06/02/2026
Getting to Know Cowboy: Part 1
Part of my core mission has always been to teach and equip people on behalf of dogs. Why? Because 90% of "dog training" is, in fact, teaching and equipping the humans responsible for raising them.
There's a gross misunderstanding of canine behavior and behavioral interpretation that's costing countless dogs their homes—and, in many cases, their lives.
They're chronically being mislabeled. Drugged. Isolated. Punished. Bounced from home to home. Surrendered to shelters. Abandoned. Dumped. Even euthanized.
All because behavior is being judged instead of understood.
That's a problem.
And it's one of the reasons I'm so passionate about teaching people how to see—and equip—the dog in front of them.
I received some videos from Cowboy's trainer, Illya, at Topline K9 Services, and am going to be sharing them with all of you as an opportunity to break down what we're seeing.
Not just to provide insight and education, but to help you all get to know Cowboy a little better—and better understand who he is, what he needs, and how we can best support him as he continues to navigate life and this journey.
Here are two videos from Day One of Cowboy's board and train.
What we're watching here is assessment.
Both on Illya's part and on Cowboy's.
Both are gathering information about one another.
Illya is giving Cowboy space and giving him unstructured time to decompress.
He's observing how Cowboy responds to the environment, unfamiliar variables, social pressure, novelty, and uncertainty.
He's assessing how Cowboy feels in his own skin, how he processes information, and where his thresholds and limitations may be.
At the very same time, Cowboy is gathering information about his surroundings. He's determining who and what feels safe. He's taking inventory of this entirely new environment, processing the people, the dogs, the sounds, the movement, and everything around him.
Notice that Cowboy isn't rushing toward anyone or anything. He's not seeking conflict. He's not trying to control anything.
He's scanning. Observing. Processing. Taking inventory of the world around him.
One of the things I appreciate most about Illya's approach here is that he isn't interrupting or rushing this process.
He's allowing Cowboy the courtesy and space to gather information and come to his own conclusions.
Far too many dogs are rushed through this stage.
They're expected to engage before they've had time to decompress, adjust, and make sense of their surroundings.
They're expected to *perform before they feel safe.*
Expected to *trust before trust has been earned.*
With sensitive dogs—and especially dogs carrying trauma (remember: the body keeps the score) —this is incredibly important.
Safety comes before confidence. Trust comes before expectation. Relationship comes before accountability.
When we try to skip those steps, the entire process becomes harder for the dog.
Illya's taking the time to build those ever-important foundational blocks first.
After all, we can't build a strong home on a weak or shaky foundation. It eventually cracks under pressure.
The same is true for dogs.
Before we can build confidence, resilience, skills, and expectations, we first have to build safety, trust, understanding, and stability.
Those are the foundations everything else rests upon.
**Strong foundations create lasting results.**
And that's important because when everything changes—the environment, the people, the routines, the relationships, and the expectations—we often get a glimpse of **who the dog really is beneath the experiences, labels, assumptions, and interpretations others may have placed upon them.**
What we're seeing here is Cowboy in Nature.
Not Cowboy responding to familiar routines, previously developed associations, or to a person he's deeply attached to.
Just Cowboy.
And what I see is the same dog I've known since he was an itty-bitty puppy.
Soft. Sensitive. Thoughtful. Introverted. Reserved. Wallflower Cowboy. Always more of an observer than an active participant.
Even as a puppy, Cowboy tended to hang back and take things in before engaging. While some of his littermates dove headfirst into every experience, Cowboy was usually the one gathering information first and watching from the sidelines.
Then he may—or may not—decide to jump in.
If he did, it was usually only for a little while.
He'd engage. Burn out his battery after a little bit. Then drift back to the sidelines to recharge and watch.
That's who Cowboy has always been: an observer first, a participant second.
And it's good to see that's still who he is.
From a drive perspective, Cowboy's high pack drive, medium-to-high prey drive, and his primary defense strategy is flight (the drive dogs slide into when they feel threatened, challenged, or to navigate tension).
Ava (his mother) is the complete opposite. Ava is mentally tough, confident, assertive, and highly resilient. Cowboy inherited many of her wonderful qualities, but when it comes to handling pressure-- he's much, much softer and far more sensitive than his mother.
In the second video, we see Topline K9's ambassador dog, Reign, applying fair and appropriate social pressure. She's expressing interest in Cowboy. Reign has a very calm, steady baseline temperament and is also gathering information herself.
Watch what Cowboy does.
When Reign calmly approaches and attempts to learn more about him, Cowboy pulls in the other direction trying to get away and creates distance.
And that makes perfect sense.
When dogs are as sensitive as Cowboy, they're often highly sensitive about space as well.
Remember the post I did on the 4 levels of space? https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyArtley1/posts/pfbid0tDkHhVWW86fcBc5oqJKJrfy1U3jaw78rUgXamyQTgZR12MgKBYwgS9RzZt4AoUuXl
Public space. Social space. Personal space. And intimate space.
The more sensitive the dog, the more sensitive they tend to be about who enters those spaces without existing trust, familiarity, rapport, or comfort. It will vary from level to level.
So what does Cowboy do when others he doesn't have existing rapport, relationship, trust, familiarity, or comfort with enter his personal and intimate space?
He tries to create distance.
He moves away from Reign's gentle social pressure while deciding how he feels about the interaction.
That's not a dog looking for conflict.
That's a dog gathering information while navigating uncertainty.
And because Cowboy is as sensitive as he is, human advocacy matters.
But Illya also trusts Reign implicitly. She's giving him feedback about Cowboy, as well.
At the same time, we also have to thoughtfully and safely expose Cowboy to new experiences, situations, and challenges so we can better understand his thresholds, limitations, strengths, and opportunities for growth.
That's where confidence-building begins.
One of the goals of this board and train won't simply be teaching skills.
It will be helping Cowboy build confidence.
Helping him discover that he can move through uncertainty without becoming overwhelmed by it.
Helping him realize he's more capable than he thinks he is.
Helping him understand that the real world....and "life"... isn't the crap-bag he's experienced up to this point (outside of his time here, of course).
Confidence isn't something we force into a dog. It's something we help them discover themselves through successful experiences, thoughtful guidance and leadership, and allowing them to realize they're more capable than they think they are.
That's what this process is about.
And I'm excited to share it with all of you.
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We still need to raise the remaining **$640** for Cowboy's board and train.
If you're able to contribute, here's his GoFundMe:
https://gofund.me/4d6b5b42a
Or you can do so directly via Venmo: Kimberly-Artley-2
We're also actively searching for either a long-term foster or, ideally, a permanent adopter.
Miracle #1 was getting Cowboy into this board and train.
Miracle #2 will be finding the *right* place for him to land afterward.
Not the fastest place. Not the most convenient place. ***The right place.***
A safe place. A capable place. And a place where people understand his need for structure, guidance, advocacy, and are willing (and have the capacity) to help him succeed.
Any foster or adopter who welcomes Cowboy into their life will receive **free training and support from me for life**, as well as **three follow-up sessions with Topline K9 after he graduates from his board and train.**
And perhaps most importantly, you'll have an entire community of people rooting for Cowboy and cheering both of you on.
If you're a trainer—or someone who wants to deepen your understanding of canine behavior, nervous system regulation, confidence-building, and behavioral rehabilitation—this could also be an incredible learning opportunity. Think of it as a real-world shadow and mentorship experience centered around helping a very special dog who genuinely deserves a chance.
Cowboy has been through more than his fair share.
Now we're looking for the people who want to help write a different ending.
