06/02/2026
If you're part of our Boot Camp this summer, you heard a version of this shared with the group just last night.
Training is everything.
Your Dog Almost Ruined Someone’s Day. It Could Happen Again Tomorrow.🐾
I train my dog — first, for their safety. 🦺Second, for my peace of mind. ☮️ Third, because I respect the people around me. ✊
If you’re reading this, I probably respect you more than you respect me — because when I’m in public, I think about how my dog’s behavior affects you, your dog, and your experience. Every time I pass someone with a dog lunging, pulling, and dragging them down the sidewalk, I think about how entitled that person is — caring only about what they feel, never about what everyone else has to absorb.
This past weekend, during our pack walk, one of my student’s dogs charged a woman walking her dog. My first thought wasn’t about the dog or the owner — it was about that woman and how terrified she felt. That’s the whole point of these walks: to show my students exactly how they need to respond in moments like that. Looking back, no apology was issued to her — and while there was no contact and the dog was 15 to 20 feet away, that apology should have happened immediately.
Here’s something most people get completely backwards: a dog on a leash isn’t automatically safer than a dog off leash. It’s actually scarier when an on-leash dog lunges at you from 6 feet away than when a trained off-leash dog holds its position. In that moment on our pack walk, I had more control over my two off-leash dogs than most people have over their leashed dogs on any given Tuesday. Think about that.
This is why you must have an on/off switch. An emergency recall. A sit-stay or a down-stay — whatever you want to call it. Because real life doesn’t give you a warning. The owner likely missed one small alert, one signal a second before — and that second is everything. This is where ultimate control matters.
And about the apology? Honestly — I’ve been charged by multiple dogs in my life. An apology after the fact serves no real purpose. My thoughts? Don’t let it happen again. The owner is a student of mine, and I know she understands this. She’s been charged by dogs too. Always come back to this: how did that feel? Now make a commitment to yourself that you will never make another person feel that way.
One more thing I need you to sit with: you’ve seen this person — maybe you are this person. Their dog runs free, totally carefree, until another dog appears in the distance. Suddenly the leash clips on, wraps tight around their hand, their body goes rigid. You know what that signals to the dog? Danger is coming. Tension rises the moment another dog and person enter their visual field. As my mentor says — that leash becomes a precursor to an unpleasant event. The freedom is gone. The calm is gone. Everything safe and comfortable disappears the second that leash goes on. And the dog remembers.
A loose, relaxed leash pass? That’s a completely different experience. But that’s not what’s happening out there.
The time to fix this is not after the next incident. It’s right now.
Drop a comment below — have you been on either side of this situation? I want to hear your thoughts. And if you’re ready to stop white-knuckling that leash and start building real, reliable control, reach out to me directly about lessons. This is exactly what I do, and I would love to help you and your dog get there.
