DogSpeak: Redefining Dog Training

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 reliable “drop it” cue through cooperation, trust, and clear communication.
We’ll look at why dogs hold onto objects in the first place, how grabbing things away can create conflict or even contribute to resource guarding, and why trading can be such a powerful teaching tool. You’ll also learn how to practice this skill before you actually need it, so your dog is more likely to respond when they pick up something unsafe or inappropriate.
The goal isn’t to make your dog surrender everything they value. It’s to teach them that letting go is safe, worthwhile, and part of a conversation they understand.

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 they make. But a leash should be a safety tool, not the primary way we communicate.
In this episode, we’re talking about what it really means to walk well together in public. That includes teaching clear verbal cues, creating predictable expectations, helping your dog understand how to move through different environments, and building communication that doesn’t depend on constant leash pressure. Because good public walking isn’t just about a loose leash—it’s about developing a dog who understands what you’re asking and a guardian who knows how to communicate it.
Buy Nikki's new book, The Dog Beneath the Behavior here.
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Mentioned in this episode:
The Dog Beneath the Behavior
What if your dog’s behavior isn’t the problem—but communication?

In The Dog Beneath the Behavior, I take you beyond what your dog is doing and help you understand what may be happening underneath it. We’ll explore how chronic stress, fear, anxiety, and trauma can shape behavior—and how safety, connection, and compassion can create real change.

If you’re ready to stop asking, “How do I fix this behavior?” and start asking, “What does my dog need?” then The Dog Beneath the Behavior is for you.
Now on Amazon.

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’t have to be about ribbons, titles, or being the best.
In this episode, we explore dog sports from a different perspective: choosing activities based on who your dog is, what they enjoy, and what they were naturally built to do. From scent work and agility to dock diving, herding, and more, we’ll talk about how dog sports can support physical and emotional well-being without turning another activity into a source of pressure.
Because sometimes the goal isn’t to compete. It’s simply to let your dog have fun.
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Patreon
Online Content
YouTube

Mentioned in this episode:
The Dog Beneath the Behavior
What if your dog’s behavior isn’t the problem—but communication?

In The Dog Beneath the Behavior, I take you beyond what your dog is doing and help you understand what may be happening underneath it. We’ll explore how chronic stress, fear, anxiety, and trauma can shape behavior—and how safety, connection, and compassion can create real change.

If you’re ready to stop asking, “How do I fix this behavior?” and start asking, “What does my dog need?” then The Dog Beneath the Behavior is for you.
Now on Amazon.

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 explores the idea at the heart of it: behavior is communication, and lasting change begins when we stop asking only how to change what a dog is doing and start asking why they’re doing it.
This episode gives you a glimpse into the science, stories, and practical approach behind The Dog Beneath the Behavior—without giving away everything inside.
Because when we stop focusing solely on the behavior in front of us, we finally have the opportunity to understand the dog beneath it.
Purchase Book HERE!
Website
Patreon
Online Courses
YouTube
Mentioned in this episode:
The Dog Beneath the Behavior
What if your dog’s behavior isn’t the problem—but communication?

In The Dog Beneath the Behavior, I take you beyond what your dog is doing and help you understand what may be happening underneath it. We’ll explore how chronic stress, fear, anxiety, and trauma can shape behavior—and how safety, connection, and compassion can create real change.

If you’re ready to stop asking, “How do I fix this behavior?” and start asking, “What does my dog need?” then The Dog Beneath the Behavior is for you.
Now on Amazon.
The Dog Beneath the Behavior
What if your dog’s behavior isn’t the problem—but communication?

In The Dog Beneath the Behavior, I take you beyond what your dog is doing and help you understand what may be happening underneath it. We’ll explore how chronic stress, fear, anxiety, and trauma can shape behavior—and how safety, connection, and compassion can create real change.

If you’re ready to stop asking, “How do I fix this behavior?” and start asking, “What does my dog need?” then The Dog Beneath the Behavior is for you.
Now on Amazon.

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 the human-dog relationship.
Patricia McConnell, PhD, CAAB is an internationally renowned animal behaviorist and author whose acclaimed books, including The Other End of the Leash, For the Love of a Dog, and The Education of Will, have sold more than 1.2 million copies. She saw clients whose dogs had serious behavioral problems for twenty-five years, and spoke around the world about canine training and behavior. A former adjunct professor in Zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her nationally syndicated radio show, Calling All Pets, played in more than 110 cities for 14 years and her television show, Petline, aired on Animal Planet for two and a half years.
Her debut novel, Away to Me, is her first venture into fiction, and has received rave reviews. She lives with her husband, Jim Billings, her Border Collies Skip and Maggie, and a spoiled flock of sheep on a farm in Southern Wisconsin, and can be found online at PatriciaMcConnell.com.
Find Kikopups videos HERE.
Find DogSpeak videos HERE.
Website
Online Content
Mentioned in this episode:
The Dog Beneath the Behavior
What if your dog’s behavior isn’t the problem—but communication?

In The Dog Beneath the Behavior, I take you beyond what your dog is doing and help you understand what may be happening underneath it. We’ll explore how chronic stress, fear, anxiety, and trauma can shape behavior—and how safety, connection, and compassion can create real change.

If you’re ready to stop asking, “How do I fix this behavior?” and start asking, “What does my dog need?” then The Dog Beneath the Behavior is for you.
Now on Amazon.
The Dog Beneath the Behavior
What if your dog’s behavior isn’t the problem—but communication?

In The Dog Beneath the Behavior, I take you beyond what your dog is doing and help you understand what may be happening underneath it. We’ll explore how chronic stress, fear, anxiety, and trauma can shape behavior—and how safety, connection, and compassion can create real change.

If you’re ready to stop asking, “How do I fix this behavior?” and start asking, “What does my dog need?” then The Dog Beneath the Behavior is for you.
Now on Amazon.