
21/08/2025
The Side of Dog Training No One Talks About 🐾.
Behavioural work takes more from a trainer than most people will ever realise. It isn’t just hard on the dogs. It’s hard on us, too.
We’re managing fear, frustration, aggression, anxiety, in dogs & owners.
We’re reading body language every second.
We’re making rapid decisions that can affect safety.
We’re carrying the weight of responsibility for everyone in that moment.
We have to be calm when inside our brain is running 100 miles an hour.
We take the bites.
We take the screaming.
We take the judgement when progress doesn’t happen overnight.
It’s mentally exhausting.
One session can feel like running a marathon in your head, juggling the dog’s emotions, the owner’s confidence, the environment’s risks - all while keeping a calm, clear presence.
& we do it again the next day. & the next. Because we care. Because we know what’s possible when we get it right.
So when you see a trainer walking away from a tough session with their head low, it’s the toll this work takes. & tomorrow, they’ll step back into the ring and do it all again. It's worth it all, but it’s not a straight forward as people seem to think for a trainer.