DogSpeak: Redefining Dog Training

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.
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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.

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, nervous system, memory and so much more goes into every "decision."
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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.
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.

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 trigger or antecedent. Sometimes, you have to look deeper...
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Find Sandra HERE!

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—for both humans and dogs.
In this episode of DogSpeak: Redefining Dog Training, Nikki Ivey explores the many forms of stress, from positive stress that helps dogs learn and grow to chronic and traumatic stress that can impact behavior, health, and overall well-being. You'll learn why two dogs can experience the same event in completely different ways and how genetics, learning history, environment, and individual perception shape a dog's response to stress.
Nikki also introduces the fascinating field of Affective Neuroscience and the work of Jaak Panksepp, whose research helped identify the primary emotional systems shared by mammals. From SEEKING and PLAY to FEAR, CARE, and PANIC/GRIEF, you'll discover how emotions drive behavior and why understanding what a dog is feeling is often more important than focusing on what a dog is doing.
If you've ever wondered why some dogs struggle with reactivity, frustration, anxiety, or recovery from stressful events, this episode will help you look beyond behavior and into the emotional experiences shaping it.
Because behavior is often the symptom—but emotion is the story underneath.
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Substack
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.

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 changed the way I understood behavior, learning, and my work with dogs. After starting my career in 1996 with traditional obedience methods—including the use of prong collars—I began questioning what I thought I knew about training and discovered a different path rooted in learning theory, communication, and relationship.
I also introduce my new online course, Understanding Dog Interaction, where we explore how dogs communicate through play, body language, and social interactions. Understanding these signals can help prevent conflicts, improve relationships, and teach us to recognize when a dog is saying "yes," "no," or "not right now."
We also recap our reliable recall episode where we discussed why meeting a dog's genetic and behavioral needs is critical for building responsiveness, and how a simple touch cue can become a powerful, reward-based safety tool while recall skills are still developing.
Whether you're interested in dog communication, recall training, behavior science, or the evolution of modern dog training, this episode offers insight into the lessons that shaped my approach and continue to influence how I help dogs and their humans today.
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Online Courses
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.