Ruff Start Dog Training.

30/08/2026

https://www.ruff-start.co.uk/post/bribery

Apparently, I'm corrupting your dog with cheese. “You're bribing your dog!” “Yes, Karen, and yours is harassing that lady with the pram.” There. I've said it. Apparently, using food to train a dog is one of the great moral failures of modern dog ownership. Somewhere along the way, giving a d...

29/08/2026

Do you have any words you'd like me to cover?

Protective.Is your dog really protecting you?“My dog would protect me.”It's something people love to believe.Ask a dog owner whether their dog would protect them and you'll quite often get a very confident:“Absolutely!”I once asked the question on a Labrador group:“Do you think your dog wo...

27/08/2026

I think it might be finally time.

I'm entering my villain arc.

Apparently I'm already halfway there.
I charge money for training dogs.
I don't promise miracle cures.
I occasionally say “I don't know.”
I question things.
I don't blindly follow whatever the latest dog-training trend on Facebook happens to be.
I think dogs are individuals.
I think owners deserve to be taught, not just handed a bag of treats and told to practise “sit”.
I don't think it takes months of of lessons.
I think safety matters.
I think welfare matters.
And, apparently most controversial of all…

I think your allowed to want to understand something without believing in it.

So I've decided to stop fighting it.
From now on, I'm going to embrace the villain.
I'm going to keep asking awkward questions.
Keep reading the research.
Keep changing my mind when the evidence tells me I'm wrong.
Keep telling people when I think something is nonsense.
Keep helping the dogs in front of me rather than worrying about whether another trainer on Facebook approves.

So if you see me walking towards you dramatically with a suitable theme tune playing in the background…

Don't worry.
I've just entered my villain arc.
I'm still going to treat your dog with the respect they deserve. (and yes treating a dog with respect does occasionally mean telling them "No".
More controversy, check me out and my villain persona.)

It's the adults arguing online I'm less concerned about.

27/08/2026

I admit I've used these when talking about my own dogs.

Jealous. FOMO. Or just “Oi, what are they getting that I'm not?”

25/08/2026

If he's allowed to to know everything, why do trainers think we do?

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/197FXiL2xC/

24/08/2026

I was tagged in a rather heartfelt post earlier. It reminded me I had this in a draft folder.

For anyone who needs to hear it.

What happens when the dog trainer is struggling too?There is something we don't talk about enough in the dog-training world.We spend an awful lot of time talking about confidence.Confidence in our methods.Confidence in our knowledge.Confidence in our businesses.Confidence when dealing with difficult...

22/08/2026

Aggression. With the algorithm it's definitely a over used word.

Aggression is a behaviour. It isn't a personality. “He's an aggressive dog.” It's probably one of the most frightening labels we can put on a dog. And unlike some of the other words I've looked at in this series, this one deserves a little more caution. Because aggression can be serious. Very se...

21/08/2026

https://www.ruff-start.co.uk/post/attention-seeking

20/08/2026

The next part of words and their meanings.

Arousal.The word we use when the dog has apparently forgotten how to dog.“He's too aroused.”It's become one of those phrases you hear everywhere in dog training.The dog is barking.Too aroused.Jumping up.Too aroused.Running around.Too aroused.Playing with another dog.Too aroused.Chasing a ball.De...

20/08/2026

I just needed to stop this going round and round my mind.

Disclaimer:This isn't aimed at any one person.I've just had a rather impressive run of enquiries that have gone absolutely nowhere — including a few where I've carried out visits, written and sent full reports and training plans, provided advice and support… and then somehow ended up with neithe...