02/15/2026
If there was one concept I could get owners to truly devote some serious time to contemplating, understanding, and implementing, it would be this.
All the major, truly problematic, quality-of-life impacting behaviors you’re dealing with now were once tiny little moments of seeming insignificance to you — but which were anything but insignificant to your dog.
Whether it was the bolting out of the crate like a maniac; the jamming through the front door dragging you with them; the pulling and zig-zagging on walks; the not-so-intense “curious” and “playful” staring and barking at other dogs on walks; the following you endlessly through the house and never learning to be alone and always being pet and talked to; the chaotic and constant motion in the house with whining and barking and no ability to settle; the over-the-top charging of the door every time someone approached; the tense and quiet body language (and maybe even low growling) when you approached your dog when they had a favorite toy or food, or you dared to sit too close to them on the couch or bed; the “innocent” jumping up on you or others in a pushy and impolite fashion; the fairly taught commands that were consistent blown off when incompatible with the dog’s desires… and on and on.
All of the above typically start off as something fairly mild and seemingly benign — and slowly, moment by insignificant moment, allowance by insignificant allowance, push by insignificant push the snowball of truly problematic behavior begins to form. And soon enough you have something truly life-impacting on your hands — and because it all occurred so slowly, and so incrementally, you scratch your head trying to figure out how you and your dog got here.
But for the trainers out there, they know exactly how you both got here. Because sadly, they’ve seen this pattern over and over and over.
And that’s why, if you’re working with someone experienced and wise, you’ll hear them pushing you over and over to learn to re-see the small moments for what they really are: the gateways to either your dog’s best, or your dog’s worst.
PS, and if you want to know how we undo all this and retrain your dog — and how you can do the same — simply reverse this process. See every small inappropriate moment and interaction as profoundly important, and respond accordingly. Wise and experienced trainers don’t try to tackle your dog’s worst stuff in its worst moment or presentation, no, they go after all the small moments which have unhealthy flavors to them and build relationship leverage and momentum there. And with diligence and consistency, they manage to slowly melt the snowball that you’ve created via allowance, and build another one that’s healthy, enjoyable, and safe.
