What I love about dog training is how human the mistakes people make are.

Most people prioritize making their dog “happy” above all—above discipline, stimulation, and training.

The result is pampered dogs wrecked by anxiety and maladaptive behaviors.

It fascinates me how deeply averse many people are to setting and enforcing rules for their dog, as if boundaries are cruelty.

They give the dog full “freedom”, but freedom is a curse without the knowledge of how to use it.

I’ve worked with dogs that were better cared for than many kids—given everything they could need and want, loved dearly.

Yet, they were obviously unhappy as evidenced by their anxiety, fear, and need for destructive coping mechanisms.

There’s a funny parallel in our treatment of dogs in the west and our own pursuit of happiness and “freedom.”

Like our dogs, we have freedom and every material need, but lack the knowledge to properly use that freedom.

For that, we are just as anxious and unhappy.