Spicy Dogs

01/06/2026

Everyone out there getting guard breeds and paying for protection training… meanwhile my village dog takes it deeply personally that absolutely NOTHING is allowed near, around, above, below, or suspiciously adjacent to his property.

He protects us from:
• venomous critters
• wild animals of every shape and size
• strange dogs
• questionable humans
• suspicious vehicles
• and deeply concerning inanimate objects that apparently committed some unknown crime by… moving.

He is the best surveillance camera, the best alarm system, and the finest guard dog I’ve ever met.

And the funniest part?

Nobody trained him to do any of this.

He came naturally wired to patrol, assess risk, monitor movement, and take his role very seriously.

Village dogs were shaped by survival, territory, and environmental awareness long before humans started selectively breeding dogs for “protection work.”

Sometimes I think people underestimate just how incredibly capable free-living dogs actually are.

01/06/2026

29/05/2026

The hardest part of learning about dogs wasn’t realising some methods were harmful.
It was finding what truly resonated with me in a field where ideas are so polarised.

Only once you filter out all the BS you finally have the space to go deeper into what actually makes sense to you, and check whether it’s truly backed up by science, ethology, psychology, and lived experience.

Then comes the sad realisation of how many people who genuinely love their dogs are still harming them, or slowly chipping away at their relationship.

And many of them were taught by people who genuinely loved dogs too…
who just didn’t know any better.

I am convinced that most people are not waking up trying to hurt their dogs.

What’s really happening is that they are:

• repeating inherited knowledge
• trusting the wrong professionals
• following dominant culture
• doing what everyone around them says is “normal”

And that’s exactly how coercion and emotional suppression become deeply embedded in dog culture. Not through cruelty but through normalisation!

For decades, we’ve prioritised obedience over communication, compliance over agency, quietness over emotional expression… to the point that it became the norm, and almost nobody questions it anymore.

Moreover, because many dogs adapt externally, we assume they’re okay internally too. We need tgo remember that adaptation is not always wellbeing.

Still, I think one of the most important shifts happening in the dog world right now is that people are finally beginning to question whether “good behaviour” should really be the main goal at all.

More people are becoming open to the idea that understanding matters more and that emotional safety matters too.

Maybe living ethically with another species requires more than simply loving them. I think it requires curiosity, humility, and the willingness to question what we inherited.

25/05/2026

I have said what I've said 👉

We choose where dogs live.
When they eat.
When they go outside.
Who they meet.
Whether they reproduce.
Where and when they release themselves.
Whether they can leave a room.
Express emotions.
Move freely.
Sleep beside us.
Sniff. Bark. Run. Rest.

We control almost everything!!! Dogs are the only captive animals that need permission to go toilet..

And yet, understanding dogs is still often treated like an optional extra instead of the bare minimum.

I think too many dogs spend their lives adapting to worlds they never chose, shaped around human comfort, schedules, expectations, aesthetics, and convenience.

So if we are the ones holding the power, shouldn’t the responsibility to understand them fall on us?

Not just train them, walk them, or manage them..but to truly understand what it means to be a dog!

Understanding their needs, their communication, their nervous systems, their instincts, their emotions, and also their limitations.

It's 2026, love alone is not enough when there is such a profound imbalance of power.

Understanding is part of ethical care.

21/05/2026

We need to start questioning how much of modern dog culture is actually about dogs..and how much of it is about human comfort.

Because somewhere along the way, “good behaviour” became synonymous with:
quietness, compliance, tolerance, convenience.

A “good dog” is the dog who:
doesn’t bark too much, doesn’t growl, doesn’t react, doesn’t take space, and doesn’t make *us* uncomfortable.

And many dogs learn that exactly.

And this unfortunately doesn’t mean they are feeling safe, or that they’re understood..expressing themselves it’s just doesn’t feel possible anylonger.

WHAT HAPPENS INSTEAD:

- A dog who stops growling is often praised.
- A dog who tolerates everything is considered “well socialised.”
- A dog who shuts down emotionally is called “calm.”

But suppression isn’t regulation, they are not the same thing!!

Real emotional regulation still allows communication.
Most importantly, it allows feelings, boundaries, hesitation and preferences.

It allows the dog to remain a participant in the interaction, not just something being managed and shut down.

And yes, safety matters, of course it does, but we also need to ask ourselves an uncomfortable question:

How often are we removing agency “for safety”… when really we are removing it because unpredictability makes us uncomfortable?

Dogs are actual living beings, and they should be treated as such..

Maybe part of truly loving them means being willing to hear what they’re trying to say, even when it’s inconvenient for us (just saying..) 😉

15/05/2026

Watching dogs freely navigate the world here in Sri Lanka has challenged so many things I once accepted as normal.

Including leash culture.

Not because leashes, or any tools are “bad”, but because I started questioning how quickly we move towards control before observation, management before trust.

I wrote about puppies, fear, village dogs, the pet industry, and how deeply normalised physical control has become in modern dog culture.

https://spicydogss.substack.com/p/when-did-we-become-so-afraid-of-letting

11/05/2026

One of the biggest issues in modern dog culture is that many people have never actually spent time observing dogs simply being dogs, without constant intervention, correction, barriers, tools, structure, or human expectation layered onto every interaction.

And if we don’t know what a “baseline dog” looks like, how can we confidently decide what is normal, abnormal, maladaptive, or pathological?

Dogs didn’t evolve in training facilities, suburban homes, or laboratory setups. Yet so much of our understanding of behaviour comes from highly controlled environments that can never fully reproduce the complexity of real life.

Context changes behaviour, and the same animal can behave completely differently depending on:

• confinement
• predictability
• access to choice
• social pressure
• environmental complexity
• human presence and intervention

When studying captive animals, researchers and behaviourists observe them in their natural environments first, so we can understand their real behavioural needs and reduce maladaptive behaviours once they are confined.

Because we need to remember that when animals cannot express natural behaviours, dysfunction appears..and dogs should not be the exception!

And this is exactly why observing free-living dogs can be so valuable. Not because their lives are perfect or because captivity is inherently wrong, but because they give us insight into canine behaviour outside of constant human control.

We can learn how dogs:
• regulate social tension
• use space and distance
• communicate boundaries
• rest
• explore
• avoid conflict
• form loose social systems
• adapt to their environment

The more you observe dogs without immediately interrupting or interpreting everything through a human lens, the more you realise how many behaviours we label as “problems” are often just behaviours that no longer fit modern human lifestyles and expectations.

Science and observation should work together, not against each other.

Because the best understanding of dogs comes not only from studying data or theories, but from studying dogs themselves.

07/05/2026

Sometimes we forget they’re better at do***ng than us 😉

One of the most interesting parts of living with dogs is realising how much better they often are at communicating with each other than we are.

At first, I tried to deter the dogs myself: using my voice, intimidation, eye contact, body pressure. But I wasn’t very effective and I could only barely manage the situation.

Then, I ley my dog step in: No explosion, nor unnecessary conflict, just very clear communication! Here you can see how he showing teeth, he growls, stares, moves very slowly pressuring the other dog to move away.
Calm pressure through body language and space, to which the other dogs listened!

You can also notice how connected we are throughout it all (this is obviously not our first rodeo). He checks in with me several times, comes back to me for support, and together we move through the situation safely.
I guide him with my voice, stand behind him for support, and help him leave the interaction successfully.

We handled it together, not because of any specific training (he is an excellent protection dog!), but because we are a unit, always there for each other.

This is something I think many people miss: dogs don’t always need us to completely take over. Sometimes they need support, guidance, and trust in their own communication skills.

That doesn’t mean putting dogs into situations they can’t handle. I know my dog is capable of navigating interactions like this because I’ve allowed him to develop those skills over time instead of micromanaging every encounter for him.

Competent, emotionally regulated dogs are often incredibly skilled at navigating social tension.

This for me is such a beautiful example of emotional regulation, communication, trust, and competence 🔥

Sometimes our dogs already have the skills. We just need to stop micromanaging long enough to see them.

A thank you to my colleague with who I often discuss about my own challenges and she always helps me see alternatives and push through obstacles 🤝

06/05/2026

I’m just a girl…having full conversations with beings who absolutely understand me, they just don’t always agree with me.

Living with dogs isn’t about giving commands, it’s about constant negotiation.

Explaining why the neighbour isn’t a threat ( or maybe is but we still can't kill him).
Why other animals do not deserve to die, why we’re not chasing that kid today.

And no, they’re not being “stubborn”, they’re making decisions, based on instincts, emotions, and past experiences.

My job isn’t to shut that down, it’s to be relevant enough that, even in those moments, they still choose to listen. And that's what I teach my clients!

That’s what a partenrship looks like: messy, repetitive, sometimes ridiculous! But also incredibly real and rewarding..

06/05/2026

We talk a lot about “unconditional love” when it comes to dogs, and as a dog lover and guardian, I obviously understand why; What we feel with them can be incredibly safe, grounding, and so real.

But this idea can also blur something important, as it can make us forget that dogs do have limits, they also can feel overwhelmed and might need space, distance, or just a break from us sometimes!

When love is framed as “unconditional,” it becomes harder to see when a dog is coping instead of thriving. When they stay close not because they feel safe… but because they don’t have another option.

This is something I see often, especially with sensitive or rescue dogs, they can adapt beautifully and also attach deeply, but sometimes, that closeness carries a weight we don’t notice.

Real safety doesn’t come from always being together, it comes from having choice inside the relationship!

The ability to move away, to self-regulate, and to not carry everything for us.. That’s where resilience lives!

If this resonates with you and your dog, or you’ve ever wondered whether your dog is truly coping or just adapting, I offer 1:1 behaviour consultations where we gently explore your dog’s emotional world and build more balance into your relationship 🤍