Max Randall argues dogs don't feel disrespect, only unmet needs. A dog named Emmy stopped pulling once her underlying emotional issues were addressed. Reframing problem behavior as communication, not defiance, lets owners use gentler methods instead of harsh tools like prong collars.
Chapters
Dogs do not know what disrespect is. They're not actually capable of it. They're not capable of any sort of respect. And by the end of this, you're going to agree with me. Trust me. Okay, so I get the story. I get it. It feels true. Your dog blanks you in the park. They pull the second you ask them to heel. The dog does the thing that they're not meant to do while looking right at you. And somehow along the line, somebody told you what that means. They're testing you. They're trying to be the boss. They're trying to— they're taking the mick. It's a neat little story. Think about what The disrespect story tells people or lets people do. If your dog is disrespecting you, then punishing them feels fair. They deserve it. You're even now. And that's the trick. The story isn't popular because it's true. It's popular because it sells this little feeling to the person that you're somehow doing the right thing in that moment. But that reacting to your dog all the time doesn't end. A member of mine was told, word for word that she needed a prong collar and a good pop of the lead because her dog pulls. She didn't do any of it. She figured out what her dog actually needed and met it. And this is the dog, Emmy, on her walk on a lead that you could probably hold with a finger, just after figuring out her needs, because those were the big feelings that were in the way causing the behavioural issue and that dog to just be untrainable. That's all it was. What's happening is one of those 4 fires that we spoke about on Monday is burning underneath. So next time your dog does a thing, try swapping the story. Not, you know, they're doing this to me. Ask, what's this behavior actually telling me? And don't worry, I didn't have all the answers on day one. And also, I didn't even have all the answers when I was a qualified trainer. It takes a big pivot in your career, and it takes what I'm trying to teach you over the next 60 days.
