I hear it and see it all the time: my dog doesn’t seem to retain training, or they’re stubborn, or they’re just lost. It’s not that your dog doesn’t get it; it’s that you are babying them along the way. So why should they need to put in the work? Allowing your dog to make choices is the only true way to experience change that lasts and training that sticks.

Aggressive dogs seem to be a hot topic lately. For example, a dog that has previously shown aggression in a shelter environment was adopted out and actually mauled the owner to death. It’s a grim fate, and one we seem to hear more and more often than we did 20 years ago.