The Positive Academy

07/09/2026

The TAL situation has brought a lot of attention to dogs who may soon be looking for new homes. And while it’s heartening to see people wanting to help, there’s something important we hope every potential adopter remembers:

A dog doesn’t need an amazing life in week one. They need a chance to understand the life they’ve just entered.

Some of these dogs may have lived very different lives from a typical household pet. We don’t know what each individual dog has experienced, what they’re comfortable with, or what they may need help learning. That doesn’t mean they’re traumatised or that something is wrong with them. It means we should avoid making assumptions.

A new home can bring unfamiliar sounds, lifts, traffic, visitors, children, other dogs, new toilet routines and a completely different daily schedule. Even well-intentioned excitement can become too much when everything happens at once.

So before planning café trips, dog parks and introductions to the whole family, start with the basics: a secure home, familiar food where possible, veterinary care, rest, predictable routines and time to observe the dog.

Let the dog show you what they’re ready for. Build from there.

This carousel covers 20 things worth knowing before bringing one of these dogs home, from escape prevention and toileting to children, resident dogs, grooming, alone-time and when to seek professional help.

Please adopt because you’re ready for the responsibility, not simply because a dog has become available.

A special thank you to Angie Tan, CPDT-KSA, AVS-ACDT, C-AAIS, FDM for reminding us that moments like this are also opportunities for the dog-training community to share useful, practical information. Your reminder encouraged us to put this together, and we hope it helps more adopters prepare thoughtfully.

Save this before bringing a new dog home, and share it with someone considering adoption.

— The Positive Academy

AdoptResponsibly DogBehaviour DogTrainingSing

06/09/2026

When someone says, “My dog can’t fetch,” that usually tells me less than they think.

Because fetch is not one behaviour.

Your dog might happily chase the toy, pick it up and carry it… but not return.

Another dog might bring it all the way back but stay just out of reach.

Another might return perfectly and then refuse to let go.

Those are very different training problems.

So before trying another fetch technique, watch one full repetition.

What does your dog already do reliably?

And where does the sequence start to fall apart?

That is usually a much more useful place to start than simply asking whether your dog “knows fetch.”

In this series, we’re going to break the retrieve down piece by piece and look at why different dogs get stuck at different points.

Where does your dog’s fetch stop?

DogTrainingTips ThePositiveAcademy

22/08/2026

A lot of working puppy owners I meet aren’t struggling because they don’t care enough.

They’re struggling because they’re trying to fit a puppy into a day that already has work, school runs, meals, family responsibilities, errands and their own need to rest.

And when the puppy is difficult in the evening, the first thought is often:

“Maybe I need to walk him more.”

“Maybe I need to tire him out before work.”

“Maybe I need daycare.”

Sometimes those things may help.

But before adding more, I’d rather ask a different question:

What is the actual gap in this puppy’s day?

Is it toileting?

Too long without interaction?

Difficulty being alone?

Not enough appropriate movement or exploration?

A difficult transition when everyone comes home?

Too much being squeezed into the evening?

Or something else entirely?

Because two owners can both be away at work for the same number of hours and still need completely different plans.

One puppy may benefit from a midday toilet break.

Another may need help coping with being alone.

Another may be managing the workday fine, but the whole evening becomes one long attempt to “make up for” the day with walking, play, training and enrichment all packed together.

And cost matters too.

Not every family can afford daycare, a sitter or a walker every day. That doesn’t mean the conversation ends with “just spend more money.”

It means we look honestly at what can change, what can be shared, what can be managed differently, and what matters most for that individual puppy.

This is also why a big part of puppy training with me isn’t actually about teaching cues.

Sometimes we spend a lot of time planning the day.

How do we set up toileting better?

Where does enrichment fit?

When does the puppy get opportunities to explore?

How do we create quieter periods?

And how do we make all of that work around the family’s real routine?

A good puppy plan shouldn’t require you to pretend you don’t have a job, a child, responsibilities or financial limits.

But it also shouldn’t ignore what the puppy genuinely needs.

The work is finding the gap between the two.

Working puppy owners — what is the biggest gap in your day right now?

11/08/2026

A lot of puppy owners I meet don’t come to me because they “don’t want to put in the work.”

It’s usually the opposite.

They’re already doing a lot.

They’re walking the puppy.
Playing.
Buying enrichment toys.
Trying training exercises.
Trying to tire the puppy out before bedtime.

And by the time they contact me, some of them are already really stressed and quite lost.

I’ve had owners tell me things like:

“I don’t even dare to let him out anymore.”

Because once the gate opens, they’re expecting another round of running, biting, grabbing things, accidents, barking, or needing constant attention.

So they start thinking:

Maybe he needs a longer walk.
Maybe I need to play more.
Maybe daycare will tire him out.
Maybe I’m just not doing enough.

But sometimes, adding more activity isn’t actually answering the problem.

I want to know what the puppy’s whole day looks like.

How long have they been confined?
What happens before the evening craziness?
What opportunities have they had across the day?
Can they be awake without someone constantly entertaining them?
Can they transition from activity into doing less?
And is the routine we’re expecting actually realistic for that puppy right now?

Sometimes the puppy needs a skill.

Sometimes the routine needs adjusting.

Sometimes it’s both.

That’s also why I’m cautious when owners expect one training exercise to make the whole problem disappear.

One session can absolutely help us understand the pattern, identify priorities and create a much clearer plan.

But if the problem has been developing across the puppy’s entire day, the solution usually has to look at the entire day too.

Working puppy owners — I’m curious about your experience.

Which part of the day feels hardest for you right now?

Leaving for work?
Wondering what happens while you’re away?
Coming home?
The evening craziness?
Getting your puppy to finally settle?

Or is there another part nobody seems to talk about?

Tell me in the comments. I genuinely want to hear what your day looks like — your answer might become the next post.

06/08/2026

19/07/2026

Leash walking can look like random feeding when there is no clear structure.

But we are not simply rewarding “walking nicely” again and again.

A real walk can ask your dog to notice something, control their speed, turn back, follow, continue after food, earn access to sniff, leave the sniffing spot and restart the walk.

Those are different skills.

Some should be practised first in easy situations. Then, when the walk becomes harder, your dog is using a familiar movement pattern rather than trying to learn everything in the most difficult moment.

That is why reward-based leash walking can feel slow at first. You are building several connected parts, not buying attention with food.

I would love to hear your own experience.

What has been your biggest leash-walking success so far, and which part of the sequence is still the messiest for your dog?

Share your story in the comments. Your experience may help another owner feel less alone.

14/07/2026

Most owners are not frustrated because they do not want to reward their dog.

They are frustrated because they reward the dog…
the dog comes back, eats the treat…

and two seconds later, they are pulling again.

It starts to feel like:

“I did what I was supposed to do. Why are we back to square one?”

Or:

“Is reward-based leash walking just not working for my dog?”

But the treat may have worked for exactly the moment you rewarded.

Your dog came back.

That is useful.

What the treat did not automatically teach was what to do next.

Stay near?
Slow down?
Move with you?
Keep the leash loose?
Stay connected while something else is interesting?

Leash walking is not one behaviour. It is a package of skills.

A dog can understand one piece without yet understanding the next one.

That is why the part after the treat matters.

Not because you need to keep feeding endlessly.

But because the next few seconds may be a different skill from coming back for the reward.

I want to understand what this looks like on your walks.

09/07/2026

Your hand is not a business card.

You don’t need to present it to every dog for approval.

Most people do this because they mean well:

“Let him sniff me first.”

But here’s the thing — the dog can already smell you.

And for some dogs, a hand moving toward their face is not a polite introduction. It is pressure coming closer.

Same with food.

Offering food can be kind, but if the dog has to stretch forward, grab it, and retreat, that may not mean they felt comfortable. It may mean the food was tempting, but the closeness was hard.

A better greeting is less about trying harder and more about making things clearer:

stand sideways
keep your hands relaxed
let the dog approach
touch briefly
pause
let the dog decide if they want more

Because every greeting teaches the dog something.

Either:

“People listen.”

or

“I need to create space myself.”

So next time, before you reach out your hand like you’re closing a business deal…

pause first.

Let the dog choose.

Did you know you can scare a dog by trying to feed it?

03/06/2026

I used to think change needed one big dramatic moment.

One big decision.
One big motivation.
One perfect plan.

But over the past year, life has taught me otherwise.

I managed to quit smoking for more than a year.

Not because every day was easy.
Not because I suddenly became someone with endless discipline.
But because I slowly became someone who didn’t return to that old habit, even when life felt hard.

I started exercising every day, even with a busy schedule.

Some days, it is not impressive.
Some days, it is not long.
Some days, it is just enough to say, “I still showed up.”

And I’ve been reading every day too.

Again, not because I always feel motivated.
But because I’m trying to become the kind of person who keeps learning, even when life is full.

And this is what made me think so much about dog training.

A lot of owners hire a trainer, attend the session, receive the homework, and genuinely want to do better.

But then real life happens.

They get busy.
They get tired.
The dog gets difficult.
The homework starts to feel too big.
And slowly, training becomes something they plan to do… but don’t actually repeat.

I understand that deeply.

Because habit change is hard.

But the dog we want is not built only during lessons.

It is built in the small moments we repeat every day.

One recall before dinner.
One calm pause before the door opens.
One treat on the mat.
One better choice when we are tired.

Not perfect.

Just repeated.

That’s why I believe training has to become part of life, not another task we keep postponing.

Train small, live easier.

In the next episode, I’ll share the S.T.A.R.T. framework — a simple way to make training easier to repeat, even when life gets busy.

Follow along for more Better Human, Better Dog — where i share more about how to improve the human behind successful dog training

01/06/2026

Comment “trigger stack” and I’ll send you the one-page overview infographic — made to save, share, and refer back to when your dog’s reaction feels like it came out of nowhere.