The Driven Dog

The Driven Dog Dog Trainer- Behaviour consultant At Positive Paws we strive to create the best possible relationship between you and your canine friend.
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we use the most upto date science based methods to ensure we are providing the best possible service. We offer 1 on 1 sessions, to help you understand the reasons for your dog’s behaviour. From puppy socialisation and the basic commands, to the more complex cases such as anxious, aggressive and reactive behavior. Our aim us to get the best results for you and your dog. Every breed has a different

need! We work with all sizes, shapes and ages. No challenge is too great, and no dog is a problem not worth helping.

26/04/2026

We often say our dogs are distracted

But distraction means attention is being pulled away

a loss of focus, something unintentional

Motivation is different

Motivation is the reason behind behaviour a drive toward something, with purpose and intent

So when your dog is pulling, barking, fixating or checking out, that’s not just attention drifting

That’s action

That’s commitment

That’s motivation

They’re not accidentally losing focus they’re actively choosing something else

And that matters

Because distraction sounds like something you manage

Motivation is something you understand and then influence

So if behaviour is being driven by motivation, you don’t just try to stop it

You look at what’s driving it

And when you can shift what holds value, and become the reason your dog chooses to act

That’s where the change happens

14/04/2026

Most people recognise that we don’t need to keep punishing behaviour once it stops.

But it seems to be a much more difficult concept for people to accept that it’s not necessary, or even desirable, to continuously reward correct behaviour.

Think about it like this…

When a dog is learning to toilet outside, we reward it.

It’s new, it’s being learned, it needs guidance.

But once the dog is toilet trained, we don’t stand outside for the rest of its life telling it “good job” every time it goes.

We open the door, or give access, and it simply becomes expected behaviour.

That doesn’t mean reinforcement disappears completely.

It just becomes less frequent, less predictable, and more meaningful when it does happen.

Dogs are no different in any other area of training.

If we continuously reward behaviour that’s already learned, we don’t build reliability.

We build dependency.

The goal isn’t just behaviour when reinforcement is present.

It’s behaviour that holds up when it isn’t.

12/04/2026

This is one of the biggest misdiagnoses I see.

People say their dog is protecting them.

Or resource guarding them.

Most of the time… it’s neither.

Resource guarding is about possession.

A real, tangible object. Food, toys, bones.

It’s not frantic.

It’s still.

Intentional. Thoughtful.

A dog that is very aware it has something of value.

That chaotic barking, lunging, over-the-top behaviour you see around owners?

That isn’t resource guarding.

Yes, a dog can guard a person.

But more often than not, that’s not what’s happening.

What you’re actually seeing is a dog under pressure.

Lacking clarity. Lacking understanding.

Internal instability.

The dog isn’t protecting.

It’s coping.

01/04/2026

The reaction happens…

And that’s where the effort goes.

Trying to fix it in the moment.

But nothing is really being taught there.

It’s just being managed.

The behaviour you’re seeing is the end result of everything that came before it.

There’s a saying…

Genetics load the gun. Environment pulls the trigger.

A lot of these dogs aren’t being worked with in a way that supports them.

No real fulfilment. No structure. No clarity.

So by the time they enter the environment…

it just pulls the trigger.

The reaction isn’t the problem.

It’s the result.

Big update from me…I’ve recently invested further into my career (and yes, I may or may not have had to sell a kidney to...
30/03/2026

Big update from me…

I’ve recently invested further into my career (and yes, I may or may not have had to sell a kidney to do it 😅), but I’m incredibly excited about what’s ahead.

From the end of April, I will be reducing my working days. Outside of Board & Train dogs that are staying with me, I will now only be working Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Board & Train clients will also move to a Monday to Friday structure. Dogs will go home on weekends to continue the work with their owners, unless the case is particularly severe and requires otherwise. This structure is something I strongly believe in, as it helps with owner involvement and long term success.

I will no longer be working weekends moving forward.

I am already selective with the clients I take on, but I will be adding another layer to that selection process.

The clients I do work with will need to be fully committed to the process. I simply don’t have the time or energy to work with people looking for quick fixes or who aren’t prepared to put in the work with their dogs. If that’s what you’re after, I’m probably not the trainer for you.

I take a lot of pride in my work, and I truly believe that skilling up never stops. It can expand as far as you’re willing to take it, and this is definitely the next step for me in continuing to grow and develop.

I care deeply about what I do, and this next step reflects that. I’ll be undertaking ’s Training Without Conflict certification program. Ivan Balabanov is someone I hold in huge regard, and he is an incredible trainer, so I’m really looking forward to learning and developing under that level of guidance. There will also be some travel involved throughout the year as part of this.

For those already booked in, nothing changes. These updates apply to new bookings only.

Thank you to all my clients so far. Your trust and commitment mean everything, and I’m genuinely excited to bring new knowledge, skills, and a higher standard of training back to New Zealand.

Super exciting times ahead, and I just wanted to give everyone a heads up.

Thanks again for all the support, it really doesn’t go unnoticed.

25/03/2026

Most people think they have an objective… but they don’t.

“I want my dog to be good with other dogs”

That’s not an objective. That’s a goal.

An objective is something the dog can actually understand.

What do you want them to do?

Take play for example…

Is your objective just to throw the ball and let your dog run around with it?

Or do you want them to bring it back to you?

Because they’re two very different outcomes.

And if you haven’t defined that, you’ll just stand there… calling them… hoping they come back.

Same thing with behaviour.

If you don’t know what you’re building, you’ll keep winging it in the moment.

Define the objective.

Then train towards it.

23/03/2026

I see this all the time.

It’s not that people want to avoid triggers…

it’s just the only way they’ve been shown how to manage it.

A lot of training advice is built around

“don’t put the dog under too much stress until they know what to do.”

And yes, there absolutely should be prep work done
with both the dog and the owner before putting them into these situations.

But the problem is…

It often turns into constant micromanagement and avoidance.

And that’s just not sustainable.

Real life doesn’t work like that.

How can you learn without experience.

You’re going to come across triggers.

So at some point, you and the dog has to learn how to handle that pressure, not just avoid it.

Because if you and your dog never experience it properly, you never learn what to do with it.

They dont learn what’s right, what’s not, or how to actually get it right.

So when it does happen, you see the same behaviours come straight back out.

That’s where clarity changes everything, on both ends of the leash.

20/03/2026

I’ve been noticing a pattern lately… dogs that simply can’t be handled.

Touch their collar, they resist.
Try to hold them, they redirect.
Ask for compliance when it actually matters, and they push back.

And while yes, pain can absolutely be a factor and should always be ruled out… a lot of these dogs aren’t in pain.

They just haven’t learned how to cope with being handled.

Somewhere along the way, we’ve started avoiding this part of raising dogs.
More distraction. More bribery. More “keep them busy so they don’t notice what’s happening” especially in places like the vet.

But here’s the problem…

We’re not reducing conflict.
We’re often layering it.

A dog that already feels unsure is now being touched or restrained, while also trying to engage with food or a toy. That’s not clarity, that’s internal conflict.

And when this becomes the strategy, dogs don’t actually learn how to handle pressure… they just learn how to cope when it suits them.

Real life doesn’t always give us that option.

At some point, your dog will need to be held, restrained, or guided through something uncomfortable and in those moments, we don’t have time to negotiate.

This is why I place so much importance on teaching handling early.

Not through pain.
But through calm, controlled restraint where the dog may initially resist, feel uncomfortable, and then learn how to soften, switch off, and accept the experience.

That’s the part we often skip.

The puppy wriggles, so we let go.
The dog resists, so we back off.
And over time, the dog learns that resisting handling works.

Then as they get older, that resistance can turn into redirecting, avoidance, or escalation.

And now we have a dog that not only feels uncomfortable being handled… but also believes they don’t have to accept it.

The goal isn’t to overpower the dog.
And it’s not about doing anything extreme.

It’s about teaching them, in a fair and controlled way, how to move through discomfort and come out the other side calm.

Alongside this, I build strong cooperation through play, engagement, and reinforcement so I have a dog that wants to work with me, but can also be guided when it really counts.

In this clip you see Voss my puppy and what it started out like For context: the barking is his sister in the crate, not him.

17/03/2026

If I had a dollar for every time an owner said to me “He’s never behaved like this for me before,”

I’d probably be retired by now.

It’s something I hear all the time. But it’s not because trainers have some kind of magic wand.
What often changes is that I’m emotionally detached from the issue at hand and can bring clarity to the situation. Owners are naturally more emotionally invested in their dogs, which can make things harder in the moment.

Dogs respond to the information we give them. What we allow, what we reinforce, what we interrupt, and how consistently we do it all shapes the behaviour we end up living with.

When the message is clear, dogs tend to make better decisions. When the message is inconsistent or confusing, the behaviour will reflect that too.

At the end of the day, dogs are simply responding to the information they’ve been given.

11/03/2026

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲?

This is a question I think the dog world needs to ask more often.

Because a lot of the time when a situation happens with our dogs, the focus immediately shifts outward.

"That dog shouldn’t have run up to us."
"They saw my dog was on lead."
"People shouldn’t have their dogs off-leash."

And sometimes that’s absolutely true.

But it also raises a bigger question.

Are we holding our own dogs accountable for their behaviour in those moments?

Because when something happens, many people immediately focus on what the other dog did wrong.

But the reality is we only truly control one dog in that situation, our own.

If I’m walking through an off-lead space and another dog trots up, the first thing that matters is how my dog responds.

If we constantly excuse our dog’s behaviour because of what another dog did, nothing really changes.

Our dogs just keep rehearsing the same reactions.

Growth starts when we stop focusing on what everyone else should be doing and start focusing on what we expect from our own dog.

Because that’s where the real influence lies.

Not in controlling the environment.
Not in controlling other people.

But in being clear about the standards we hold for our own dog.

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