Speak Canine

09/09/2025

Blunt, but true. The rescue world calls these unicorn homes. It's VERY rare that anyone goes looking for a dog with behavioral issues, but especially a farmer. They cannot afford the risk to their livestock.

This is a PSA

There is no magic farm that wants your neurotic Border Collie.

I have seen one too many posts lately saying ‘I need to rehome my Border Collie because he has behavioural issues and I don’t have time or space to fix them’ and honestly? That is fine. I am a big fan of rehoming a dog you can’t commit to or the fit isn’t right for everyone. I don’t think rehoming a dog is an inherently bad thing in many cases.

However I have also seen one too many posts asking if a local farmer wants to take them on.

This may be a little blunt, but your local farmer does not want your undersocialised, car chasing, space guarding, dog reactive, neurotic collie. A collie for a farmer is a tool for the job, and if that tool isn’t functioning well, then it ain’t gonna do the job to a standard that’s needed.

The most problematic thing about this thought process is the notion that there’s a magical farm that the dog you bought, with access to all the information in the world on the internet, with no knowledge or understanding of what these breeds need in order to live happy and functional lives as a pet. The reality is, you bought a cute farm puppy because it’s cheaper than a ‘pedigree’ or designer mixed breed, or because your uncle had one once and he was very obedient, and that hasn’t happened for your dog. You have this whimsical idea that your beloved mistake can go and live happily on a farm and spend his days skipping through fields, herding sheep and being someone else’s loyal sidekick. Absolving you of all guilt in the process.

The hard truth is, the magical farm DOES NOT EXIST. The kind farmer with a sprig of straw in his mouth and rosy cheeks who is just WAITING to take on your problem dog DOES NOT EXIST.

What does exist though is training. Making time for the dog. Realising your commitment and following through on it because the dog didn’t choose to live in a sixth floor flat in a city and it’s your job to make sure his needs are met despite not living on a farm. Failing that, it’s rescue through proper avenues.

If you’ve got a Border Collie with issues, you simply need to step up. It’s a hard truth and one many won’t want to hear. Meet the dog where they are at. They can be truly WONDERFUL pets but they aren’t for the faint hearted. They are beautiful, clever, goofy, driven and easy to train because of how intelligent they are, but that intelligence and drive needs to go somewhere, and you, the owner, need to be the one to direct it in the right way! If you don’t know how to do this, then find yourself a trainer who is experienced with these dogs as a first step.

- Kahla

📸 Emma Bryden (Via the Border Collie who is an absolute gem and living in an agility home that meets all her needs)

07/28/2025

I LOVE dogs who growl! They're so easy! It's the ones who don't that worry me.

We need our dogs to growl so we know when they are close to their limit. That they really need us to listen and things are getting serious.

They are never a warning we should seek to remove but one we should be glad to hear. Because that’s what’s going to prevent things from escalating further.

06/12/2025

We NEVER use generative AI. It steals from artists and kills the environment. If you're talking to us, you're talking to a person.

05/27/2025

So true!! Get to work on that right now!

05/20/2025

I've been asked before why I don't DNA test my dogs. Well, here's your answer! 😅

Marketplace sent the DNA of two mixed-breed dogs, one purebred dog and one human to four different dog DNA companies. Nearly all the results were different.

05/09/2025

Ever wonder why your dog has such a hard time walking by your side? Well, it's because that's not how dogs walk! Humans love straight lines because we follow our eyes, but dogs follow their noses!

Ever wonder why having dogs walk in a straight line beside a relatively slow two-legger has inspired the creation of some of the most suppressive equipment for dogs?

Loose leash walking in this way is the antithesis to fun for most dogs. It’s so often a human want rather than a dog need.

It's a pretty tall order to ask dogs, who naturally move about their world in such a different way to human-style, to walk in the way that we do. So if we want that, because, let's be realistic, sometimes we need it for safety, then we have to make sure they get to do it their way a helluva a lot. So they get to do it do********le, if you will...

05/03/2025

Recently, someone on the interwebs asked if I would ever try some challenge issued by some big-name trainer. I don't remember who the trainer was, and I don't really care to know, because it was BONKERS to me.

Would I, for a chance at $50,000, walk my dog or a client's dog down the street in New York City, off leash, for 30 minutes, in a perfect heel, alongside this trainer and their dog, to prove that positive training works?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!! Here's why:

1. IT'S UNETHICAL
Never trust anyone who is willing to put your dog's life at risk in exchange for money, prestige, good press, "likes," or whatever else. Being off leash on a busy street is simply a risk that I'm not willing to take with my dog or anyone else's, no matter how long we've been working on a solid heel. Please ALWAYS leash your dog in that kind of environment (unless they are a service animal whose tasks would be impeded by a leash). Don't wish you had. Nobody ever thinks it's going to be their dog, until it is.

2. IT'S POINTLESS
There's no reason that any pet dog should be expected to do this. Even most service dogs aren't expected to do this. So... why would I put a bunch of work into training for it? To look cool? For social media clout? Just to show I can? No thanks! When I work on off-leash behaviors, it's for a practical purpose such as emergency preparedness, not to take robotic walks down busy streets *just because*. Never feel pressured to do things with your dog just because you'd look good doing it.

3. IT'S A WASTE OF A WALK
I don't know who needs to hear this, but let your dog sniff on walks!! The portion of the canine brain dedicated to smell is absolutely enormous, and engaging it tires them out far more than a militaristic march down the street. If I were walking Ezra in New York, the last thing I would make him do is heel unless I really needed him to. That city is a cavalcade of smells, and it would be silly to keep him from going "sightseeing" with the strongest sense he has at his disposal!

4. IT'S ILLEGAL
NYC has some pretty strict leash laws, so in order to prove to this person that I'm a good trainer, I would have to break the law. Seems legit, right? Please always follow your local leash laws. They exist for a darn good reason, and my reactive client dogs would appreciate your cooperation!

5. WE ALREADY KNOW R+ WORKS
At this point, every dog training discipline at every level has been infiltrated by reinforcement-based trainers. We don't need to prove that it works anymore. It does. Get over it. 😘

6. I'm just not that kind of trainer!
The majority of the dogs I see have some kind of deep-rooted behavioral issue that can't be cured with mere compliance, so we work less on "commands" and more on things like self-regulation, changing underlying emotions, and improving overall welfare. Many of my client dogs have gone on to crush it in all kinds of jobs - service dogs, obedience competitors, agility rockstars, stock dogs, guardians, the list goes on - but I refer them to trainers who know what they're doing. Asking me to prove I'm good at my job by heeling through NYC is like interviewing a nanny with questions about the history of cheese! Dog behavior is a diverse field with a plethora of specialties, and a perfect half-hour heel is not some ultimate test of skill for most of us.

I would issue an alternative challenge to every dog guardian: prove to me that your dog is SAFE and HAPPY.

Teach them to think, not to listen; and have fun, even if it's not impressive. 💙

Image: Senior Belgian Malinois before city skyline. Text: NYC Heeling Challenge and why I don't care!

05/03/2025

The CCPDT says ecollars are ok, but not for obedience or behavior modification. 🤔 Give a Sit Dog Training has some valid concerns as a certificant.

05/03/2025

A brilliant evaluation of the divisions in our industry from Susan Garrett's DogsThat

Let’s talk about e-collars and why dog trainers are so divided. I set out to do a podcast episode explaining why I choose not to use an electric collar with ...

04/24/2025

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