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ABC Dogs NZ ABC Dogs NZ. All Behaviour is Communication. Sharing insights on reactivity, body language, and relationship-based learning. Based in New Zealand.
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Yeah, yeah. Trigger stacking 🥱I know. We harp on about it.But it's fundamental to understanding and helping a dog.And th...
14/10/2026

Yeah, yeah. Trigger stacking 🥱
I know. We harp on about it.

But it's fundamental to understanding and helping a dog.

And those triggers?
They can be pretty insignificant when looked at individually.
A sniff that went wrong, a rattling trailer driving past or even a barking dog behind a fence.

That's why we always need to keep trigger stacking tucked away in the back of our minds.

It's often easy to recognise when a dog has reached complete emotional overload.
Clear as day.

All those other stages?
Sometimes not so clear.

And when things aren't quite so obvious, it's easy to make decisions to stay at the park a little longer, meet that next dog, or greet that person.
When maybe we should have recognised what our dog was already telling us.

And those stages?
They're not really a reliable, fixed scale.
Dogs won't necessarily work their way neatly or clearly through each one.
The stages can overlap, those changes can be really subtle, and recovery?
Yup, pretty individual too.

So maybe it's time to stifle that yawn and give trigger stacking the attention it deserves.
Because those seemingly small, insignificant experiences can add up.

And what a dog could cope with an hour ago might be something they simply can't cope with now.

Even your dog.

Time for a wee chat.You think we misunderstand you.That we have no sympathy for your particular situation.Maybe we reali...
13/10/2026

Time for a wee chat.

You think we misunderstand you.
That we have no sympathy for your particular situation.
Maybe we realise more than you think.

Let's translate what we actually hear every single week:

1. "It was just a whoopsie litter."
Translation: The female was taken out while in heat. She wasn't managed. That's irresponsible.
A true accident is a dog jumping your fence. Not taking her to the dog park because you thought she was finished. And not taking her around to your friend's house who just happens to have that male dog.

2. "It's for the betterment of the breed."
Really? How is it betterment when mothers are mated to sons and fathers to daughters?
We know you do it, sometimes you're open about it. Inbreeding isn't betterment. It's like genetic soup left boiling too long. It doesn't lock in the "good stuff", it can concentrate everything that is wrong. Disease, bad hips, bad hearts, shorter lives.

3. "For the kids to experience the miracle of birth" / "So she can be a mum once."
So the kids can also experience the miracle of emergency C sections? Of mastitis complications? Of puppies that don't sell?

4. "We didn't want to put her through desexing, it's cruel / too expensive."
So instead you put her through 9 weeks of pregnancy, hours of labour, and all the risks because you either couldn't keep two dogs separate or actually wanted this to happen. Desexing is one planned surgical procedure. Pregnancy and whelping come with risks you cant always plan for. You really didn't spare her.

5. "They've been vet checked."
And what exactly does that mean?
Because it can mean as little as one minute per puppy when you turn up at the vet with eight of them.
Eight puppies. Eight quick examinations. And suddenly "vet checked" becomes your big selling point.
You can have eight vet checked pups and two breeding parents who have never had a single health test.
And the buyer? They hear "vet checked" and think you've done your homework.
And that's exactly what you're counting on.

Because here's what WE see.

We see the weird hips and the sloppy sits at 10 weeks old.
We see the puppies already displaying behavioural problems that should have alarm bells ringing
We see the fear, the anxiety, the puppies already struggling to cope with ordinary everyday experiences.
Because you either don't know the first thing about raising a litter and giving those puppies a decent start in life, or you simply couldn't be bothered learning.
We see the supposedly "miniature" puppy that's the size of a small horse at 12 weeks.
And the other "miniature" that's actually just five weeks old and should never have left mum.

We hear the ridiculous advice you give puppy buyers.
We see them following your "rules", sometimes to the absolute detriment of their own puppy. Because they genuinely believe you're the expert.

We see the owner saying "he's a pure XYZ, papers are on their way."

And the ones that don't sell? They get given away free to anyone who will take them. Or worse, they become stock for the next litter.
No one questions who the mum or dad is. Some purchasers only care about the cute photo.

And you know it.

So no. You're not misunderstood.
We understand you completely.

Eek. Are we still teaching this?"Mum, can I pat the cute dog?""Sure, just reach your hand right out and let them sniff y...
12/10/2026

Eek. Are we still teaching this?
"Mum, can I pat the cute dog?"
"Sure, just reach your hand right out and let them sniff you first."

And it's not just children we've been teaching this to.
It's generational, and it's well and truly established as "how to greet a dog".

But somewhere along the way, we've confused letting a dog gather a bit more information with asking them to accept more physical contact from us.

Dogs don't need a hand presented to their face to smell us.
They really can smell us from metres away.

Do dog trainers disagree on this?
Yes.
Because yes, dogs can gather additional scent information by investigating things up close. I'm not disputing that
But I'm all for safety!
I see a wet floor, I'm gonna put a cone on it.
When I see hands reaching out towards an unfamiliar dog's face?
I'm going to say "please stop".

Because putting a hand directly into a dog's personal space can be the very thing that leads to a bite.

One thing is for sure, though.
Many dogs will choose to come closer to gather more information.
And yes, they can even do it when they're unsure about the person they're investigating.

A sniff doesn't mean an emotional connection has just been made.
It's not any sort of invitation.
And it certainly isn't proof of trust.

So how about we normalise keeping our hands by our sides?

And please, let's teach children a different way. Because this is one piece of advice that really doesn't need passing down to another generation

Easy Peasy.No pleading.No lead pulling.No awkward "standoff" while your dog has read the same clump of grass for 8 minut...
12/10/2026

Easy Peasy.
No pleading.
No lead pulling.
No awkward "standoff" while your dog has read the same clump of grass for 8 minutes.

Just a word or two you've taken the time to teach.

And suddenly, you've got a really handy "trick" up your sleeve.

It's simple, it's kind, and it can get you out of so many sticky spots before they get stickier.

It helps you dodge the dog you don't want to meet.
Helps you turn around without a tug-of-war.

And yup, it can absolutely help with reactivity too.

🤔 If you're wondering how I actually use it on a walk, I've put the 5 moments I use it most in today's Story

Trainers have a weird obligation.In an area we have absolutely no business pretending to be experts in.We're not vets.Bu...
11/10/2026

Trainers have a weird obligation.
In an area we have absolutely no business pretending to be experts in.

We're not vets.
But sometimes we notice things.

Little things.

And sometimes pointing them out opens a whole can of worms.

"He was only at the vet a few weeks ago."
"He's always walked like that."

And then there's little ole me.
Dancing on that very fine line between noticing something and having no explanation about what it might mean.
"There's something odd about that back leg."
"Have you noticed how he turns his head?"
"Does he always sit like that?"

Sometimes I can't even explain what I'm seeing.
I just know something looks a little off.

But imagine if we said nothing?
Someone has asked us to help with their dog's behaviour.
That growling.
The reactivity.
The sudden intolerance they're showing.
Their dog who just doesn't seem quite themselves anymore.

And we're supposed to help make life easier at both ends of the lead.
How can we do that responsibly if we're ignoring the possibility that something hurts?

Pain doesn't always come with a limp.
Sometimes it's a subtle change in movement.
Sometimes it's a dog who becomes grumpy when visitors arrive.
Many, many times a dog can still run, eat, wag their tail, jump and chase a ball

And the worst bit?
I might be wrong.

The vet might find absolutely nothing.

Or it might take several appointments, investigations and a fair chunk of money before anyone gets an answer.
And these days, I absolutely do appreciate what I'm asking them to do.

But we absolutely have an obligation to raise concerns.
Not diagnose.
Not prescribe.
Not play vet.
Just notice, question and refer.

Because sometimes the most valuable thing a trainer can say has absolutely nothing to do with training a dog.

"I think we need to get that checked."
That sentence belongs in every trainer's toolkit.

I've been a bit lazy about this.And as we say here in New Zealand, I've finally got my A into G.I'm about to make gettin...
11/10/2026

I've been a bit lazy about this.
And as we say here in New Zealand, I've finally got my A into G.

I'm about to make getting the actual PDF versions of the dog behaviour and educational graphics a whole lot easier.
A dedicated private wee subscriber Facebook group where they'll be available to download.

Should be ready this week.
Should be.

I've taken the whole weekend off to fluff about with this and a few other ideas I've got up my sleeve.

But has my weekend actually been filled with sunshine, coffee and lots of pottering about?
Yes. Yes it has.
And I've loved every minute of it!

So fingers crossed the new FB group will be up and running soon.

We can add this to the myth pile.Scatter feeding isn't always calming.And it isn't always enriching either.But it's a "g...
10/10/2026

We can add this to the myth pile.

Scatter feeding isn't always calming.
And it isn't always enriching either.
But it's a "go to" recommendation for dogs struggling with behavioural issues.

Scatter some food.
Let them sniff.
Help them settle.
Voila!

And for some dogs, it works absolutely beautifully.

For others?
Everything we don't want to increase bubbles up.
Frustration, arousal and anxiety.

We've slapped a label on scatter feeding.
It's enrichment.
But we forgot the individuality we have right in front of us.
They will decide if it's enriching, calming, frustrating, amps up energy or winds it down.

Are we unintentionally winding them up when we're intentionally trying to "wind them down?"

Does it work the way you "intended"?
Or have an effect you never anticipated ?

It's not calm. It's quiet.That's a very big difference.And sometimes we get those two things horribly mixed up.Because t...
09/10/2026

It's not calm. It's quiet.
That's a very big difference.
And sometimes we get those two things horribly mixed up.

Because there's an enormous difference between a dog relaxing and a dog becoming still because something has made them uncomfortable.
It can look the same.

That's the really tricky bit.

And I think this is one of the things we can so easily miss.
We're always looking for MORE when a dog is struggling.
More noise. More movement. More obvious behaviour.
So when a dog suddenly does less, we can interpret that as an improvement.

We might actually congratulate ourselves for the very change we should be paying more attention to.
We think this dog is settling.
We think they're becoming more comfortable.
We might even decide they're getting used to whatever is happening.
Meanwhile, their whole body may be telling us a very different story.

Stillness can be part of relaxation.
It can also be part of a dog's response to something they find threatening or uncomfortable.
And if we mistake one for the other, we can make some very poor decisions about what that dog should tolerate next.

Sometimes the most important change isn't what a dog starts doing.
It's what they STOP doing.

“Just train your Oodles.”Yep. That was said to me by a well-known name in the dog training industry.Are we still here? A...
09/10/2026

“Just train your Oodles.”
Yep. That was said to me by a well-known name in the dog training industry.
Are we still here? Apparently, well and truly.

Give a man a large, powerful dog and people assume he can handle it.
Give the same dog to a woman and somebody will eventually point out why she shouldn't or can't do it.

A man working with aggression is doing the "serious" behaviour cases.
A woman working with fear is doing the "soft" stuff.
The "fluffy" stuff.

He's commanding.
She's nurturing.

He's confident.
She's pushy.

He's direct.
She's clearly bossy.

He charges a lot because he knows what he's doing.
She charges a lot and "she'd better know what she's doing".

Men with the powerful dogs must be the ones who work with aggressive dogs.
Women with the puppies because, well, she's a woman.

Men demonstrating leadership.
Women demonstrating trust.

Men fixing aggression.
Women helping anxiety.

There are countless exceptions.
That's the point.
That is THE point.

Because dogs don't divide behavioural expertise into masculine and feminine categories.
We do.

And we're all responsible for the boxes we keep putting trainers into.
Every time we assume that big bloke is better equipped for the big dog.
Every single time we assume the woman will be better with the smaller frightened one.
Every time we mistake physical presence for behavioural skill.
And every time we decide what somebody probably specialises in before they've even told us.
We keep the stereotype alive.

And sometimes I wonder how many trainers have been underestimated because they didn't LOOK like the person somebody imagined should be holding the other end of that lead.

And yup, many have been massively overestimated for exactly the same reason.

Competence doesn't have a body type.
Knowledge does not have a gender.

But boy oh boy, it doesn't feel like it sometimes.

Hold that cue up high and protect it.It worked.It works beautifully.Then we go and start to sprinkle all our bad habits ...
08/10/2026

Hold that cue up high and protect it.

It worked.
It works beautifully.

Then we go and start to sprinkle all our bad habits all over it.

As humans we add those "extras" in.
We can complicate the simple and we don't even realise we're doing it.

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