Dog Psychology101

08/25/2026

Finley had been very reactive on his walks. We hit the Greenway to get some much-needed practice.

08/20/2026

Finley loves water out of a hose more than almost anything. So the obvious question is whether he loves the lake.

We took a field trip to Lake Lanier to find out.

He gets in. He wades. He is completely fine right up until the moment his feet stop touching the bottom, and then you can watch him think about it. That is not fear exactly. That is a young dog running out of information.

Loving water and knowing how to swim are two different things. He has one of them so far.

Brick and Chiona came with us, but not for the water. Finley is still nervous about riding in a vehicle. Better than he was, not comfortable yet. A nervous dog alone in a truck has nothing to borrow from, so he had two steady dogs beside him the whole way.

Chiona came off the streets of Puerto Rico. Brick has been doing this work with me for years. Neither one needs anything from Finley, and that is exactly why they work. A dog who does not need anything from you is the easiest dog in the world to relax next to.

Now the part I actually care about. When it was time to load up, Chiona went in, Brick went in, and Finley hopped up behind them on his own. No coaxing, no lifting. Better than last time.

Nobody is going to clip that and put it on the internet. But that is what real progress looks like, and it is slower and quieter than most people want it to be.

Nothing here is a how to. If your dog has bitten someone, do not take him to a public lake. Get qualified in person help first.

Does your dog swim, or does he stand in the shallow end and judge you?

08/20/2026

Finley makes friends!

08/18/2026

Can you stop a high drive dog when he is locked onto the thing he loves most? Not with a treat, you can’t.

I asked Finley’s owner that about the water hose. He said no. Almost nobody can, because almost nobody has been shown how.

When Finley locks on, he is not being defiant or stubborn. He is gone. There is no room left in him for a human voice.

High drive is not the problem. High drive is the engine. The problem is nobody ever built anything around it.

So I interrupt. I ask for something. He gives it to me. Then I reward him with the hose.

That is positive reinforcement. Not a treat, not a clicker. The thing the dog actually wants, handed to him because he earned it. If you are only paying in food, you are working with one bill in your wallet, and against a hose you will lose.

Now hierarchy, since people lose their minds over that word.

Have you ever been part of a family, a school, or a workplace? Then you have lived inside a hierarchy your entire life and it did not damage you. Hierarchy is real. Your dog is looking for it whether you believe in it or not.

The question is your delivery. Are you a bully, or are you a good leader?

At home Finley is top of the pack. Not because he wanted the job, but because it was open. Here he is solidly lower middle, and that is where he finally gets to exhale. He does not have to be the one who handles it anymore.

Restraint holds a behavior still. Cooperation changes it.

Nothing here is a how to. If your dog has bitten someone, get qualified in person help.

What is the one thing your dog will not break away from?

08/16/2026

Relaxing with the Pups😊

08/15/2026

He led classrooms of thirty children for a living. His dog runs him.

Finley is one and a half. German Shepherd, Pit Bull, Australian Shepherd, one third each. He has already bitten the housekeeper. He snaps when he does not want to do something. His owner’s daughter is intimidated by him in her own home. Today he tried to bite me twice.

His owner is eighty five and he is genuinely good at authority. Warm, structured, kind. Exactly what I teach. Nobody ever showed him it works the same way with a dog.

So he restrains Finley instead of asking him to cooperate. Restraint holds a behavior still. It never changes it.

Cooperation and willingness from the dog is the whole point.

He would not come out of my truck. I did not force him. I waited five minutes and let him make the call. That was the first cooperative choice he made all day. Then he met other dogs for the first time in his life and handled it better than most dogs twice his age.

By the last potty break of the night he was playing with Liam. Loose. Silly. Happy.

That is who he actually is.

Day One is not a result. I will show you the hard days too.

If a dog in your house has bitten someone, especially with seniors or kids at home, get qualified in person help.

Be honest with me. Are you leading your dog, or managing him?

08/14/2026

If you don’t take care of your body, where are you gonna live?

Your body is the only house you get, and your dog is counting on it.

Dogs need you to walk them, hike with them, play, keep up, and hold the leash when it matters. A lot of handling problems are not obedience problems. They are strength, balance, and endurance problems.

That’s why I built Combat Fitness Online. Follow CombatFitness.Online and come train.

08/12/2026

Got a new dog and everything is going great? Watch week two.

Most behavior problems I get called about started in the first two to four weeks, back when nothing looked wrong. Dogs living together set rules right away. They do not give each other a grace period. If you do not decide how the house runs, your dog will.

Proper parenting from day one is not harsh. It is clear.

Tell me what showed up around week three.

08/11/2026

You many not know that we have a non profit! Will you vote for us? We need grants and donations to continue our work. Help US Help Dogs!!

Takes 10 seconds. Share this and make it count.