So if you haven’t seen my latest Youtube video where I introduced Arya. I wanted to write about it as well for those who still appreciate the written word. So with that said:

Arya, say ‘Hello, World.’ World, say ‘Hello’ to Ayra.

Ayra at the time of writing this, has been mine for 6 full days now. And she has been bonding to me extremely well. But before getting into the nitty gritty of what we’ve been doing, how training is going. What our training looks like. And what the future looks like for us. I wanted to take a second and tell the quick story of how Ayra and I found each other. So with that, gather around the camp fire.

Owning a dog can be one of the greatest joys in the world. It is so fulling beyond belief that regardless how you’re feeling the joy a dog can have on your mood is nothing but pure jubilation. Your dog doesn’t care if you’re having a good day or bad day. They are just so happy to see you and spend time with you. They are Present when with you. This is the stuff most people brag about when they own a dog. So.

What about the stuff people don’t tell you about owning a dog? That’s a whole other story. It can be pretty eye opening stuff. Some of these you may haven’t thought about, some you may have known, or known about it but didn’t take too seriously. Shut up, Steven. Here you go without further ado, quick top 3 of things people don’t tell you about owning a dog. Kicking this off.

As anyone who’s ever seen one of my YouTube videos knows, I’m 100% transparent. So with that said I’ll let my ego do the speaking on this one. Being perfectly honest and in the most simplistic way possible I wanted to have something that is completely, undeniably mine. Something that I have absolute ownership of. Something that I was 100 % committed to. And if pursued, it’ll 100% scare the shit out of me. This checks all those boxes. Now let me put my ego in check.

Although the above is completely true. As always in life there’s more to it than that. It took me a long time to get where I was yet again , ready to fully go all in on but this time,  not quit. With that it’s best to start at the beginning because surprise, surprise dog training was not my original trade. If I ever had one. But maybe you’ll see a common theme here. If not it’ll be revealed at the end.

Strong Dogs is more than a name. It’s more than a brand. More than something to market. More than training your dog. It’s an Ideal. My purpose if you will, it’s a moment, a decision, when you needed a desperate change but were too scared to jump. My goal, or my ‘WHY’ for any Simon Sinek fans out there, are two things:

1) To help you train and develop the best dog possible. Taking the time to train your dog can be deemed a chore. Taking your dog out to go to the bathroom especially when you’re tired can be deemed a chore. But if I can assist you to ascertain this isn’t only just plan fucking irritating and your dog Isn’t a chore rather than the best Decision you’ve ever made so you guys have the longest, most endearing, meaningful relationship possible. Then it’s a win.

Balance Training, Positive Only training, E collar training, Negative Reinforcement, Positive Reinforcement, scare tactics, there’s so much information, misinformation, ideologies, theories that I feel more stupid now more than ever.

“You’re Tearing Me Apart!” - James Dean (Rebel Without A Cause)

Does that sound about right? Or some version of that anyway? Here’s the thing, all the theories and possibilities are all well and great until you got a dog in front of you. All those theories and possibilities are all well and great until you have a uncompliant, high drive dog in front of you. Because until you have a dog in your life and are caring for them 24/7, all the YouTube, Instagram, Facebook or other social media clip you’ve seen, go out the window.