06/12/2026
This is what so many pet owners and trainers miss…
Your history of training dogs is only relevant to a point where the dog in front of you is concerned. Whether you’ve owned dogs for 20 years, or even if you travel to homes and teach folks how to live well with dogs.
There are many “cookie cutter” training programs out there that take your dog through a set number of skills, use predetermined tools, and promise your dog to be trained in two weeks.
But the dog in front of you may not subscribe to that. As a trainer and a pet owner, having a diverse set of skills and tools at my disposal means I can create a unique behavior plan for YOUR dog in YOUR situation.
Sometimes that includes trial and error. Trying out new tools. Taking things slower or moving on quicker, depending on the dog and human.
Pepper is a great example of this. She will be a different dog in a year. She came to me as half the dog she is today.
She was crate trained by just plopping her in. For her, the crate was safer than the outside world.
She doesn’t have much for manners on leash - we’re prioritizing engagement and joy.
She’s not off-leash trained yet - IYKYK 😂 slow and steady with this one.
If I were to take her on the same journey as, say, Tigo, she would turn out just a mess. Much in the same way that different meals come from different ingredients, and require different cook time.
When I’m baking a Pepper pie, I have to look at what I have and where it’s reasonable for her to go.
So I won’t shy away from a harness, or a head halter, or an ecollar, or make these generalizing sweeping statements against a tool or method.
Because I know I’ll run into a dog that is just bound to turn that on its head, and I am willing to be changed by them.
