11/11/2025
I ignored my dog trainer - Here's why:
This moment right here - is why I ignored her. When I got Kuki, my frightened little fluff ball, who had been passed from shelter to quarantine to van to foster to me, he didn't know how to talk to me.
He didn't know how to safely walk past me, or hear me speak without jumping, or live indoors, or ask me for help.
Little things we take for granted when we have our dogs from puppies - a ball rolls under the sofa and they look to us. If Kuki lost a treat under something, he would just walk off.
He never asked to go outside, to come back in, never told me he was hungry or wanted a walk. Nothing.
My dog trainer came to meet him and told me "never do anything on his terms. You need to make sure he knows he's not in charge. If he asks for a cuddle, ignore him and call him back once he walks off".
Sorry, WHAT?!
I wanted to learn how to communicate safety and trust with my dog, not that "I am the boss" 😣
That's when I pulled my socks up and decided to bloody well do it myself and do my Level 4 Behaviour diploma!! I lost trust that I would be understood by trainers, or that my dog would be understood by ANYONE if this was the mentality.
I learned that finding someone who genuinely understands my overseas rescue was a big ask, so I became that person - now for him and for hundreds of others- for moments like this, where we can sit together and not need to say a word, because we have spent years communicating trust, understanding, friendship and safety - and never once have I found a need to try and tell him I am the boss.