04/07/2026
One thing I've noticed over the years is that dog training trends tend to swing like a pendulum.
A topic starts gaining traction on social media, and before long it can feel like everyone is repeating the same advice as though it's the answer for every dog.
I sometimes feel like, in doing that, we're missing the much bigger picture.
The problem is that nothing in dog training exists in isolation.
Dogs don't fit neatly into boxes, and neither do their owners.
Every decision we make should be influenced by both the dog and the owner standing in front of us.
The dog's genetics, temperament, motivation, confidence, learning history, environment and individual needs all matter. Equally important is the owner's confidence, experience, lifestyle, goals and what they're realistically able to implement.
Owners are not dog trainers, nor should they be expected to be. Our job isn't to give them a checklist of rules to follow. It's to understand the principles behind behaviour and apply them to the individual dog and owner in front of us.
The principles stay the same. The application of those principles should always be influenced by the dog and owner standing in front of us.
That's why I struggle with blanket statements. A principle may be completely valid, but that doesn't automatically make one application of that principle the right choice for every dog and every owner.
A trend is exactly that a trend. It may highlight a valuable principle or start an important conversation, but it doesn't replace critical thinking. It doesn't replace observation. And it certainly doesn't replace looking at the individual dog and owner in front of you.
Social media often encourages us to look for one answer to one problem. But dogs are far more complex than that. The same approach won't produce the same outcome for every dog because every dog brings a different genetic picture, learning history, emotional state, environment and owner to the table.
Good training isn't about following the latest trend.
It's about understanding the principles, seeing the bigger picture, and having the flexibility to adapt.
