Beyond Obedience | Dog Training, Dog Body Language, Anxious Dogs, Scared Dogs, Reactive Dogs

Hey Dog Lover 🐾 What if leadership with your dog had  nothing  to do with being the boss… and  everything  to do with being worth following? In this episode, we’re rewriting the rules on what it means to lead your dog—and spoiler alert: it’s not about dominance, micromanaging, or having the tightest leash grip on the block. Instead, we’ll dive into what true, trust-based leadership looks like: Ho...

Hey Dog Lover 🐾 If you’ve ever found yourself  obsessively  watching your dog’s every lip lick, whale eye, or tail twitch… this episode is for you. Today, we’re pulling back the curtain on why hyper-focusing on stress signals might actually be causing you to miss the bigger picture in your relationship. Yes—your dog’s body language matters. But when you slip into  stress-monitor mode , you lose y...

Hey Dog Lover 🐾 It’s 2026, and if you’re already feeling a little overwhelmed—guess what? You’re not alone. Leadership doesn’t always look like calm walks and quiet mornings. Sometimes it looks like showing up tired, unsure, and  still choosing to lead anyway. In this episode, we’re digging into what it really means to be a  leader your dog trusts —especially when life feels loud, messy, or just...

Hey Dog Lover 🐾 “New Year, New You!” We hear it every January… but let’s be honest: do you  really  need a “new” you? What if this year isn’t about fixing what’s broken, but  believing in who you already are ? What if the best thing you could do for your dog is to stop chasing perfection—and start showing up with calm, clarity, and confidence? In this episode, we’re ditching the resolutions and t...

🐾  Hey dog lover, As a new year begins, a lot of people are making lists, setting goals, and trying to “fix” things. But what if this year didn’t start with a to-do list? What if it started with a  word ? In today’s episode,  “Your Word of the Year (And Why It Matters to Your Dog),”  we’re talking about intention — not training plans. Because your dog doesn’t experience your goals. They experienc...

Hey there, Dog Lover 👣🐾 Hey dog lover, As we head toward a new year, there’s a lot of noise out there telling you what you  should  be doing with your dog. More commands. More talking. More “corrections.” But here’s the truth your dog already knows: They don’t need more chatter. They need more  calm . In today’s episode,  “Shut Up and Show Up: The Resolution Your Dog’s Been Waiting For,”  we’re...

Hey there, Dog Lover 🐾 Merry Christmas, my friend. If you’re listening to this with a dog at your feet, on your couch, or watching you from across the room… this episode is for  you . Christmas has a way of slowing time—if we let it. It invites us to pause, reflect, and notice what actually makes a home feel safe, warm, and whole. And for our dogs, that magic isn’t found in gifts, routines, or pe...

Hey Dog Lover!  🐾 Thinking of spoiling your newly adopted dog with toys and treats this season? While the thought is sweet, it’s not what your dog  really  needs right now. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on what helps a rescue or new-to-you dog feel truly secure. You’ll discover: Why toys and affection take a backseat to routines and predictability The secret power of calm, “boring” le...

Hey Dog Lover!  🐾 So your dog was “fine” during the day… until they weren’t. The guests are gone, the cookies are stale, and suddenly your pup is pacing, snapping, or flat-out melting down. What gives? In this episode, we unpack the  Holiday Hangover  — that post-festivity fallout where stacked stress finally spills over. You’ll hear: The signs your dog is approaching their limit 😬 Why “he’s bee...

Hey Dog Lover!  🐾🐾 This time of year, we humans get a little bit...  extra. Extra people, extra noise, extra sugar… and somehow, we expect our dogs to just “deal with it” in the name of socialization.  But what if holiday chaos isn’t an opportunity to socialize your dog — it’s a chance to lead them? In this episode, we talk about why “just letting them figure it out” can backfire, and what you c...

🐾 Hey Dog Lover, If you’ve been filling your online cart with dog toys and treats this holiday season… let’s press pause. This episode is a gentle reminder that your dog doesn’t need more stuff—they need  you . Your calm presence. Your stable routines. Your ability to lead with confidence when things feel chaotic. That’s the real gift. We’ll explore how consistency, emotional leadership, and rele...

🐾 Hey Dog Lover, Does your rescue dog  really  trust you… or are they just surviving politely? In this episode, we’re diving into one of the biggest mistakes new adopters make—assuming that a dog who cuddles, follows them, or “seems fine” is actually  feeling safe . The truth? Trust goes deeper than tail wags or staying close. We’ll talk about what real trust looks like (hint: soft eyes, relaxed...

Hey Dog Lover 🐾🐾 Ever saw a dog so cute you couldn’t help but just rush over to give them a little pet? ( Yeah, me too. ) But sometimes we need to pause and consider what our movement means to a dog. In fact, this is one of the biggest—and most misunderstood—reasons fearful dogs struggle to feel safe, even with people who love them dearly. In this episode, we explore what it means to “come in to...

Hey Dog Lover 🐾🐾 You’ve probably heard it before—“just toss some treats when your dog sees a trigger, to change their emotional response to the trigger." And yes, that  can  work. But there’s a small problem... You’re not part of the solution. In this episode, we’re unpacking the popular advice around food, fear, and emotional responses in dogs—especially when it comes to the  why  behind t...

Hey Dog Lover 🐾 In this episode, I’m joined by Paisley as we tackle real questions pulled straight from our Living Beyond Obedience community—aka  questions you didn’t even know you asked , but probably needed to. We cover everything from how to help a rescue dog who’s scared of strangers and medical routines, to introducing new dogs after a loss, to managing reactivity and overwhelm in anxious d...

Hey Dog Lover 🐾 Ever have one of those weeks where everything feels a little too much—and you’re still trying to be everything your animals need? In this unscripted, from-the-heart episode, I’m showing up real and raw to talk about the emotional side of living with animals. It wasn’t the episode I planned, but it’s the one that needed to be shared. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, stretched thin,...

Hey Dog Lover,🐾 What if the most powerful thing you could do for your relationship with your dog… was nothing? In this final episode of our  Untrained Dog  mini-series, we’re stepping into the quietest and most confronting part of connection— stillness.  No cues. No fixing. No constant feedback. Just presence. We’ll talk about why “doing less” is often the missing piece in our dog’s sense of safe...

🐾 Hey Dog Lover, Let’s be honest — most of us were taught to  talk at  our dogs before we ever learned how to  listen to  them. In this second step of our  Untrain Your Dog to Build a Better Bond  series, we’re flipping the script. This episode is all about the magic that happens when you get quiet. Like,  really  quiet. No obedience cues. No “Sit!” or “Stay!” Just presence, awareness, and curios...

Hey Dog Lover,🐾 What if the behaviours you’ve been trying so hard to train… aren’t actually what you want? In this episode, we’re kicking off  Untraining Week  with a powerful mindset shift. We’re diving into the heart of what “training” really means—and why letting go of task-based obedience can open the door to deeper connection with your dog. You’ll hear me unpack: Why traditional obedience cu...

Hey Dog Lover 🐾 If you caught Part 1 of my conversation with  Nelson Hodges , you already know the kind of deep, perspective-shifting wisdom he brings to the table. In this second half of our talk, we go even deeper into the emotional landscape of dogs—and how our  being  matters so much more than our  doing . We unpack the question at the heart of it all: What is a dog, really? Not just behavior...

Hey Dog Lover,🐾 This episode is one for the books. I got to sit down with my mentor and dear friend,  Nelson Hodges , for a conversation that honestly felt like cracking open the  soul  of our work with dogs. We explored one foundational (and often misunderstood) question: 👉  What  is  a dog? …and why getting  that  right changes everything else. This is  part one  of a two-part conversation, an...

🐾 Hey there Dog Lover, We’re diving into Part 6 of the Peace in the Pack series — and today’s episode is all about a sneaky dynamic that shows up in a lot of multi-dog homes (especially when you’re adding new dogs into the mix): Us vs. Them . Dogs are deeply wired for social structure. In their world, there’s with us … and there’s not with us . And when we humans unknowingly reinforce that divisi...

🐾 Hey there, Dog Lover, We're back with Part 5 of the Peace in the Pack series — and today, we're getting into one of those deceptively simple questions that opens the door to a whole lot of deeper conversations: Should your dog be allowed on the furniture? My answer? Yes. …And also maybe no. 😉 This episode isn’t about setting rules — it’s about understanding what levels mean to dogs. Fr...

🐾 Hey there, Dog Lover, We’re continuing our Peace in the Pack series this week with a topic that hits close to home for so many multi-dog households: possession and resource conflict. Ever said, “Ugh, my dog is so jealous!” when one dog pushes the other away for attention? Yeah. Let’s talk about that. In this episode, I’m diving into: What dogs actually value (spoiler: it’s not always food) Why...

Hey Dog Lover, You’ve probably heard it before — or maybe even said it yourself: “He’s just  social! ” “She’s  friendly! ” “They  love  other dogs!” But here’s the thing:  “social” isn’t always what you think it is. And in a multi-dog home, it might actually be the  source  of your tension. In this episode, we’re digging into the four types of canine sociality —  asocial, antisocial, social, and p...