topics in modern dog training: what it really means to live with a high-drive dog.

Too often, people assume that a Malinois, German Shepherd, Husky, or Cattle Dog lying quietly at their feet is a picture of calmness. But as Bart explains, that supposed “calm” can often be the silence of trauma. When drives are crushed through harsh methods or chronic deprivation, the dog doesn’t become balanced—it enters learned helplessness, a state first identified in the 1960s where animals give up because nothing they do matters.

Science confirms the cost of suppression. Chronic stress elevates cortisol, shrinks the hippocampus, and over-activates the amygdala, leaving dogs anxious and less capable of learning. Dopamine, which fuels play and motivation, collapses, draining joy and initiative. What looks like obedience is often the stillness of defeat.

Yet Bart draws a sharp distinction. Suppression is abuse. Correction is biology. In wolves, mothers, and even human societies, fair corrections are normal tools of communication. They are swift, proportionate, and never designed to break spirit. Misused corrections that extinguish drive are abusive. But fair, well-timed corrections serve as neurological interruptors, pulling a dog briefly out of its primal mind and giving it a chance to re-engage cognitively with the handler.

Still, corrections must never be the first choice. The ethical path begins with drive fulfillment: Huskies need structured running, Malinois need controlled bite work, Shepherds need tracking and guarding tasks, herding dogs need outlets for movement. Cognitive work—scent games, problem-solving, and engagement training—further balances the brain, linking dopamine and oxytocin release to the handler. Structure and predictability add stability by lowering stress hormones.

Corrections only have a place when the dog is lost in reactivity and cannot self-regulate. Used then, fairly and sparingly, they preserve drive while redirecting it. Harsh suppression collapses cognition. Ethical corrections open it.

Bart also calls out responsibility across the chain. Breeders must stop marketing high-drive dogs as “easy companions.” Owners must accept that such dogs are a lifestyle, not a hobby. Trainers must refuse to sell suppression-based “calmness” programs that amount to breaking spirit.

The moral truth is clear: you cannot erase drive—you can only channel it. Suppression is abuse. Corrections, when used after enrichment and engagement, are simply part of biology.

Bart leaves listeners with this message: your dog is not broken—your expectations are. You cannot ask a Husky not to run, a Malinois not to work, or a working Shepherd not to guard. These drives are not quirks. They are living expressions of genetics sculpted by centuries of selection.

Podcast Episode · The Canine Deep Dive · 09/03/2025 · 29m

09/04/2025

Drive is biology, not behavior. It is the expression of genetic programming etched into a dog’s nervous system and refined through centuries of selection. When I see people trying to suppress drive with harsh methods or severe deprivation, I don’t see training, I see trauma. The science is clear: suppression elevates cortisol, shuts down dopamine, and erodes neuroplasticity. The dog may look calm on the outside, but what I often see is learned helplessness, the quiet of defeat, not the balance of fulfillment.

In this article, I explain why suppression is abuse, and why fair, mild corrections, used after drive has been properly channeled, and the stress with it, are not cruelty but part of biology itself. My work is about engagement, mental stimulation, and breed-specific outlets that respect the dog’s genetics while building partnership. True training isn’t about erasing drive. It’s about harnessing it with purpose while keeping the spark of the animal alive.

Bart De Gols

Drive is biology, not behavior. It is the expression of genetic programming etched into a dog’s nervous system and refined through centuries of selection. When I see people trying to suppress drive with harsh methods or deprivation, I don’t see training—I see trauma. The science is clear: supp...

09/03/2025

Austria's April 2025 introduction of the prohibition of working dog sports (BGBl II No. 33/2025) was politically justified as a measure to "improve public safety" against protection work-trained and related discipline dogs. Five months later, the facts are dramatically different—so are the consequences.

Public cases of dog biting since the law took effect have not changed a whit. Most have been in Upper Austria, and three more took place last weekend (Aug 30–31, 2025).

And look at the crucial part: all these bites were not from working dog sport dogs, service dogs, and their handlers trained in accordance with international norms of FCI-IGP and equivalent systems.

Instead, 100% of bites were reported from family dogs or untrained dogs who had not attended a single piece of formal education whatsoever.

The political aim was to strengthen public safety by shutting down organized protection training. In reality, it has done the exact opposite. Systematically trained dogs in drive handling, obedience, and social stability are not the problem. Untrained, unmanaged family dogs are the issue hands down.

Working dog sports are founded on global regulations aimed at promoting control, obedience, and social compatibility. In the system, the dogs are tested repeatedly, handled in a systematic way, and continuously exposed to regulations.

On the other hand, the majority of family dogs are brought up undisciplined, without their owners' guidance, and without professional advice. And it is exactly here that most dangerous situations come to life. Lack of knowledge, poor leadership, and complete absence of responsibility—this is where the real threat to society originates.

By banning working dog sports, politicians are outlawing some of society's most responsible owners and clubs—those who have for generations facilitated safety, education, and integration of dogs into society.

At the same time, nothing has been done to regulate those owners whose incompetence and irresponsibility truly put the public at risk. Not only is this misplaced—it is self-defeating.

Effects on Society
• Clubs lose their foundation, including such critical community functions as youth work, prevention, and integration.
• Families with drivey dogs have no safe, organized outlets for their dogs.
• Responsible handlers are forced to cross the border and train abroad—where, not by chance, no individual bite incident has been credited to such dogs.

The outcome is absurd: Austria outsources secure, formalized training and subjects its own population to uncontrolled risk.

My Professional Conclusion

The prohibition has failed on each measurable criterion:
• All reported bite events are from untrained animals.
• Not a single working animal or sports-trained animal has been involved.
• Public safety has not been enhanced.

Rather than staying away from risk, the legislation has in effect dismantled the very systems that stay away from risk in the first place.

Having spent decades in the world of working dogs and dogs sports, I must also caution: it is not done. The second one category of structured training is legislated out in the name of "safety," the others will be right behind in line. Hunting dogs, herding dogs, service dogs—the political logic will remain the same, and bit by bit, society will eliminate the very disciplines that have kept dogs stable, useful, and integrated for centuries.

This is unacceptable to me. It is a slippery slope that is destroying not just the reputation of responsible dog sports but the very fabric of the human–dog bond.

My Recommendation to Policymakers

Sweeping prohibitions are not what Austria needs. Instead:
1. Compulsory education for all dog owners, not just those in sport.
2. Systematic reporting of bite incidents, so judgments are made on fact, not fear.
3. Accepting working dog sports as a tool of prevention utilized to educate control, obedience, and structure.
4. Promoting international cooperation, instead of pushing responsible owners abroad.

The past six months have made it certain: the ban on working dog sports has not contributed anything to welfare or safety. On the contrary—it has compromised responsible education and saved the true sources of risk. If this course is not reversed, there will be more bans to come. And step by step, society will be losing not just a tradition of organized dog training but also a vital pillar for public security itself.

Bart De Gols

08/22/2025

In this episode of Canine Deep Dive, we step into a story that is as personal as it is urgent. Bennie, a German Shepherd I raised from puppyhood, lived a life of loyalty and strength—but his journey ended far too soon. He developed cutaneous lymphoma, a rare and devastating skin cancer, after years of exposure to the silent poisons beneath his paws: herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides commonly used on manicured lawns and golf courses. What looked pristine to the human eye was, in truth, a toxic landscape slowly eroding his health. Bennie’s case reminds us that the cost of our “green perfection” often falls on the dogs who trust us most.

But Bennie’s memory carries a warning—and a call to action. In this episode, we break down what cutaneous lymphoma is, why it is so often misdiagnosed, and how chemicals absorbed through paws, inhaled during walks, or ingested through grooming may contribute to this disease. We’ll explore the science, from the role of the immune system to the way environmental toxins interact with skin and lymphatic tissue, and we’ll ask the hard questions about what responsibility we carry in safeguarding our companions. Bennie’s story is tragic, but it’s also a beacon—a chance to transform awareness into protection for every dog who follows in his pawprints.

Bart De Gols

Podcast Episode · The Canine Deep Dive · 08/21/2025 · 56m

08/21/2025

In this article, I share the story of Bennie, a magnificent German Shepherd taken by a cruel, deceptive cancer called cutaneous lymphoma. His journey serves as a chilling warning about a silent threat lurking in plain sight: the chemical cocktails of herbicides and pesticides used to create perfect, green lawns. Known as "The Great Mimicker," this cancer often masquerades as a simple skin allergy, leading to a heartbreaking cycle of misdiagnosis while the disease silently advances. Our dogs, living their lives nose-to-the-ground, have become the unwilling sentinels for the toxins in our shared environment, and their suffering is an alarm we can no longer ignore.

Bennie’s memory calls us to a higher standard of stewardship. The information in this article is meant to empower you to become a fierce advocate for your pet in the vet's office, questioning a recurring "allergy" diagnosis and pushing for a biopsy when something feels wrong. More fundamentally, it demands we rethink the world we create for them. By eliminating cosmetic pesticides from our own yards, wiping paws after walks in public parks, and demanding safer community spaces, we can fight this disease before it ever starts. Bennie’s legacy asks us to choose health over the illusion of synthetic perfection, protecting the animals who trust us with their lives.

Bart De Gols

In this article, I share the story of Bennie, a magnificent German Shepherd taken by a cruel, deceptive cancer called cutaneous lymphoma. His journey serves as a chilling warning about a silent threat lurking in plain sight: the chemical cocktails of herbicides and pesticides used to create perfect,

07/31/2025

In my decades of work no concept has proven more pervasive, nor more fundamentally misleading, than that of "distraction." It is the universal scapegoat for a lapse in connection, the label we apply when a dog’s attention strays from our intended path to a squirrel, a scent, or a sound on the wind. We frame it as a failure of focus, a moment of willful disobedience. But after countless hours observing the intricate dance between human and canine, and immersing myself in the neuroscience that governs it, I have come to see this interpretation for what it is: a profound delusion. The dog that turns away is not broken, nor is he defying you. He is, in fact, operating flawlessly according to a biological imperative far more powerful than our desire for compliance.

This article is an invitation to join me in a paradigm shift—one I call The Salience Shift. We will move beyond the flawed language of distraction and into the precise world of motivational neuroscience, where we learn that attention is a currency allocated only to what the brain deems most salient, or motivationally relevant. Your dog is not ignoring you; he is making a valid neurological choice to engage with a stimulus that has, in that moment, won the auction for his attention. Our task, then, is not to suppress the world, but to change our place within it. We will journey through the architecture of the canine mind to answer the most critical question in training: not "How do I stop my dog from being distracted?", but "How do I become the most salient, rewarding, and engaging phenomenon in my dog’s world?

Bart De Gols

In my decades of work as a cynologist, no concept has proven more pervasive, nor more fundamentally misleading, than that of "distraction." It is the universal scapegoat for a lapse in connection, the label we apply when a dog’s attention strays from our intended path to a squirrel, a scen