The Canine Paradigm

Pat Stuart had planned to spend his life in the Army. Becoming a professional dog trainer was never the plan. In Episode 376 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn Cooke puts Pat back in the interview chair as we revisit our original episode two. Following our conversation about Glenn and Harley, it is Pat’s turn to explain how he got here. This is a new conversation, not a replay, about the experiences, m...

Glenn Cooke and his mate Mark wanted a dog for their share house. They each put in $100 and bought a puppy through the Trading Post. They called him Harley. What began as a decision to get a dog became the starting point for a very different life. In episode 375 of The Canine Paradigm , Pat Stuart puts Glenn back in the interview chair as we revisit our original episode one. This is a new conversa...

When polished content replaces practical experience. In Episode 374 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn Cooke and Pat Stuart examine AI slop in dog training and the growing distance between content that looks authoritative and work that survives contact with a real dog. The conversation begins with an attempt to modernise the podcast’s episode artwork using artificial intelligence. At first glance, the...

In Episode 373 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn Cooke and Pat Stuart sit down with David McKelson, founder of Pro Dog Training. David has one of the more unusual backgrounds in Australian dog training. Before moving into dogs, he spent 17 years working in zoos. Much of that time was centred around elephant handling and training. He also worked with marine mammals and assisted with the training of man...

Dog training motivation is not simply about how quickly a dog performs or how intensely they pursue a reward. Does your dog genuinely enjoy training, or have they simply learned to chase the food, ball or tug at the end of it? The difference matters. When the reward is the only valuable part, performance can become dependent on what the dog can see, while the training itself holds very little valu...

In Episode 371 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat explore the idea that people are often reflected in their dogs. This topic came from conversations Pat had with his boot camp attendees and Skool subscribers, where the discussion turned to how much a trainer can observe about an owner simply by watching the dog. Dogs do not live in isolation. They live inside our habits, our timing, our emotion...

In Episode 370 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat begin with a quick recap on The Bear and the lessons carried over from the previous conversation. However, the main focus quickly moves into a topic that always seems to stir emotion in the dog training world: punishment. Recently, parts of the training community have been poking holes in each other’s understanding of punishment, learning theory...

In Episode 369 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat catch up after a run of recent adventures, including PSA trials, Red Team work, and the arrival of a new dog. However, the main thread of this episode comes from two powerful episodes of The Bear , titled Fishes and Forks and the phrase, every second counts. Glenn explains how he interpreted those episodes through a dog training lens. Fishes sho...

In Episode 368 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat discuss the uncomfortable reality of aggression in dogs and the question many owners quietly ask themselves. How unbearable does aggression need to be before people seek help, change course, or finally admit the situation is no longer manageable? Aggression affects millions of dog owners around the world, yet it is often misunderstood, minimised...

In Episode 367 of The Canine Paradigm, we explore how a dog understands its name and whether that understanding is anything like the way humans think about names. For people, a name often carries identity, history, emotion, ownership, and social meaning. However, for dogs, the concept may work very differently. We walk through the difference between human interpretation and canine learning. Does t...

In Episode 366 of The Canine Paradigm, we start with Pat giving an update on Remco’s health battle and what the last stretch has looked like. From there, we move into a conversation that matters for every dog owner who has ever felt overwhelmed by advice online. We unpack the trainers who claim they have the one method that works on every dog. We discuss why that promise is so appealing, why it se...

In Episode 365 of The Canine Paradigm, we work through listener questions and cover the kind of practical training issues that show up in real homes and real schedules. Along the way, we also talk about avoiding burn out, because training does not happen in a vacuum. If the handler is fried, the plan falls apart, so we discuss how to structure work in a way that is sustainable. Then, because our T...

In Episode 363 of The Canine Paradigm, things get wild, technical, and a little heavenly. Glenn opens with an update on Ladybug after she nearly tried to punch her own ticket to the pearly gates again. We talk through what happened, what the recovery looks like, and why these moments hit so hard when you live life with dogs. Then we pivot back to the listeners. We asked what topics you want, and y...

In Episode 363 of The Canine Paradigm, we talk about a mindset that changes everything, I’m strong enough to tackle this situation. The first step is learning the dog you actually have, not the dog you wish you had. We discuss reading the individual in front of you, understanding what drives them, and identifying where they feel capable versus where they feel unsure. From there, we focus on confid...

In Episode 362 of The Canine Paradigm, we start with a short recap from our recent chat with Nick Benger and the wider issue of people in the industry who wear masks to dupe their followers. We talk about how performance and branding can replace honesty, and why that creates confusion for owners trying to do the right thing. Then we get into the real value of this episode. When training starts to...

In Episode 361 of The Canine Paradigm, we sit together in the studio to welcome Dr Melanie Uhde to Australia. Melanie spent a week in the country with Glenn, fitting in as many sights as humanly possible, before delivering two weekend seminars, one in Sydney and one in Melbourne. It was a big week, a lot of learning, and a lot of laughs. We talk about what it was like bringing evidence-based educa...

In Episode 360 of The Canine Paradigm, we sit down with UK trainer Nick Benger for a long, honest conversation that runs close to two hours. Nick has been a prominent part of the positive only dog training movement, however his thinking shifted after an epiphany while considering dog sport training. That shift led him to question what he believed, what he had been taught, and what he had been tell...

In Episode 359 of The Canine Paradigm, Pat drops a classic ethics grenade on Glenn: the trolley problem of five versus one. An out of control trolley is racing down the track and you are standing next to the lever. On one track, five people are tied down. On the other, one person is tied down. You can pull the lever or you can do nothing, and either way someone pays the price. We unpack what that...

In Episode 358 of The Canine Paradigm, we talk about tool bans and the wider pattern behind them. Across Australia and elsewhere, governments appear willing to trade away rights and privileges without proper consent, expert input, or ethical process. We unpack why this worries dog owners, trainers, and working-dog handlers, and why many feel angry and disappointed with leadership that seems to act...

In Episode 357 of The Canine Paradigm, we unpack a simple truth. When a dog does not know what earns success, confusion grows, and confusion creates conflict. We look at how to define success clearly, how to show the dog what “good” looks like, and how to design training futures so today’s choices support tomorrow’s behaviour. Then we discuss clean criteria, plain language markers, and reinforceme...

Happy New Year and welcome back to The Canine Paradigm. We start 2026 with a clear message. Too many rules and laws are being introduced at speed, without fair consultation, and often without evidence that they will achieve what is claimed. In Episode 356, I don’t approve so I want it banned is the belief we are pushing back against. We talk about how sudden bans and policy shifts affect dogs, own...

In Episode 355 of The Canine Paradigm, we ask a simple question with a messy answer. Is a tired dog a good dog, or just a flat one? We look at why clients and trainers sometimes try to tire the dog out before a lesson, and when that helps or hurts. Then, we weigh arousal, clarity, and quality of reps, and we talk about warm ups, decompression, and sensible resets. We also touch on session design,...

In this episode of The Canine Paradigm, Pat asks Glenn about travelling around Australia to work with Pet Resorts Australia teams on the floor. The focus is showing staff how to read dog behaviour in real time, so social boarding and daycare stay safe, structured, and enjoyable. We discuss how to set sessions up well, how to brief simple rules, and how to notice the early signs that a group needs...

In Episode 353 of The Canine Paradigm, we talk about how genuine science gets twisted online and why that matters for dogs and their people. We begin with voices who keep the facts straight, including Dr Melanie Uhde, and show how clear reporting can upset those who rely on vibes over evidence. Then we look at the pattern that follows. Big personalities rarely enter the arena themselves. Instead,...

In Episode 352 of The Canine Paradigm, we look at stereotypes of dog owners on social media. First, we talk about how these labels form, why the algorithms reward them, and how that shapes what owners believe about training. Then we contrast two worlds. On one side, ethical and brilliant trainers who teach clearly and show real progress. On the other, clout chasers who market better than they trai...