When I got my first dog, I’ll be honest—I messed it up. Not permanently (we got her back on track in the end)…but the start was rough. See, I thought I was doing everything “right.”I socialised the hell out of her. Took her everywhere. Let her meet every person, every dog, every single thing that moved. And here’s what happened: Her main source of value became everything external.Other dogs. Strangers. Environments. So guess what?When I needed to step in and say:“Not right now. Not this time. Not that dog.” …we clashed. Because I wasn’t just stopping her from sniffing or playing—I was blocking her from her primary source of reinforcement. That’s when frustration and conflict started to creep in. The lesson?Socialisation is important…but over-socialisation (without anchoring the dog’s value system back to YOU) creates a dog that’s externally obsessed and internally conflicted. You don’t want your dog living for the next distraction. You want them living for the partnership. That’s the balance.And it’s the piece I badly overlooked at the start. SO DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE !

Most people stop training their dog once the behaviour looks good in the living room… but that’s just step one. 👉 True training success = when your dog can perform that same behaviour in any environment, under any distraction, every time.That’s what proofing is all about. Think of it like this: - You don’t really “know” how to drive if you can only do it in an empty parking lot. You have to learn to handle traffic, rain, stop-and-go, and crazy drivers. - Same with dogs: Sitting at home is easy. Sitting when another dog runs by? That’s a whole different skill. 🐾 Why proofing is so important: 1. Dogs don’t generalize well. Just because they “know” sit at home doesn’t mean they’ll sit at the park. 2. Distractions change the game. Adding sound, movement, smells, or people tests if the command is truly learned. 3. Safety depends on reliability. A recall that only works sometimes isn’t really a recall—it’s a gamble. 💡 Takeaway: Proofing isn’t “extra work.” It’s what makes the behavior reliable in the real world. Start small, add layers of distraction, and build your dog’s confidence step by step. 👉 Comment below: What’s the hardest environment YOUR dog struggles to stay focused in?

One of the most common mistakes we make as dog owners is unintentionally reinforcing the very behaviours we don’t want. Here’s the tricky part:Dogs are always learning — not just during training sessions. That means every interaction (or lack of interaction) is shaping their behaviour . 🔁 Example #1:Your dog jumps on you when you come home. You say “No!” and push them off…But guess what? Touch + voice = attention = reinforcement. To your dog, this could mean “Jumping gets me noticed!” 🧼 Example #2:Your dog barks while you're on the phone. You toss them a toy to quiet them down...Congratulations — you just paid the barking with a reward. Expect more of it. 🎓 Dogs don’t speak English. They speak consequences.If a behaviour gets them something they want, they’ll keep doing it. (Or on the flip side of the spectrum if it gets them something they don’t want they will stop doing it) 👉 Takeaway:Start noticing what your dog is getting from their behaviour — not just what they're doing. 💬 Have you ever caught yourself accidentally reinforcing a behavior you didn’t want? Share it below — let’s learn from each other’s oops moments. See you for another daily post tomorrow. Ollie ✅