Toni Coad

Something happened on a training walk recently that has stayed with me. We were out working with a dog who, not so long ago, would have found passing another dog incredibly difficult. Getting overexcited, pulling, struggling to listen and finding it very hard to regulate himself around other dogs. Fast forward through months of patient, consistent training and, as another dog approached, he sat calmly beside me and waited. No shouting. No corrections. No intimidation. Just a dog who has...

It’s something I’ve seen time and time again, not just in the dog training world, but in my own life as an amateur rider too. Why do we constantly compare ourselves to others? Why do we care so much about what other people are doing, achieving, or thinking? It really struck me last week during a training class, while chatting to a client. We were talking about progress, expectations, and that quiet pressure that creeps in when you look around and feel like everyone else is “getting it”...

The dog training world feels more divided than ever. Scroll social media for five minutes and you’ll see it. Positive reinforcement trainers on one side. Balanced trainers on the other. Both convinced they’re right, not just practically, but morally too. The conversations around tools, methods, and ethics have become louder, sharper, and far more public. And while training methods absolutely matter, the way this divide is playing out is starting to damage the industry as a whole. Because when...