Dogs Decoded Simply

06/06/2026

Most dogs can hold a “stay” command when the trainer is there. The real test?

Can they do it after I am gone home and they are back with their owner?

Reliable dog training isn’t about quick fixes—it’s about building obedience that lasts in real-world situations, from whoever the cue comes from. Even after the handover

If you’re struggling with jumping, pulling on walks, reactivity, or a dog that won’t listen, send me a DM.

04/06/2026

3 simple things that can make your dog happier:

1. Let them dig
2. Let them sniff
3. Let them discover new things

These natural behaviours provide mental stimulation, reduce boredom, and help your dog feel more fulfilled and confident.

What does your dog love most: digging, sniffing, or exploring? Tell me in the comments!

04/06/2026

02/06/2026

Teaching your dog to stay neutral is one of the most underrated skills in dog training. Here’s why it matters more than you think.

Most people think a friendly dog is a well-trained dog. But when your dog needs to greet every person and every dog they see, you’re actually setting them up for frustration, overstimulation, and sometimes, reactivity.

Here’s what happens when greeting becomes a habit:
👉 Your dog learns that every dog = a playmate → leading to leash frustration and leash reactivity when they can’t get to them
👉 Your dog learns that every stranger = attention → leading to jumping, pulling, and demand behaviours
👉 Your dog’s arousal levels stay constantly elevated → making focus, recall, and impulse control SO much harder to teach

Neutral doesn’t mean unfriendly. It means your dog can see the world without being consumed by it. It means walks become calm. It means you actually have a dog you can take anywhere.

That’s the goal. A dog who notices, and moves on.

Save this if you needed to hear it, and drop a 🐶 below if your dog struggles with neutrality on walks!

01/06/2026

From chasing a runaway Dalmatian in my 20s to learning about how a dog’s mind truly works, (through science and psychology), in my 40s: this is my story of how I became a professional dog trainer.

My biggest lesson? Experience alone doesn’t make you a great dog trainer. Understanding them does.

Thank you for reading my story.

30/05/2026

One year ago today, at this hour, I lost her. … in my arms, holding her, as they put the needle inside her. I saw her breathing less and less and felt her heart slowly slowing down then eventually stopping.
Second time I cried this hard in my life, even though she was only with me for the last 7 months of her life. I just really hope she felt loved and adored during that 7 months.

Rest in peace my little one, I miss you.

28/05/2026

Working as a volunteer for a breeder taught me more about puppies than any course ever could.

From the weaning process to littermate play, fights, competitions for Mum’s t**s, Mums ways of handling the bites and “arguments”c or the way she cleans them, and real-time problem solving; this is where my knowledge of puppy development was truly built.

If you’re welcoming a puppy into your home, understanding those early weeks is everything. It shapes their behaviour, their confidence, their personalities and how they settle into life with you.

Follow for honest, experience-based advice on puppy development, early learning, and setting your puppy up for the best start.

27/05/2026

This is what it looks like from your dog’s point of view.

A hand. Coming from above. Straight for the head. No warning. No consent. Just reach.

Now imagine that happening multiple times a day from strangers. Children. People in the street who mean well but don’t ask first.

I do not let strangers stroke the dogs I work with. EVER.
Not because they’re dangerous. Because they deserve the choice.

Every time you let someone rush your dog — you’re teaching them that their discomfort doesn’t matter. That they have no say. That the only option is to tolerate it.

Or snap. Because nobody listened to their smaller signals.

Start advocating for your dog. “He’d rather not be stroked thanks”. Simple.

Save this and share it with someone who needs to see it

26/05/2026

Your dog eating weird stuff off the ground is not bad behavior. It is 40,000 years of evolution.

Dogs didn’t become our companions because they were cute. The most accepted scientific theory of dog domestication is called the “self-domestication hypothesis”. Bold wolves began hanging around early human settlements, (close to the fire for its warmth), feeding on food waste and scraps. The least fearful ones survived and reproduced, passing down lower cortisol levels and a higher tolerance for human proximity.

But here’s where it gets fascinating! Scientists discovered that domestic dogs carry mutations in genes called GTF2I and GTF2IRD1 — the exact same genes associated with hypersociability in humans with Williams-Beuren syndrome. Researchers call this the “friendly gene.” Dogs didn’t just adapt to tolerate humans. They evolved, at a genetic level, to be drawn toward us.

On top of that, dogs developed extra copies of the AMY2B gene, allowing them to digest starch far more efficiently than wolves : direct evidence they co-evolved eating human food scraps over thousands of generations.

The scavenging instinct never left. It explains why your dog gets into the trash, eats grass or random things on walks, and treats every meal like it might be the last one. Understanding the science behind the behaviour is the first step to working with your dog’s instincts instead of against them.

What is the wildest thing your dog has eaten? Tell me below.

Mine has eaten a whole chicken drumstick once 🍗🤦🏻‍♀️

26/05/2026

Most people skip this step and that’s why the training is not working.

Before you can change a behaviour, you need to know why it’s happening, what’s the emotion driving it. It’s called a “reinforcement assessment”. In other words: what is the emotion that is reinforcing the behaviour: it’s one of the most important things I do with every reactive, anxious, leash-pulling, excessive barking dog or dog that just won’t listen.

Is the behaviour coming from fear? Excitement? Pain? Frustration? A leash reactive dog and an overexcited dog might look the same on the outside , but they need completely different approaches. Getting it wrong can make things worse.

This is the foundation of how I work with dogs showing aggression, reactivity, or any other problem behaviours. You can’t out-train an emotions, you need to change them.

If you are not sure how to do a reinforcement assessment, send me a DM and I’ll help you. And your dog.