MY APPROACH TO DOG TRAINING

 

 

Dogs had always been part of my life, but horses had been my passion for more than fifty years.

 

At the time, I owned a mare called Amber Rose. I’d been around horses for decades, so I certainly wasn’t a novice. But Amber challenged everything I thought I knew.

 

She wasn’t frightened.

 

She wasn’t untrained.

 

Most of the time she was willing and obedient. Then, every now and then, she’d quietly decide she’d had enough. It was as if she was saying, “No thank you. I’m not doing that.”

 

On one occasion she bucked me off.

 

Rather than blaming Amber, I found myself asking a different question.

 

What am I missing?

 

That question led me to horse trainer Warwick Schiller.

 

I was looking for help with a horse, but what I discovered was a completely different way of thinking about communication, leadership, trust and helping an animal feel safe and confident.

 

Those ideas fascinated me.

 

At exactly the same time, another journey was unfolding with my little Spoodle, Georgie.

 

Like so many dog owners, I had a treat pouch around my waist and pockets full of treats. We practised sits, stays and recalls in parks, at roadsides and on our daily walks. Georgie became a very obedient little dog.

 

But something didn’t sit right with me.

Georgie was naturally quite anxious.

Sometimes she would happily take a treat.

 

Other times she wouldn’t even look at it because she was simply too worried about what was happening around her.

 

That made me stop and think.

 

If a dog is too anxious to take food…

how can food be the answer?

 

I realised I was teaching obedience, but I wasn’t addressing the reason she felt anxious in the first place.

 

Suddenly, the ideas I was learning through Amber and Warwick Schiller started making sense in a completely different way.

 

I began wondering whether dogs, like horses, needed more than obedience.

 

Perhaps they needed calm leadership.

 

Perhaps they needed clearer communication.

 

Perhaps they simply needed someone they could trust to guide them.

 

So I started observing.

 

First my own dogs.

 

Then the dogs belonging to friends.

 

Eventually, as my business grew, hundreds of dogs in their own homes.

Every family taught me something.

Every dog taught me something.

 

Over time I noticed a pattern.

 

Many of the problems people called me about weren’t really obedience problems at all.

 

They were dogs living with uncertainty.

 

Dogs carrying responsibility they were never meant to carry.

 

Dogs trying to make sense of a world that didn’t always feel clear to them.

The more I focused on helping owners become calm, consistent leaders, the more I watched dogs relax.

 

Of course I still teach obedience.

 

Obedience is an important life skill.

But I no longer see it as the foundation.

 

The relationship comes first.

 

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that I hope I never stop being a student.

 

I still read.

 

I still watch other trainers.

 

I still listen to people whose work I respect, even when I don’t agree with everything they do.

 

If someone has a better idea, I’m always willing to look at it.

 

But I don’t change because something is fashionable.

 

I change because observation, experience and the dogs themselves consistently show me a better way.

 

People occasionally ask why I don’t have a long list of formal qualifications behind my name.

 

The answer is simple.

 

I chose to spend my time learning differently.

 

Instead of collecting certificates, I’ve spent years working with dogs in their own homes, helping real families with real problems and learning from every dog I’ve met.

 

Each one has added another piece to the puzzle.

 

After working with well over a thousand dogs, one thing has become very clear to me.

 

Dogs thrive when they feel safe.

 

They thrive when communication is clear.

 

They thrive when the people around them provide calm, consistent leadership.

 

That’s the foundation of everything I teach.

 

My goal has never been to create the most obedient dog in the street.

 

My goal is to help people create peaceful homes where both dogs and their families can relax, understand one another and genuinely enjoy living together.

 

Because, in my experience, that’s what people are really searching for.

 

Not simply a dog that obeys.

 

But a happier life together.