DogSpeak: Redefining Dog Training

Drop It Without the Drama

Teaching your dog to drop something doesn’t have to turn into a chase or a battle over who gets to keep the item. In this episode, we’re talking about how to teach a reli

Your Leash Shouldn’t Do All the Talking

Too often, we depend on the leash to communicate with our dogs—pulling them closer, steering them away, stopping forward movement, or physically managing every decision t

Dog Sports Without the Pressure

Dog sports can be an incredible way to provide enrichment, build confidence, strengthen your relationship, and give your dog an outlet for natural behaviors—but they don’

The Dog Beneath the Behavior

What if the behavior you’re struggling with isn’t actually the problem? In this special episode, Nikki introduces her new book, The Dog Beneath the Behavior, and explore

Canine Couch Convo with Patricia McConnell, PhD

Nikki talks with icon, Patricia McConnell about her new novel, Away to Me, her first venture into fiction writing, ADHD in dogs, and the importance of the human part of t

How Dogs Make Choices

In this episode, Nikki touches on the neuroscience of making choices and how your dog's decision-making process isn't what you think. Genetics, learning history, nervou

Canine Couch Convo with Sandra Larson

In this episode, Sandra and Nikki talk ghosts. Pet guardians talk often about their dog exhibiting strange behavior; strange behavior that can't be linked to a certain tr

Stress Isn't Just Stress: Understanding the Emotional Brain of the Dog

When we hear the word stress, most of us think of fear, anxiety, or overwhelm. But stress isn't always negative. In fact, stress is a normal and necessary part of life—fo

The Day Chickens Changed My Dog Training, and other Ramblings

What do chickens have to do with dog training? More than you might think. In this episode, I share the story of how a 40-hour week spent training chickens fundamentally

Building a Dog Who Wants to Return

What makes a dog choose to come back? Many people think recall starts with teaching the cue "come," but reliable recall is about much more than a single behavior. It beg

Beyond the Six-Month Rule

For decades, dog owners were routinely told to spay or neuter their dogs at six months of age. It was a simple recommendation that became the standard of care for generat

Don't Train Me, Raise Me. (Part 2)

Don’t Train Me, Raise Me explores the difference between creating a dog that simply follows commands and raising a dog that understands how to navigate the world with con

Why Running Your Dog Ragged Isn’t the Answer

We’ve all heard the advice: “A tired dog is a good dog.” But physical exhaustion alone does not create emotional stability, confidence, or good decision-making. In this e

The Hidden Cost of “Including” Your Dog

Somewhere along the way, we started believing that a “good” dog is one who can go everywhere, meet everyone, and handle anything without hesitation. But what if that’s no

Teaching Neutrality in a Stimulating World

Dogs aren’t struggling because they haven’t been exposed to enough—they’re struggling because of how their nervous system is processing what they’ve experienced. In this

What You See Isn’t the Whole Story—It’s Just the Surface

Britteny joins Nikki for an honest conversation about Willow’s early behaviors—what felt concerning at the time, and how those same behaviors now make perfect sense. This

It’s Not the Event—It’s the Feeling: Associations Are Built on Emotion

We tend to look at behavior and point to the obvious—that dog, that noise, that moment—and assume we understand what caused it. But what if the event isn’t actually the t

Learning Starts in the Nervous System—Not the Quadrants

We’ve been taught that dog training comes down to four quadrants—reinforce what you like, punish what you don’t. Clean. Simple. Effective… right? Not quite. In this epi

The Five Domains of Animal Welfare, Part 2

In this part 2, we dive into the Five Domains of animal welfare, exploring how environment, behavior, and mental state shape your dog’s well-being. Learn practical ways t

The Five Domains of Animal Welfare, Part 1

In this episode of DogSpeak, we explore two essential components of the Five Domains Model of Animal Welfare: Nutrition and Physical Health. While training and behavior o