08/11/2025
👀 Read this if you want understand your dog 👀
🐾 Why Positive Reinforcement “Doesn’t Work” in High-Arousal Situations (and Why It Actually Does) 🐾
You’ve probably said it before:
“Positive reinforcement doesn’t work when my dog’s too excited.”
“He knows the cue, he’s just ignoring me.”
But here’s the truth — your dog isn’t being stubborn.
Their nervous system is just in a completely different state. LETS POP THE HOOD OF YOUR DOG 🐶
🧠 Two Nervous Systems – Two Learning States
Your dog’s behaviour is governed by two main systems:
Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS):
→ The “rest, digest, and learn” system.
This is where focus, calmness, and understanding happen. When your dog is relaxed, the learning brain — the prefrontal cortex — is switched on.
Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS):
→ The “fight, flight, or excitement” system.
It doesn’t just trigger aggression or fear — it also drives play, chasing, barking, pulling, and over-excitement. When the SNS activates, adrenaline floods the body, heart rate rises, and the brain prepares for movement, not thought.
In that state, your dog literally can’t process information the same way.
🔁 Why Calm Repetition Matters (Ditch The Bowl)
Learning happens through calm, consistent repetition — in the PNS.
Every repetition in that state strengthens neural pathways, making the behaviour smoother and more automatic.
This is how we move from “I’m learning” to “I just do it.”
So when we teach sits, downs, or recalls in quiet moments, we’re not just training obedience — we’re building neural reliability.
⚡ What Happens in High Arousal
When the SNS takes over, stress hormones suppress the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain responsible for impulse control and decision-making.
That’s why even a well-trained dog can suddenly seem to “forget” everything when excited, frustrated, or overwhelmed.
It’s not disobedience; it’s biology.
🧩 The Path to Reliability
Once your dog understands a skill in calm conditions, the next step is graded stress exposure.
We add small amounts of excitement or pressure — a new environment, a moving toy, a playful dog at a distance — and teach your dog to stay composed.
Over time, we increase that challenge slightly, always staying below the point of overload.
This progressive conditioning teaches the nervous system to stay steady, even when the world gets noisy.
When enough calm repetitions have been layered first, those behaviours become automatic.
That’s when they carry over into high-arousal moments — the skill has shifted from conscious learning (PNS) into reflexive action (SNS).
“We don’t suppress drive — we shape it.
We teach the nervous system how to stay steady, no matter the storm.”
✨ The Gold Standard Approach
At Optimum Canine, we don’t rush the process — we teach calmness, confidence, and control from the inside out.
Because when you understand the nervous system, it all starts to make sense:
• That’s why your German Shepherd barks and lunges — their SNS is doing its job, protecting.
• That’s why your Spaniel pulls on the lead — excitement flooding the system faster than focus can form.
• That’s why your Terrier chases squirrels — instinct and adrenaline overriding the thinking brain.
They’re not being “bad.” Their nervous system is simply in motion.
Our job is to help it learn balance — to teach calm through structure, not suppression.
“We don’t punish drive; we harness it.
We don’t demand calm; we teach it.”
Want help turning chaos into control?
📩 Message Optimum Canine today — and let’s start training your dog’s nervous system, not just their behaviour.
