The Good Dog Academy

09/04/2026

Treating the symptom without addressing the root cause is why most reactivity training hits a wall. Lunging is just the surface reaction—fear, frustration, or overarousal is the actual engine behind it.

When you shift from trying to suppress the reaction to understanding the emotion driving it, everything changes.

Identify the trigger: Is it barrier frustration, fear-based space creation, or over-aroused excitement?

Change the emotional state: Work at a distance where your dog can notice the trigger without crossing their threshold.

Build a new default: Teach them that seeing another dog means checking in with you for direction, not taking matters into their own hands.

Stop managing the lunging and start solving the why. Check out our Behavior Blueprint to map out your dog’s specific triggers and build a customized action plan.

What’s the biggest challenge you face when trying to keep your dog’s focus around triggers?

09/03/2026

“Dog trainer near me.”

Of course that's where most people start.

Then we compare:
💰 Price
⏱️ How long it'll take
✅ Guaranteed results

Those aren't bad things to know.

But they only help you compare options if you're actually buying the same thing.
With dog training, you may not be.

Two trainers can promise the same result while having very different methods, experience, support and approaches to understanding what's driving the behavior.

So before you decide who's expensive and who's a bargain, find out what you're actually buying.

Over the next few weeks, I'm breaking down what I'd look for if I were hiring a trainer for my own dog.

Save this if you're trainer shopping — the next post is what I'd actually compare.

FIRST COMMENT:
“Can you stop this behavior?” is one question.
“HOW are you going to stop it?” is the better one.

09/02/2026

Shouting louder rarely works when the frisbee is currently winning the dopamine lottery. When your dog ignores recall, it’s usually not spite—it’s just basic math. Whatever they’re doing is simply paying better than coming back to you.

To win their attention, you have to upgrade your offer.

Swap the currency: If a piece of kibble can't compete with a flying disc, bring out high-value rewards (freeze-dried liver, cheese, or a high-drive tug toy) reserved only for recall.

Make yourself unpredictable: Instead of standing still and calling, drop low, run backwards, or turn it into a chase game in the opposite direction.

End on a win: Don't only call them to clip the leash and end the fun. Call them, reward heavily, and release them right back to play.

What's your dog's absolute favorite high-value treat when you need to compete with that frisbee?

09/01/2026

08/31/2026

A growl does not automatically mean a dog is aggressive or about to bite.

But it does mean the dog is communicating.

They may be scared, uncomfortable, guarding something, in pain or asking for more space.

Saying “he doesn’t mean it” can cause people to keep pushing after the dog has already asked them to stop.

You do not need to panic—but you do need to listen.

Create distance. Protect everyone involved. Look at what happened immediately before the growl. Then address the reason behind it instead of dismissing the warning.

Would you rather your dog warn you—or feel like they have to skip the warning?
Comment LISTEN if more people need to understand this. 👇

Follow The Good Dog Academy for dog-behavior education that looks beyond the surface. Part of my “Bad Dog Advice” series. Follow so you don’t miss the next one.

08/28/2026

Attention is currency to your dog. 💰🐶

Eye contact, talking, touching, or pushing back—to a jumping dog, it’s ALL a payout. If jumping gets a reaction, jumping continues.

Stop fighting the jump. Start rewarding the alternative (sit, touch, or four-on-the-floor).

Save this for the next time your dog greets you like a pogo stick! 📌

08/27/2026

Would your dog?

08/26/2026

I thought I knew Dolly Parton. I didn't know these three things. 💗🐾

Like so many people, I've always thought Dolly was an absolute gem — funny, kind, unapologetically herself, generous beyond measure, and somehow able to be larger than life without ever seeming to take herself too seriously.

But after hearing we'd lost her yesterday, I went down a little Dolly rabbit hole.

And as a dog trainer, I couldn't believe what I found.

🐾 Her first recorded single was Puppy Love. She was just 13.

🐾 She wrote Cracker Jack about a beloved stray dog from her childhood — one of her dearest companions growing up in the Tennessee mountains.

🐾 And more than 60 years later, she launched Doggy Parton — an appropriately over-the-top line for dogs, rhinestones and all, with part of the proceeds supporting animal rescue.

From Puppy Love at 13 to Doggy Parton in her 70s.

Dogs were quietly woven through Dolly's story all along.

And somehow, learning that makes me love her just a little bit more.

The world lost a true original yesterday — a woman with an enormous personality, an enormous heart, and apparently, a pretty big soft spot for dogs too.

Rest easy, Dolly. The world is a little less sparkly without you. 💗✨🐾

08/25/2026

If you know, you know.

08/24/2026

Some puppy mouthing decreases naturally as puppies mature—but “just wait and hope” is not a training plan.

Puppies need help learning:

• How hard is too hard
• What they are allowed to bite
• How to calm down when they get overstimulated
• How to interact with people without using their teeth

The goal isn’t to punish normal puppy behavior.

It’s to teach bite inhibition, redirect appropriately and prevent your puppy from rehearsing the same painful behavior every day.

Is your puppy currently in the land-shark stage?

Comment LAND SHARK so I know I’m not talking to myself. 🦈👇

Follow The Good Dog Academy for practical puppy training that works in real life. Part of my “Bad Dog Advice” series. Follow so you don’t miss the next one.