Jackie Pritchard Dog Training

03/29/2025

Long but excellent read. Here is the science behind why constantly playing fetch is never a good idea.

There is a question I get asked constantly:

“Bart, should I play fetch with my dog every day? He LOVES it!”

And my answer is always the same:
No. Especially not with working breeds like the Malinois, German Shepherd, Dutch Shepherd, or any other high-prey-drive dog, like hunting dogs, Agility dogs, etc.

This answer is often met with surprise, sometimes with resistance. I get it—your dog brings you the ball, eyes bright, body full of energy, practically begging you to throw it. It feels like bonding. It feels like exercise. It feels like the right thing to do.

But from a scientific, behavioral, and neurobiological perspective—it’s not. In fact, it may be one of the most harmful daily habits for your dog’s mental health and nervous system regulation that no one is warning you about.

Let me break it down for you in detail. This will be long, but if you have a working dog, you need to understand this.

Working dogs like the Malinois and German Shepherd were selected over generations for their intensity, persistence, and drive to engage in behaviors tied to the prey sequence: orient, stalk, chase, grab, bite, kill. In their role as police, protection, herding, or military dogs, these genetically encoded motor patterns are partially utilized—but directed toward human-defined tasks.

Fetch is an artificial mimicry of this prey sequence.
• Ball = prey
• Throwing = movement stimulus
• Chase = reinforcement
• Grab and return = closure and Reward - Reinforecment again.

Every time you throw that ball, you’re not just giving your dog “exercise.” You are triggering an evolutionary motor pattern that was designed to result in the death of prey. But here’s the twist:

The "kill bite" never comes.
There’s no closure. No end. No satisfaction, Except when he start chewing on the ball by himself, which lead to even more problems. So the dog is neurologically left in a state of arousal.

When your dog sees that ball, his brain lights up with dopamine. Anticipation, motivation, drive. When you throw it, adrenaline kicks in. It becomes a cocktail of high arousal and primal intensity.

Dopamine is not the reward chemical—it’s the pursuit chemical. It creates the urge to chase, to repeat the behavior. Adrenaline and cortisol, stress hormones, spike during the chase. Even though the dog “gets the ball,” the biological closure never really happens—because the pattern is reset, again and again, with each throw.

Now imagine doing this every single day.
The dog’s brain begins to wire itself for a constant state of high alert, constantly expecting arousal, movement, and stimulation. This is how we create chronic stress.

The autonomic nervous system has two main branches:

• Sympathetic Nervous System – “Fight, flight, chase”

• Parasympathetic Nervous System – “Rest, digest, recover”

Fetch, as a prey-driven game, stimulates the sympathetic system. The problem? Most owners never help the dog come down from that state.
There’s no decompression, no parasympathetic activation, no transition into rest.

Chronic sympathetic dominance leads to:
• Panting, pacing, inability to settle
• Destructive behaviors
• Hypervigilance
• Reactivity to movement
• Obsession with balls, toys, other dogs
• Poor sleep cycles
• Digestive issues
• A weakened immune system over time
• Behavioral burnout

In essence, we’re creating a dog who is neurologically trapped in the primal mind—always hunting, never resting.

Expectation Is a Form of Pressure!!!!!!

When fetch becomes a daily ritual, your dog begins to expect it.This is no longer “fun.” It’s a conditioned need. And when that need is not met?

Stress. Frustration. Obsession.

A dog who expects to chase every day but doesn’t get it may begin redirecting that drive elsewhere—chasing shadows, lights, children, other dogs, cars.
This is how pathological behavior patterns form.

Many people use fetch as a shortcut for physical exercise.

But movement is not the same as regulation.
Throwing a ball 100 times does not tire out a working dog—it wires him tighter.

What these dogs need is:
• Cognitive engagement
• Problem solving
• Relationship-based training
• Impulse control and on/off switches
• Scentwork or tracking to satisfy the nose-brain connection
• Regulated physical outlets like structured walks, swimming, tug with rules, or balanced sport work
• Recovery time in a calm environment

But What About Drive Fulfillment? Don’t They Need an Outlet?

Yes, and here’s the nuance:

Drive should be fulfilled strategically, not passively or impulsively. This is where real training philosophy comes in.

Instead of free-for-all ball throwing, I recommend:
• Tug with rules of out, impulse control, and handler engagement

• Controlled prey play with a flirt pole, used sparingly

• Engagement-based drive work with clear start and stop signals

• Training sessions that integrate drive, control, and reward

• Activities like search games, mantrailing, or protection sport with balance

• Working on “down in drive” — the ability to switch from arousal to rest

This builds a thinking dog, not a reactive one. The Bottom Line: Just Because He Loves It Doesn’t Mean It’s Good for Him

Your Malinois, German Shepherd, Dutchie, or other working dog may love the ball. He may bring it to you with joy. But the question is not what he likes—it’s what he needs.

A child may love candy every day, but a good parent knows better. As a trainer, handler, and caretaker, it’s your responsibility to think long term.
You’re not raising a dog for this moment. You’re developing a life companion, a regulated athlete, a resilient thinker.

So no—I don’t recommend playing ball every day.
Because every throw is a reinforcement of the primal mind.

And the primal mind, unchecked, cannot be reasoned with. It cannot self-regulate. It becomes a slave to its own instincts.

Train your dog to engage with you, not just the object. Teach arousal with control, play with purpose, and rest with confidence.

Your dog deserves better than obsession.He deserves balance. He deserves you—not just the ball.


Bart De Gols

03/29/2025

PREVENTING DOG ATTACKS
As dog parents we hope that this will never happen to our dogs, but in reality, many of us have personal experience with this really traumatic event.

The consequences of a dog attack are immense - not just the potential physical injuries, but the emotional trauma that often changes a dogs behaviour from there on.

I often wish that I could go back in time, knowing what I know now. I wish that I could have prevented what happened to my dogs if I had tried some of these methods. All I did at the time was scream – I didn’t know what else to do. Screaming only escalated the situation.

My dogs were attacked while out walking in the neighborhood as a person arrived home and opened their front gate just as we had walked past. 2 big dogs chased us up the road and attacked my dogs. One of my dogs had serious injuries requiring stitches, drains and days at the vet. She recovered physically, but years later is still fearful of bigger dogs and hides behind anything she can find in the environment until they have disappeared.

One of my other dogs, although not physically injured at the time, began reacting to any dog that was bigger than her and still does this, years later. The emotional trauma is often far greater than the physical.

Knowing what methods to try in an attempt to prevent a dog attack are so important. It may seem like a hassle to have to carry a few extra things when out walking or to always have to be aware of the environment.

It may sound terrible to have to resort to putting your little dog into a nearby dustbin to protect them or to use a spray or horn device to deter the approaching dog, knowing that it will affect your dog as well.

There is never a guarantee that these methods will work and every situation is different, but we need to do all we can to prevent an attack from happening.

03/27/2025

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Link to registers in comments

03/26/2025

BALANCED DOG TRAINING ~ GOOD THING OR NOT?

Balanced training sounds like a good thing, right? I mean, when you hear the word, "balanced," things like a balanced diet, work-life balanced, balanced tires come to mind, right?

Well, balanced training is not a good thing. Balanced training is a disguise for training that uses force and aversive tools and methods as well as some form of positive reinforcement.

"Balanced" dog training is a type of training that has been well established to cause stress, anxiety, and even aggression. Let me be clear, there is no such thing as "purely positive" (training), a term coined by opponents of force-free positive reinforcement training to describe the way those of us who are opposed to compulsion and aversives train.

Trainers who ascribe to fear-free, force-free training methods DO use "punishment," but it is a form of punishment that most people do not understand as punishment. In behavioral terms, a consequence that stops behavior from reoccurring is called punishment in behavior science.

For example, if a dog jumps on me or a puppy bites me and I withdraw my attention, my withdrawal of attention is called negative punishment. In behavioral terms, negative punishment refers to removing something the dog wants, e.g., attention, to stop a behavior.

We rarely, if ever, use what is called positive punishment, the application of something aversive to stop a behavior. That's because it's rarely, if ever, needed or appropriate. This kind of punishment is often ineffective with negative consequences, and most, if not all of the time, there are better ways to train and modify behavior.

Force-free, or positive reinforcement trainers understand the Humane Hierarchy, LIMA (least intrusive, minimally aversive), LIFE (least inhibitive, functionally effective) and as of March 19, the new FREE (functional, reinforcing, enriching, and effective) models of training and behavior modification.

They understand the scientific principles of applied behavior a**lysis, and what to use when. They don't have a one size fits all mentality. They have a large tool bag, are generally eager learners, willing to try something new, and care as much about the process of training as they do the end result.

Beware and be wise!

Cindy Ludwig, M.A., B.S., R.N., KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA
Owner, Canine Connection LLC
Voted Best Springfield, Missouri Dog Trainer

03/25/2025

I AIN’T MISBEHAVING
I’m just doing what dogs do!

What may look like misbehaviour is often just a dog behaving as dogs naturally do.

We expect so much of our dogs when we bring them into our world, forgetting that they are a different species that don’t arrive pre-programmed to behave in a way we expect them to.

We hold dog’s captive in a confined, unnatural space and then become frustrated when they don’t behave the way we expect.

We become frustrated when our dogs don’t walk nicely on a lead, don’t get on with every other dog or person they meet, steal food from counter tops, don’t give things back, guard resources, dig, chew or destroy what they shouldn’t, bark, howl, whine or perhaps growl etc.

We need to replace our frustration and our need to train away or fix unwanted behaviour with understanding, patience and guidance.

Understand that dogs naturally behave in a certain way. Be patient while guiding them to learn a different way to behave through using force free, positive reinforcement methods, meeting their needs and managing their environment.

Providing outlets to engage in natural behaviour, providing mental, physical and social stimulation and understanding why dogs behave the way they do will create secure relationship and make such a difference in their lives.

One of the greatest gifts we can give our dogs is our understanding.

03/24/2025

Great post about digging!

03/19/2025

A lot of dogs want you to know this -

Instead of a fancy collar and bed? They’d rather have a fenced in yard - even if it has to be small and home made - so they can have off leash time to dog and dig.

Instead of daily neighborhood walks? They’d rather you drive to a dirt road and put them on a 30ft line and let them zig zag and smell as long as they like

Instead of twice daily meals in a bowl? They’d rather have food through enrichment activities that stimulates their brain and their nose.

Instead of basic obedience training? They’d rather have purpose driven training that feeds their genetic make up and needs AND helps them survive and thrive in todays world.

Instead of a human wanting something from them? They’d love a human wanting to understand them better.

Instead of focusing on perfect “heels” and “stays”? They’d love to learn how to be resilient and less stressed and cope with the outside world and our expectations.

Instead of harsh punishments and corrections? They’d prefer proactive management and rewards for good decisions.

We can’t change everything about the lives our dogs are forced to live with us in, but we can make these kinds of changes and see a huge improvement in their quality of life and wellbeing.

-Helen St. Pierre

03/19/2025

This is upsetting.
Consent is not optional. It’s crucial in building and maintaining trust.

Consent-based care isn’t optional. It’s everything. And last week, someone I trusted chose to ignore it.

My beautiful, gentle 14-year-old Percy came home from his groomer shaking. She claims to use a force-free, stress-free approach. She does not.

Percy is deaf. He's partially blind. He's frail. And yesterday, someone I trusted to care for him with compassion chose to do the exact opposite.

I can't stop thinking about how scared he must have been.

Here's the thing about operating without force or fear - either you're doing it, or you're not. There's no middle ground. There's no "consent-based and compassionate, except when I'm annoyed or want to get the job done quickly."

We had discussed his boundaries extensively. He doesn't like his paws touched. His nails are sensitive. His muzzle and private areas are off-limits.

She knew I'd rather he come home half groomed than been forced through anything.

She KNEW all this.

And yet, for whatever reason, she did the opposite.

She shaved his entire muzzle. Shaved his private areas. Shaved his feet and clipped his nails. All the things we had explicitly agreed she would NOT do if he showed any discomfort.

To do this she would have HAD to restrain him, to force him, to subjugate him to a process that would have petrified him.

This wasn't an accident. This wasn't a miscommunication. This was a choice.

A choice to prioritize her process over my elderly dog's emotional wellbeing.

A choice to ignore his boundaries because they were inconvenient.

A choice to send a message: "Your dog's comfort doesn't actually matter to me, even though I pretend it does."

When a groomer, vet, trainer or any professional who works with dogs puts the end result above the emotional journey to get there, they are failing that dog.

Full stop.

I would rather have the scruffiest dog in town than know my boy spent even one minute feeling afraid and helpless while someone forced procedures on him.

I'm devastated that I couldn't protect him from this.

That someone who used all the right words - "low stress," "positive," "force-free" - chose to do the exact opposite the moment it became challenging.

When we talk about "consent-based care" for dogs, some people roll their eyes. "It's just a dog," they say. "Sometimes you have to just get things done."

But if you've ever looked into the eyes of a dog who trusts you completely to keep them safe... if you've ever felt the weight of that responsibility... you know.

You know that "just getting it done" isn't good enough. Not even close.

I don't care how perfect a groom looks if it came at the cost of my dog's dignity and trust.

I don't care how convenient it is to force a dog through a procedure instead of taking the time to build trust.

I don't care what anyone thinks about being "precious" with my dog's boundaries.

Because at the end of the day, I'm all Percy has. I'm his voice. I'm his advocate. And I failed him by trusting someone who used kindness as a marketing slogan rather than a genuine commitment.

To every professional working with dogs:
Words matter. Promises matter. But your actions matter most.

If you claim to be "low stress", "no fear" or "force free," but get frustrated when a dog doesn't comply, you're not what you claim to be.

If you advertise gentle handling but prioritize efficiency over emotional wellbeing, you're not what you claim to be.

If you think a result justifies trauma to get there, you're not what you claim to be.

All our dogs deserve better. They deserve practitioners who truly understand that consent isn't optional - it's everything.

You have the right to demand that of every professional in your dog's life.

Percy deserved better. And I'll spend every day making sure he never experiences anything like that again.

Because real love means respecting boundaries, even when it's inconvenient.

Real care means prioritizing emotional wellbeing over results.

Really working without fear isn't just marketing - it's a promise you keep even when no one is watching.

If the process isn’t kind, the result doesn’t matter.

03/15/2025

We can be so laser focused on another dog about to interact with ours that we forget to take into account their dog is only half of the picture we need to see....and we need to see it with clarity 👀
The person you have JUST met needs the same critiquing as their dog.
Potentially hazardous situations occur because we don't look as critically as we should at the handler.
Our dogs may have shown interest towards each other, but we need to lift our eyes off their dog... and follow that lead/leash up to critique the skills of the other person.
⚠️Do they have any verbal or even physical control over their dog?
⚠️Does their dog engage with them...at all ?
⚠️Have we observed how they handle other situations their dog finds themself in and is that acceptable to us?
⚠️Do they have a vastly different idea of good play than you do?
⚠️Does their dog listen to them at all?
⚠️Are they not recognising exactly what is occurring or are brushing it off from being ill informed or even embarrassment?

We need to take a little more time to assess the other persons capabilities before agreeing to those interactions....even if our dogs are showing great interest in meeting and playing.

This dog training handout is available through https://www.abcdogsnz.com/product-page/abc-dogs-nz-dog-and-dog-interactions?srsltid=AfmBOoqeJOLywt66TTI-YH5TeNopQuPHoJ0OE4bOLb_UPlEFyMMEFP_H

03/15/2025

So excited about this!

03/14/2025

I have had the pleasure of working with Watson and his family over the last few months. He is such a smart boy and his human Mom survived the teenage period with patience, perseverance and compassion.
Couldn’t possibly be more proud of the work they’ve put in 🐾❤️

Nothing but kind and humane training methods were used when working with Watson…aka Mr. Busy 🙂

03/13/2025

Genetics matter! Providing opportunities to engage in behaviours they have been bred for is important for their overall health and wellness.

03/11/2025

Possible reasons why your dog doesn’t like…..

Here's why your dog hates certain things.

Your dog doesn't like black dogs because they see things on a blue-yellow colour spectrum. Black dogs, in general, just look like eyes and teeth.

Your dog doesn't like German Shepherds/Huskies/Malamutes because their ears are pointed upright, and that can be a sign of confrontation. Most of these dogs also have darker faces.

Your dog doesn't like French Bulldogs because their bulbous eyes can showcase they're anxious when they're not, their ears are pointed upright and their breathing can sound like growling. They also don't have tails that cover their a**l glands, so they're constantly spreading social scents that dogs can interpret as rude (think of the really loud aggressive guy at the pub).

Your dog doesn't like men because men tend to be taller, wear darker clothing and dogs are less likely to have interactions with men as a puppy than they are women or children. They will also have specific associations with their scent too.

Your dog doesn't like children because they are unpredictable - one minute they are still, the next minute they are not! Their movements are jerky, difficult to follow and can be scary. Plus they make a lot of noise!

Hope you found this helpful!