09/10/2025
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17TppShuvm/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Thank you Silvia Marquina CINOPOLIS for this thoughtful reflection!
"GUILT: the most profitable resource in traditional training disguised as modern.
Many guardians turn to professionals seeking understanding and help, and leave with a new burden: guilt.
Guilt for not doing the exercises, for not having time, for not doing them âright.â
But no one explains that those exercises often make no sense, that thereâs no learning without wellbeing, and that dogs cannot âwork their mindsâ if they donât even have proper walks where they can observe, sniff, and process what surrounds them.
You often hear: âDonât tighten the leash, youâll make them nervous.â
And yes, of course tension matters â but what happens when the situation is already too much for both? When neither the dog nor the guardian has the tools, and theyâre forced into unnecessary scenarios just âto practiceâ?
The dog shuts down, the guardian gets frustrated, and the professional calls it a âlack of commitment.â
Then comes the âdonât humanize themâ speech.
As if letting them on the sofa or giving them quality food were the problem â while those same professionals withhold food to âtrain motivationâ or restrict access to rest and safe spaces, denying basic needs.
And at the same time, they attribute human traits dogs donât have: the ability to plan revenge, to plot twisted strategies, or to fake intentions â as if the moment you relaxed, theyâd take over the world.
Thatâs what really humanizing is. Humanization goes both ways when thereâs ignorance about what is truly canine and what belongs to the species. Itâs not about the type of training, but about the knowledge of the species itself.
Behind these phrases lies little empathy, poor education, and a dangerous confidence in what is not known.
Closed packages are sold, universal protocols, obedience or âmental stimulationâ programs â and when something doesnât work, the diagnosis is always the same: âthe guardian didnât do it right.â
Of course, human involvement is necessary to help dogs â but not to perform mechanical exercises like a Pilates routine.
To accompany is not to train; it is to understand both the guardian and the dog."
