11/05/2025
I know most of you are going to try some form of positive-only, force-free, rewards-based training⊠first.
And many of you will try it first, second and third.
I get it. The marketing messaging plays on the loving, caring, only-want-whatâs-best emotional space all of us dog owners find ourselves in.
Youâre told itâll be fun, your dog will be happy while learning, and it will build a solid and healthy relationship.
Youâre also told doing anything that involves negative consequences will be unpleasant (for both of you), make your dog unhappy while learning and in general, and will create an unhealthy relationship based on fear and lack of trust.
Pretty compelling stuff.
But then you enroll your massive leash pulling, or explosively reactive, or resource guarding, or separation anxiety-consumedâor simply chaotic, bratty, jumping, barking, mouthing, and completely unreliable off-leash dog⊠into one of these âmagicalâ programs (or three), spend thousands of dollars, countless hours practicing, and the last stores of hope you haveâŠ
Only to find that the problems you were so determined to solve, are either just as bad as when you started, or worse.
This is where countless owners give up. They believe theyâve exhausted all of the âproperâ, âscience-basedâ, âhumaneâ, âqualityâ training options. And that only an uncaring monster would share negative consequences with their beloved companion. And so feeling sure theyâve tried all the âgood stuffâ they give up and accept that âThatâs just who my dog is.â
Which is a terrible shame. Because we see these owners over and over. Weâre usually the 3rd or 4th or even 5th trainer theyâre trying. They often come in worried, unsure, and nervous about how their dogs will be trained and what the outcomeâboth behavior, emotional state, and relationship wiseâwill look like.
And then owners see their dogs whoâve theyâve struggled with, often for years, positively transform. The behavior issues that previously ruled their lives, and that they were told theyâd simply have to accept have diminished tremendously, or have completely vanished. And their dogsâwho they were told would be broken, or robotic, or just âsadââare anything but.
Theyâre far more connected, polite, safe, enjoyable, and yes happy. They end up living bigger, better, fuller lives⊠all because their owners chose to prioritize common sense over manipulated emotions; choosing to share a balanced life approach with themâusing positive AND negative consequencesârather than falling for reality ignoring promises based on fantasy and appeals to emotion which simply donât (and cannot) work.
Weâll see you one of these days⊠hopefully.
www.thegooddogway.com
Bellingham, WA