Last Journey K9

15/04/2025

I just told someone the most effective way to stop a dog from attacking is to choke the dog off, and they argued that sticking a finger in the dog’s ass works better. So next time you wonder why trainers don’t publicly post free advice, remember me. 🫶🫠

Honestly at this point most people get what they deserve when it comes to dogs. Information is so freely and readily available but people have grown so stubborn and stupid. (Obviously this does not apply to anyone who reaches out for help at any time, ever… being open-minded to information is #1 when it comes to learning to do and be better.)

Happy Tuesday. 🍻

13/04/2025

Everyone should know to (and HOW to) utilize a choke off in a serious or dangerous situation. It’s the only truly proven method of stopping a bite or attack once a dog is latched on and time is of the essence. 🙏

11/04/2025

This is such a vital message for all dogs. Please also read the caption on the video! 🙏

01/04/2025

I very much agree.

This is what is on my mind most often these days. The fact that our brains are wired for survival in a world of scarcity. And a world of scarcity is not the world that we live in today.

We live in a world full of overwhelming abundance. Yet why does life still seem hard? We don’t have to fear that we may not come across a deer to feed the family. And there’s no shortage of dopamine fixes. Cell phones, TV, foods, drugs, alcohol, ni****ne. We should be happy with constant access to comfort & potent forms of the “happy chemical” called dopamine right? Wrong. We’re overwhelming our reward system. We’re not wired to be rewarded so much, it throws off our natural balance. Today’s culture tells us we should never be in pain and if you are then something is wrong. People go through so much pain trying to avoid pain. There’s often no mental calluses built on pain so the smallest amount now gets the name, trauma.

Why am I talking about all of this on a dog training page? Because I see the same sad world created for dogs. Sure, they don’t have cell phones but they’re often overindulged. They live indoors, comfy beds with an abundance of food delivered to them multiple times per day. Often dog owners avoid any opportunity for their dog to feel any sense of struggle/pain/stress. And when the dog steps outside pulling at the end of the 6ft leash like they’re running for their life and/or they explode when they see other dogs and people. The veterinarian, behaviorist and/or internet says something is wrong with that dog & tells you that this pill and/or more rewards/treats will do the trick.

There’s nothing wrong with them, there’s everything wrong with their daily life. Besides the important fact that they need to get outside more often on more than a 6tf long leash. They need some sense of struggle/pain and less rewards/constant comfort. They deserve to be told no in a way that makes sense to them when they’re doing unacceptable things. Yes it may hurt their feelings, that’s okay! Being humbled is only clarity. When a dog can acknowledge their limitations and imperfections, they gain a clearer, more realistic understanding of themselves and the world around them.

19/03/2025

The face Blue made today after not being a reactive boy with a bunch of dogs barking at him. He jumped on me as we celebrated and I can’t get enough of this happy and proud face. 🥹❤️

18/03/2025

🙌

While there are undeniably many factors that are having an impact on canine behavior, in my opinion they’re small potatoes, and don’t come anywhere near close to truly answering what’s going on.

Yes there’s lots of poor breeding. Yes many folks select dog breeds or mixes who come with more “stuff” than others. And yes there are more dogs in homes than ever before.

But all of these same dogs who have developed problem behaviors come to us, and many other skilled, reality-based trainers — and their issues strangely disappear.

They become wonderfully balanced, well-behaved, and super enjoyable dogs. The same ones that we could easily ascribe the above causes as the causes to their issues.

Here’s the thing most owners don’t want to acknowledge: we’ve changed far more than the dogs have.

We’ve been consistently and relentlessly programmed by society to eschew and despise strength, firmness, and hierarchy — while simultaneously we’ve been taught to embrace and cherish softness, permissiveness, and human/dog equality.

When you examine this shift, and if you’re willing to be completely honest that it has indeed shifted, understanding why we’re in this mess with our dogs is wildly obvious.

Because even if modern tools and training have advanced by leaps and bounds, if the mindset which employs them is one that finds all the heathy, transformative components of leading our dogs to be repulsive… none of it matters.

So the real answer to solving the canine behavior issue epidemic isn’t to be found in the superficial and the easy, it’s to be found in solving the human behavior issues which are the downstream effects of the dysfunctional beliefs and values we’ve allowed ourselves to be infected by.

09/03/2025

Please… when you see me advocating for going to a good breeder, PLEASE understand this is why. I did many, many years in rescue and there are far too many shelters and rescues keeping dogs like this alive, pouring resources into them, and covering up their past to adopt them out. In a world where there are millions of nice, stable dogs needing homes, dogs like this need to be euthanized, period. This could’ve been someone’s child and subsequently their life.

16/02/2025

Some dogs really do need and benefit from meds, but I will never believe it’s as many dogs as are currently medicated. 🙏

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

13/02/2025

Going through the Likes on this, 4 people from my personal friends list have Liked the video. This is not cute nor funny in the slightest. This does not deserve widespread attention nor adoration. This dog is resource guarding a literal child from its own mother. Hell to the no. This is how dogs get euthanized or end up in shelters, and/or people get hurt. Learn better and do better! 😩

05/02/2025

Pretty Opal has been with me for 9 days of a 4 week Board & Train. Today we worked on some ecollar intro work and “place” intro to keep the session light and fun for her. She’s a very nervous and fearful dog and has shown some aggressive tendencies at home so we are going to be focusing on the 3 R’s with her, plus some other things: Recall, Relax, Respect. The 3 most important things to help manage and rehabilitate a dog with any aggression issues, in my opinion. This girl has an extremely sweet side and is going to go far. 🙏❤️