01/24/2026
It’s the little things that make up the bigger picture!
Here’s a quick leadership checklist for all of you owners out there looking to make things as healthy as possible with you and your dog.
You’ll notice there’s no actual obedience training included in this list. This is the stuff we do WITH all of the obedience work that helps shift mindset, attitude, create impulse control, and fosters healthy deferential relationship dynamics.
When you combine this list with all the on and off-leash obedience we do, the duration/mindset work, along with addressing any specific behavior issues — you find yourself with a comprehensive, and deeply effective training/lifestyle program/approach that goes far beyond superficial obedience work.
And while the stuff on this list might seem like tiny, inconsequential, nit-picky stuff, you’d be surprised just how profound of a positive/helpful shift is created by prioritizing and addressing them — and you’d be equally surprised just how profound of a negative/undermining shift is created when they’re dismissed and ignored.
Because these are seemingly benign, “no big deal moments”, I watch owner after owner focus hard on the big and obvious obedience, while they let the profoundly important leadership stuff slip by. And trust me, their relationship and their dog’s overall behavior suffers for it.
So honesty time! How do you stack up against the list? Let me know in the comments. :)
