Roc Solid Obedience

02/14/2025

One of the great challenges for trainers is seeing this dynamic over and over. It’s a large part of what’s behind so much of the trainer burnout and owner resentment that you’ll find on trainer forums and in private conversations. Seeing possibilities—not just imagined, but actually occurring in reality—and then seeing them deteriorate or completely destroyed over and over—especially with something one cares so deeply about…can do that.

And just to be clear, this post isn’t an owner bash. It’s an open conversation, and an invitation for both sides to contemplate how to improve things. Because at the end of the day we’re all on the same team.

First, owners. There’s simply no getting around the amount of focus, work, sacrifice, and change you’ll have to make if you want to experience what’s possible with your dog, and what your trainer is likely able to experience already. No amount of money or lineup of trainers will deliver you the results of what your dog is capable of, unless you become the equal of the goals desired and your dog’s issues/possibilities. You simply cannot outsource the personal work. It’s like hiring someone to build you a race car, and expecting you’ll be able to drive it to its fullest capabilities simply because the money was spent and the car delivered. Nope. And you know better. That car will sit there with all the amazing possibilities and capabilities—and deliver none to you, because you aren’t skilled enough to bring them to life. If you truly want what your trainer gets, or even some degree of it, you’ll have to become the equal of whatever that degree and desire is. No shortcuts, no workarounds, no pay and play.

Trainers. You’re going to have to come to grips with the fact that many (most!) owners are simply not going to share the same level of obsession and excitement about dog training as you. Which means, if your client has goals which are more simple or less fancy and sophisticated than yours, and they don’t exhaust all the dog is capable of…you have to allow the difference without judgement. This doesn’t make them less than, rather it means they have different goals and objectives and priorities than you. And that’s okay. At least it should be. Everyone gets to decide how they want to live their lives with their dogs. You aren’t the arbiter of what’s “right”, or “best”, or “correct”. It also means that it might be time to adjust your training program to your client’s goals, rather than continuing to try to adjust your client to yours. This of course doesn’t mean you should dumb things down, and deliver substandard work. It does mean you have to wrap your head around the fact that regardless of your desires, no one is going to do what they don’t want to do—no matter how much you push. So, you can either be disappointed by a client’s lack of shared standards, or you can help them find the very best way to live with the standards they actually have. Which means you have the opportunity to craft a program and approach that is based on the reality before you, and what your client actually wants and is willing/capable of replicating. You can be frustrated and annoyed that clients keep “trimming the fat” off your program, or, you could trim the fat yourself, and ensure your program is the most appetizing and doable, and is actually done.

Reality will always have the final say. Owners, you can’t cheat the universe. If you want better, you’ll have to become better—continuing to attempt to outsource will only guarantee the source of success is outside of you. Trainers, owners will rarely share the same obsession as you—which is why you became a trainer and they didn’t—so recognize that reality and find the best way to make that reality the best it can be.

02/14/2025

Life can be difficult at times for all of us.
It can manifest as moments of irritation, frustration, sadness, or even anger. Sometimes those ‘moments’ stay with us longer than they should.
It’s important to try to be a warrior against bad attitude.
For yourself and also for your dog; he feeds off of your energy, body language and outlook, be it positive or negative.

Becoming a great trainer and handler is often separated by the details.
Not only the method you teach but how you go about it, including your mindset and attitude.
Dogs have taught me that to communicate effectively, we have to control thoughts that influence emotions and stay in the moment.
Helping your dog realize his full potential elevates your connection and empowers your bond —it begins when you understand it's more important you work your dog the way he needs, than the way you want. macraeway.com

02/13/2025

Starting training and finish training are way two different thing. Soooooo many owners start the process but never continue the process. You can't take one class, do a few lessons, send the dog away for training or even do it your self for a few weeks, few months, buckle up and stay the course for a few years and even then you have to maintain things.

02/13/2025

want to know why we have some many dog bites and dogs in shelters? Because humans don't take raising a dog seriously. The video below was posted as being funny. Not sure how anyone can think this is cute and funny.

02/12/2025

Anxiety drugs are the big push for difficult dogs. Magic pills do not exist anymore than magic training tools do. 🙄

For years, fluoxetine (Prozac) has been pushed as the answer to behavioral problems in dogs. Veterinary behaviorists and force-free advocates love to cite “science-backed” studies to justify long-term medication use. But here’s a big problem, most of these studies are flawed, biased, and rely almost entirely on owner-reported data.
Take, for example, the 2009 study on fluoxetine for compulsive disorders in dogs (Irimajiri et al., J Am Vet Med Assoc). It claimed fluoxetine helped, yet the only improvement came from owners’ OPINIONS, not actual behavioral measurements. When researchers looked at objective data the dogs’ actual behavior logs they found NO SIGNIFICANT difference between the medicated and placebo groups. But guess which result gets cited?🤫
How about the 2007 study on fluoxetine for separation anxiety (Simpson et al., Veterinary Therapeutics). The conclusion? Fluoxetine was effective … but only when paired with a structured behavior modification plan. And yet, thousands of dogs are medicated without any meaningful training, as if a pill can replace actual learning.
Sad reality is that Dogs are being drugged, not rehabilitated.
Ask any serious trainer what happens when they get a dog that’s been on fluoxetine for years. They take the dog off the meds, implement a sound training plan, and SHOCKINGLY the dog improves.
Not because fluoxetine “worked,” but because the dog finally got what it needed: clarity and proper training.
Yet, the AVSAB keeps pushing these medications while dismissing legitimate training as “aversive” or “outdated.” They’d rather chemically suppress behavior than actually address it.
The real question isn’t whether fluoxetine has some effect but why so many dogs improve when you REMOVE the drug and train them properly?!!!
Behavioral change comes from learning, not sedation. It’s time to stop pretending otherwise.
I know I am not the only one noticing that dogs on fluoxetine don’t get better - they just get dull.
The dog isn’t learning or adapting, just becoming more passive.
This can actuallY DELAY proper rehabilitation, because the dog’s emotions and responses are chemically suppressed rather than modified through learning.
Thinking about making a solo podcast to talk about the dog I have in training right now, one of the many that end up euthanized after YEARS of being on SSRI’s and the pandemic of prescribing psychotropics like flea medication

02/12/2025

Classes start next week! only a few spots remain. Let's get those pups ready for spring!

Here we go! Group classes for 2025 will start mid-February

Registration is currently open and space is limited.
Let’s get them pup’s ready, spring/summer is will be here soon
(off leash class June/July 2025 must pass level 2 string test)
Register directly with the location and class time that fits your schedule.
Roc Solid Obedience https://r-solid.com/index.html

Wheaton Park District location- https://wheatonparkdistrict.com/
Feb16th- March 23rd Sunday's 9am-10:30am (Novice level 1)
Feb 19th- March 26th Wednesday 6:30-8pm (Novice level 1)
Feb 20th- March 20th Thursday 6:30-8 (Continuation class level 2)

Bartlett Park District location- https://bartlettparks.org/
Feb 17th- March 24th Monday 6:30-8pm (Novice level 1)

02/12/2025

One of the most powerful steps you can take as a trainer is to change your mindset from,
‘How can I get my dog to do it’ to
‘How can I get my dog to Want to do it’—

Stress for dogs, often comes from the teacher, not the task.
For some dogs, the resentment for the phase of work that was forced upon them, stays with them and could have been avoided if the handler had changed their approach.
For example, if you make a new concept difficult, even inadvertently, such as,
having expectations of how quickly your dog should learn, how proficient he should be, the wrong set-up
or if you try to force behavior, it could be that you are creating the stress that your dog then associates with that task.
—At the onset of training, it’s extremely important to differentiate, is the training issue one you can change VS. is it a genetic predisposition, that you can improve and manage but not organically alter.

Trying to force a dog to ‘push through’ an issue that stems from their genetics (ie too much eye, inherently wide, inherently fearful etc) is almost always to the detriment of the dog.
Instead, this is when you need knowledge and experience to help your dog or the self awareness to seek help from an expert.

Just like people, dogs can get bored when you do the same thing too often,
frustrated when it’s too arduous or disheartened when too often being told ‘you’re wrong’.

Instead of trying to accelerate your dogs training timeline, focus on your consistency, development and improvement as a teacher.
It's your continuous effort to adjust to your dogs response and body language that will help your dog become the best he can be.
Handlers sometimes find themselves waiting...for the day when they, win the competition, succeed at “X” , are acknowledged by their peers, or other.
Don’t let the pursuit of tomorrow diminish the joy of today, for you or your dog.
macraeway.com

02/12/2025

02/12/2025

When people want us to train out their dogs reactivity so they can go to the dog park or want their human reactive dog to be ok with being pet from people outside of the family, it's time to have some serious talks about what's realistic with training, but more importantly about what's fair for your dog.

02/11/2025

A great read!

There is a LOT of crap out there regarding dog behavior, so I thought I'd create a post to talk about it freely, here.

This image is a snapshot being used simply to depict this dog's state of concern.

Each and every one of us has experienced some form of concern, maybe even fear, when we try something that is totally out of our comfort zone. As humans, we can rationalize that behavior to help overcome our concerns, or we can self-medicate ourselves into a stupor to make the experience less painful or fear-inducing.

Dogs don't have that.

There is a tremendous 'push' to medicate dogs for things that for decades were better, more easily resolved by 1) breeding away from soft temperaments or 2) training the dog and helping it become more confident through learning coping strategies that are incompatible with fear, and 3) not treating them like stuffed toys or ornaments driving our social currency.

It was a proven strategy until folks got it in their head that dogs could avoid the experience of emotional discomfort the same way we do- avoid it and drug it into compliance. It's far easier to garner sympathy for having a 'difficult dog'. Complaining about a dog's behavior seems to be the new currency on social media. That or the copious videos of dogs behaving badly, sung to the tune of millions of likes and follows and overwhelming misunderstanding.

Armchair 'experts' want to either deny millions of years of evolution or try to put a human face on it; never coming to terms with the exploitative nature of the video, that prompts others to put themselves, their children or their friends and families at risk.

It's difficult to argue with, there's so much of it.

What the pharmacologically predisposed folks fail to tell people is the *fact* that drugs have a loading phase, and also an adaptive phase, where the dog is expected to mitigate the physiological changes that occur from this altered state, without understanding why.

I used to be a big partier. I smoked, drank, had a drug habit and engaged in risky associations because that was far more fun and way easier than accepting adult responsibilities. I chose this behavior because I knew what the effect of drugs and alcohol would do to me.

The side effects for Fluoxetine in dogs reads like one of those drug commercials for humans-- "Taking this drug may resolve your symptoms for XYZ, but it could kill you!"

I have been involved with dogs for many years. Decades, in fact. I have never seen so many people willing to avoid 'adult problems' and drugging their dogs, than would entertain being mildly inconvenienced by having to actually follow a program and create a timeline to complete that program and ensure their dog is capable of managing its own emotional state without the use of drugs.

I don't get it, really.

Dogs 'under the influence' of pharmacotherapy tend to be at much greater risk for inappropriate behavior until the dosages renders them entirely emotionally inert.

If I wanted a carpet with hair on it, I would have gotten a steer hide or fur coat.

I have never experienced a dog that was improved by drugs, and I have met a lot of dogs on them. I can also state that of the dogs being treated with drugs for behavior, every one of them were improved enough through sensible training to not need them.

I tell a story about a client that never disclosed to me that their dog was being chemically dosed to control her aggressive behavior. We went a month and a half without any improvement. I finally sat them down and asked why they thought the dog wasn't improving and they had the unmitigated gall to tell me that they were "just waiting until the drugs took effect."

It doesn't work that way, and there are still folks in the veterinary community that insist that pharmacology is the preferred treatment.

Have we fallen so far from reality that our answers lie in a bottle? At what point in time did owners willingly give it over to this nonsense?

Do drugs help? I don't know, honestly. I have never seen it. My experience isn't all-encompassing, but it's a pretty good representation. I have 'heard' of it, but in a state of 'I'll believe it when I see it', I have my doubts.

When you are ready, we are here.

We also offer comprehensive online courses for puppies and adult dogs.

https://www.lk9university.com/offers/XfDcFCzi

https://www.lk9university.com/offers/WRRGwBmx

https://www.lk9university.com/offers/3FtgZt2z

02/11/2025

Most dog owners' primary complaints are over their dogs’ constant state of arousal and the excited/submissive appeasement/defensive behaviors that accompany it.

Dogs can learn that calm behavior engenders its own reward.

Being frantic and anxious fosters frustration from the owners, and the cycle remains unbroken.

Dog behavior is predicated on is arousal, owners get frustrated, dog becomes anxious, dog I often punished for it’s emotional state and on it goes.

It doesn’t take long to help a dog to control his emotional state and remain calm.

*OUR* emotional neutrality assures him he has nothing to fear as we introduced alternate behaviors. Working through obedience to control his decisions teaches a dog to think before spontaneous combustion.

Often the dog relaxes when ownership learns to control their own emotional state, and the dog is more pleasant to be around, is easier to walk in the neighborhood, and isn't a pest when guests come over.

It doesn’t take much.

Talk less, do more, stop bribing or threatening your dog, and start helping him make better decisions by limiting their choices.

It is simple, really.

Training should be consistent, un-dramatic, and produce reliable results day after day after day.

Emotional neutrality is essentially my anthem., You want your dog to be calm? Stop throwing tantrums when he doesn’t understand your mixed signals and unrealistic expectations.

Start early.

Go slow.

Disable the dogs’ ability to engage in inappropriate behavior.

Communicate clearly.

Master one component before moving on to the next.

Reinforce honest effort.

Be amazed at how quickly your dog responds to your thoughtful and consistent guidance.

02/11/2025

THIS!!!!! It's that simple. Are you willing to do this very thing for a long period of time.

02/10/2025

If looking to adopt a dog please read their description VERY carefully. Read between the lines on what they are saying or not directly saying. Not every dog is right for each person and not every person is right for each dog. Be selective and honest with yourself on what you are seeing from the dog and the amount of work you are willing to put in.
Lead with your head NOT your heart.

02/10/2025

the world of instant gratification that we live in sets humans/dogs up for failure. Dogs are work any way you look at it. But if you have things you want to change that are already habits it will take more effort and time.