March 6th, 2025

Unconditional Love?

I keep coming back to this...

No matter what conversations I have with my clients or mentor, we all love our dogs, but most of us struggle to truly affect our own dogs because we have flipped the tables on unconditional love.

Rylee and Emma in the kitchen ready for breakfast - December 21st, 2024

Man's best friend. Human's best friend. We have been told that dogs give us unconditional love, because no one is always happy to see you except your dog.

That is certainly true. But we have spent 40,000 years teaching our dogs everything about ourselves. They know humans better than we know each other or even ourselves.

They mirror your emotions back at you, tenfold - fivefold. They trick you into endless cuddling and love, making you believe they are fulfilled, yet they keep pushing for more.

More freedom, more attention, more pulling on walks - and most of us cling to our leashes, wondering why the dog has not once looked at us, or worse, thinking that is perfectly okay.

Your dog needs to pay attention to you.

Because, like in my example from yesterday, they do not understand cars, speed, brakes, human distractions.

They do not know what it takes to avoid a car accident while chasing a squirrel. But you do. Your job is to keep your dog safe - not just loved.

I like to think that I deserve an ear - and maybe half an eye, or occasional visual check ins.

That is what I train for. Always. Freedom comes once I know my basics are in place.

Happy Training!

Addi and her Dogs