Bay Area Dog Trainer

06/23/2025

03/28/2025

Letter from a dog. 🐕
Be cool, always. 🙏😊

“Dear Human,
I see you.
Not just with my eyes but with my whole being. You may not realise it, but every time your heart beats a little faster, I feel it. When your hands tighten ever so slightly on my lead, I sense it. When you breathe differently, I know.
You may smile and say, “It’s fine,” but your scent tells me otherwise. Your muscles betray you. I can feel your energy shifting, and I carry it with me.

You see, I live in a world of sensation. Your voice is only part of what I hear.
I hear the tension beneath it. Your body language speaks louder than words. I watch your posture, your eyes, and the way you hold yourself. I even catch the subtle chemical changes in your scent when you are nervous or afraid. My nose is built for this—I can detect fear and stress hormones in your sweat and skin. And when I do, it shapes how I feel.

When you are anxious, I become uncertain. When you are afraid, I may feel the need to protect or flee. And when you are tense, I wonder if there is danger nearby. Your feelings change the way I experience the world. I’m not trying to be difficult when I pull on the lead or bark at something you can’t see. I’m just reacting to what I feel through you.

I know there have been times when I embarrassed you. Maybe I lunged at another dog, jumped up on a stranger, or barked too much. You held your breath and worried about what others thought. I felt that too. And because I love you, I tried to match your energy—I either got big and bold or small and unsure. Either way, it wasn’t helpful.

But here’s the thing, dear human: I don’t need you to be perfect. I just need you to be calm. When you breathe slower, so do I. When your shoulders relax, I trust that we are safe. When you move with quiet confidence, I follow.

Please, when you are nervous, remember that I don’t need you to control me with strength—I need you to lead me with clarity. When you feel unsure, help me by being steady. I look to you for reassurance, not through words but through the energy you carry.

If you are feeling uncertain, that’s okay. I understand. Just take a moment. Breathe. Stand tall. Move deliberately. Let me see that you are okay, even if you have to fake it at first. With time, I will learn that I don’t need to carry the weight of your worry. You will be my calm. And I will be your calm in return.

With love and loyalty,
Your Dog”

I hope this helps some folks understand a little more about our dogs’ world.
Best wishes,
Allan Ritchie MGoDT ( MPDTI)

02/28/2025

02/14/2025

01/28/2025

Spike thinks he’s a super hero!😆

12/07/2024

The dogs I know have more soul, more heart, more love, more connection, more patience, and more softness than any human I’ve ever met. They don’t ask for anything, no explanations, no justifications. They just stay, steady and sure, as if they’ve always known what you need before you do.

People complicate love. They wrap it in conditions, dress it in expectations. Dive it towards pain and disappointment. A dog doesn’t do that. Their love is raw, honest, and without strings. Without complications. They see you..not the version you show the world, but the one you keep buried. And they love that version most of all.

I’ve met plenty of people, but none have ever matched the soft, gentle loyalty of a dog. They don’t try to fix you; they just sit beside you, whole and true. Through thick and thin. And that’s more than most humans will ever understand.

R.M. Drake ⭐

Artist Credit: pete_illustrations

03/08/2024

See this picture? It's an Australian Shepherd HERDING the sheep. See the nip? The push with her teeth/muzzle? She's HERDING, not biting! Some Aussies, especially young ones, may do this to their human - and be tossed out of the house for "biting my kid". The Aussie was herding your kid, slowing the kid down from running thru the house, turning the kid toward a different direction, etc...
So many Aussie end up in shelters because humans misunderstood the breed and, instead of teaching the dog appropriate herding behavior, their natural instinct, they toss the dog out of the house.
Make sure you understand what a bite is and isn't. 9 out of 10 times it was inappropriate herding and easily changed.

03/06/2024