Grunt Style Canine Training

07/03/2025

This documentary was incredibly impactful—for me, at least. While some might say the individuals featured tend to anthropomorphize sharks a bit too much, it’s hard to argue with the remarkable results she achieved through that very mindset.

07/02/2025

Sweet Cabela,
Boogey and Anna will be happy to see you again and we love you! The rest of the gang will not be far behind you and maybe we can all meet up at the ball field when it’s all said and done.

Jack,
Nothing I say will erase what you're experiencing at the moment but I am very grateful for the years of friendship and adventures. My sincerest condolences.

With love,
The Team

07/01/2025

Merci is a

07/01/2025

Notes on: Me vs me: Selecting A dog and Love?

I find this section of the discussion to be more challenging than the rest. For one, it forces me to confront my own hypocrisy—and to reflect on why I made the choices I did.

When I chose Bo**er, it wasn’t a calculated decision. It was instinctual. I saw him with his littermates, but something about him spoke directly to my soul. I had to have that dog. In the parking lot of a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, I picked him up, handed over the money, and off we went—just the two of us on a new adventure.

Like many of you, I chose a dog with no plan, no goals, and no real understanding of what I was getting into. As a puppy, Bo**er seemed simple enough—but looking back, that perception was just a projection of my own inexperience. I’d be curious to go back in time and see how my current self would interpret the same behaviors.

He was independent, quiet, and social at first. But somewhere along the way, things changed. He became aggressive—not just reactive, but a dog who sought out conflict and didn’t hesitate to start (or finish) a fight. In some ways, we mirrored each other. I was just back from war, raw and hardened. I, too, was aggressive in spirit—a savage in transition.

At the same time, I was trying to become a dog trainer. I posted “free dog training” ads on Craigslist, and it quickly became clear I didn’t know much. His behavior pushed me to learn. But there was also something deeper—a drive to become something more, even if I didn’t yet know what that was.

Now, back to the question of hypocrisy. Things happened to work out for Bo**er and me. We went through some extremely hard times, but we grew. He improved. I improved. But I can’t guarantee it will work out the same way for you if you follow that same path.

That’s why I started to analyze how to choose the “perfect” dog. But the truth is—it’s all theory. You can evaluate your lifestyle, select the ideal dog on paper, but once that dog enters your world, everything changes. The dog evolves. The environment shapes it. Genetics play their role. And over time, the dog you thought you chose will become something else entirely.

So, what do we do about that?

That’s the real question, isn’t it?

The photo: the dog everyone came to know and love is pictured. The dog I knew, raised, and love was not always the dog you knew.

06/30/2025

Merci, Pepper, and Drexel

06/29/2025

There are so many interesting parallels here—like how reactivity can be channeled into curiosity, or the types of conflict we see: two individuals butting heads, one fleeing while the other pursues, or both turning away. And then there’s another layer that’s harder to pin down. It’s something like this: the puppy you fall in love with isn’t the dog you end up living with. As they grow and change, you find yourself in different versions of the same relationship. That evolution—unexpected, sometimes jarring—is part of the love.

Next piece I’m working on: Me vs. Me: Selecting a Dog and Love?

This one’s trickier. It’s more introspective because it’s about the experience of choosing Bo**er. Or rather, the experience of being chosen. The moment I saw him, I knew. He was instantly lodged inside me, like a seed that would never come out. There are people like that, too—instant, irreversible connections. Sometimes it’s mutual, sometimes painfully one-sided. And what do we even call that? Love? Projection? Destiny? I’m still untangling it.

In this episode, my guest is Esther Perel, a world-renowned psychotherapist, relationship expert, and bestselling author. She explains healthy romantic relat...

06/28/2025

Me vs. Me
The concept of me versus me is not new. For me, it’s a succinct way to describe how the world—through upbringing, culture, and external demands—constructs narratives within me. Over time, these influences shape the persona you now see.

But why do I present this version of myself to you? That’s a powerful question—one that invites a deeper look at our motivations. I don’t assume the version of you that I see is your entire self, and I hope you don’t assume that of me either. As humans, we’re complex. What we reveal is often only what we’re ready—or willing—to show.

My answer to that question? I don’t believe I do what I do for attention. I act on what I believe is right, even when those actions or ideas aren’t widely accepted. I could easily follow a more conventional path—use trendy business models to influence people, gain quick investments, and feel momentarily validated. But those paths don’t address the root problems I care about.

Relationships
This brings me to conflict—especially in relationships. From dog to dog, dog to human, child to adult, or human to human, we’re often not great at relating. That shortfall fascinates and frustrates me. Do you see how empathy underpins my response to that earlier question? I’m deeply impacted by this disconnect, and I see it as a problem worth solving.

Dog to Dog
Staying within the “me vs. me” framework, let’s consider how we interpret canine behavior. Dog body language is often misunderstood—and the interpretation depends heavily on the human’s lens. If you’re new to dogs, their signals might seem threatening. If you’ve experienced trauma, they might seem terrifying. Even lifelong dog owners can misread behavior, especially when encountering something unfamiliar.

Often, our interpretations are projections of our own inner narratives, not reflections of what the dog is truly communicating. That’s why I believe it’s often more productive to work on the human side of the equation. Sometimes that means separating animals temporarily, allowing humans to recalibrate their own perceptions. Once there’s emotional alignment, we begin to see more accurate readings of the situation—not ones clouded by stress, fear, or projection.

To be continued…

06/28/2025

1st meal- not ideal but I wanted to stray. Also working on this conflict idea and how to separate it into digestible pieces. Today I'm working on me vs me just to kick off these ideas

06/28/2025

06/28/2025

Merci teaching Drexel how the hose works

06/27/2025

Fourth meal- plain yogurt (3/4 cup), magic spoon peanut butter cereal (1 cup), and a teaspoon of honey. I could destroy an entire pizza right now.