Affinity Dog Behavior & Training

25/06/2025

A simple store run becomes fun for the dogs with the leftover cardboard from products I bought. I use it like the “Naughty Dog Hack” in . They love it.

25/06/2025

Fellow FDMs and animal welfare professionals’ book is out now!

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animal-emotions/202505/when-and-how-to-introduce-an-old-dog-to-a-puppy-or-not?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwLIOpZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHhC-YFl9VLFWtmsUdS0xwUf1yPNJipeyqiMjlGz3Z6SGI0UDPc68vXimRiml_aem_TEpXhaWhDAYBh9YI8RM_RQ

By focusing on the dogs' point of view, experts offer ways to care for a senior dog and empathically introduce another dog (a.k.a. intruder) to a household so that both can flourish.

24/06/2025

I think a lot of us have been. Let us be part of the change for the better for animal welfare and QOL.

Well, well, well...

What if we’ve been asking the wrong questions about dog behavior?

What if the problems we’ve been hired to fix
aren’t behavior problems at all—
but welfare problems in disguise?

Total Welfare is about flipping the script.
It’s not about making dogs behave.
It’s about helping them be well—
so behaving well comes naturally.

It’s easy when you’ve got L.E.G.S. to stand on.

Stay close.

The shift is coming.

24/06/2025

My office helpers. 😍

19/06/2025

Dogs know when we are stressed. It's okay to take a break from training if you're feeling stressed. It's better for your dog to learn when you are in a good mood. This will help his/her emotional state and overall well-being.

01/06/2025

Behavior modification can change what a dog does.
But only welfare-centered intervention changes how a dog feels.

Teaching a dog to sit instead of lunge may look like success from the outside.

But if the dog is still overwhelmed, anxious, frustrated, or afraid inside, then we have changed nothing of real meaning.

Modifying behavior without addressing underlying welfare needs is like treating smoke without putting out the fire.
True support moves beyond surface-level management and training.

It requires seeing behavior for what it truly is:
🔹 An indication of needs & welfare
🔹 Evidence of emotional states
🔹 A reflection of both biological design and lived experience

The L.E.G.S.® Model reminds us that behavior cannot be separated from the full system of the dog’s reality:
🟧 Learning: Past experiences, positive, negative, or traumatic, shape emotional responses that influence behavior far beyond what training alone can "fix."
🟩 Environment: Chronic stress from inappropriate environments (confinement, overstimulation, social isolation) profoundly shapes emotional regulation and coping capacity.
🟨 Genetics: Behavior is not a blank slate. It is deeply informed by evolutionary history, breed-specific functions, and species-level survival strategies.
🟦 Self: A dog's individual age, health, neurobiology, sexual status, nutrition, sensory sensitivities, developmental stage, and internal emotional life all shape how behavior emerges and adapts.

Supporting dogs isn’t about suppressing behavior or increasingly restricting a dog’s world.

It’s about changing conditions so behavior naturally reflects cohesion between the animal and their world - that they experience the security, comfort, and fulfillment of Total Welfare.

Welfare-first work is deeper, and more durable. And surprisingly, it can even be faster at solving the major problems we experience with our dogs.

It doesn’t just alter actions—it transforms lives.

Let’s move past symptom management.

Let’s meet the real needs beneath the behavior.

Behavior isn’t the problem. Unmet needs are.

01/06/2025

I use The Karl Hack (from Family Dog Mediation) for slow introductions to new dogs, starting at a distance and working up to this, when it’s appropriate. I want to give dogs the time and space they need for social processing, hazard assessment and making the choice to approach slowly and calmly. The perception of the other dog is important, too. Karl is not real and can’t react, but real dogs can.

Pictured is Lily Opal, an East Asian Village Dog from South Korea (born in a dog meat farm), 9 years old, and Karl (Husky).

27/05/2025

Body language all depends on the dog and the context. Licks, jumping, belly rubs can be ways to both increase and decrease distance, your dog inviting you for more contact.

With our own dogs, we can stay curious and experiment. Only we know them best. For dogs that don’t know us as well, we can take note and move with more caution.

Often bites happen during these confusing signals, when dogs are misread. It doesn’t mean your dogs love means go away but that we can gain the knowledge to open up conversations with every furry friend.

Still confused? My body language bundle is just $1 and includes breakdowns of these more confusing behaviours. Comment 🐶 and I’ll DM you the link.

26/05/2025