10/03/2025
Thank you Merit Dog Project.
Your Dog Owes You Nothing—And That’s the Point!
We bring dogs into our homes. We decide what they eat, where they sleep, how they spend their time. We are the ones who are empowered and it is humans who decide the rules—rules they never agreed to, in a life they didn’t choose.
Your dog doesn’t owe you a perfect recall.
They don’t owe you a sit on cue.
They don’t owe you affection, compliance, or some predetermined idea of “loyalty.”
And yet, every single day, they give. They show up. They communicate in the ways they know how. They exist in a world that often demands their unwavering obedience without question, their patience without reciprocation, and their love without condition.
But here’s the thing—relationships don’t work like that. A good relationship isn’t built on debt; it’s built on trust, understanding, and mutual respect.
So instead of assuming they owe you perfection, let’s rephrase the question: "What can I do to make life better for them?"
Maybe that means giving them more choices—more agency.
Maybe that means meeting them where they are instead of where we think they should be.
Maybe that means recognising that their behaviour isn’t about us—it’s about their needs, emotions, and experience of the world.
Because at the end of the day, our dogs don’t owe us anything. But what they give is something far more valuable than ounwavering compliance.
They give us trust. And that’s worth everything.
Family Dog Mediation, Slow Thinking is Lifesaving for Dogs® Endorsed Practitioner, Trauma Informed, Fear Free, CPDT-KA.
