09/09/2026
Just gonna post this is from the viewpoint of an often stressed out trainer. And that is… training is hard… and I don’t just mean training the dog.
This job can be incredibly rewarding. Watching a struggling dog become more capable, watching an owner finally understand their dog, seeing someone get their life back after months or years of avoiding walks, visitors, other dogs or the outside world, is amazing.
But it often is emotionally draining. The owners who really put the work in are absolute gold dust. 💛
The ones who practice between sessions. Who turn up consistently. Who change their own habits. Who accept that progress isn’t always linear. Who keep going when the novelty wears off. Who learn about the dog in front of them rather than wishing they were a different dog.
Those owners get results and I love it. It puts a smile on my face. 😃
There’s a huge amount of conversation in dog training about doing everything in the kindest possible way, and I absolutely think kindness matters. But sometimes we forget that the gentler, slower route can require an enormous amount of dedication, consistency, management and time. And can in fact, for some dogs, increase frustration.
You can’t demand the least intrusive approach possible while simultaneously demanding the quickest possible result with the least possible effort.
You can’t expect six years of rehearsed behaviour to disappear after one session. And you can’t expect a trainer to fix in an hour what isn’t being practised for the other 167 hours of the week.
You can’t train your way out of needs that simply aren’t being met. This is such a peeve of mine.
Sometimes the dog doesn’t need another training exercise.
They need sleep.
They need appropriate exercise.
They need enrichment.
They need structure.
They need an outlet for the behaviours they were literally bred to perform!
We breed dogs to retrieve, chase, herd, guard, hunt, scent, problem-solve and work alongside humans… then we become frustrated when those same dogs struggle with a life consisting of a walk around the block and sitting quietly in the house. It’s painful to watch.
We also need to stop comparing dogs.
“My last dog never did this.”
“My friend’s Labrador can do it.”
“My other dog learnt this straight away.”
Great. 👍🏼But that isn’t the dog standing in front of you.
Different genetics. Different temperament. Different experiences. Different reinforcement history. Different needs.
Work with the dog you’ve actually got, and if they aren’t immediately good at something, that doesn’t necessarily mean they shouldn’t or can’t do it. We just need to teach them.
Confidence comes from successfully navigating things that were once difficult - not from never experiencing difficulty.
Life itself is pretty harsh. Life contains frustration, disappointment, uncertainty, boundaries and discomfort. We shouldn’t bubble-wrap dogs so they never experience those things. It’s to give them the skills and resilience to cope with them.
And perhaps one of the hardest things to see in this job is when somebody desperately wants to do everything “positively” and “kindly”, but when progress takes longer than expected, the dog ends up being surrendered anyway.
Kindness cannot just be measured by what happens in a five-minute training interaction. There is a bigger picture.
Are their needs being met?
Are they getting appropriate outlets?
Are we helping them develop skills?
Are we setting reasonable boundaries?
Are we preparing them for the world they actually have to live in?
And are we willing to keep showing up when changing behaviour becomes inconvenient?
Sometimes the kindest thing you can give a dog isn’t another treat. It’s NOT all about food.
It’s your time.
✅Your patience.
✅Your consistency.
✅Your willingness to learn.
✅And your commitment to the dog you actually brought home. ❤️
💯💯💯💯💯💯
