Hills I Will Die On… as a Professional Dog Trainer

Hills I Will Die On… as a Professional Dog Trainer

Some controversy here, I’m sure — but these are the things I will not budge on (for the moment anyway… humans can change their minds!) 🔥🐾 These principles come from years of training, rehabilitating, and living with dogs — and seeing firsthand what truly sets dogs and owners up for success.

1. Every Dog Should Be Crate Trained 📦🐶

Crate trained means your dog goes willingly into a crate, on command, and settles happily with the door shut until released.

You won’t need it… until you need it.

Before we even look at the behavioural benefits of positive crate training, we must consider the practical ones: If your dog ever needs surgery or suffers an injury, they will need crate rest. As someone who has rehabbed a dog after major surgery, I cannot tell you how much of a godsend it was that Hildi already knew how to settle in her crate.

You won’t regret training it — you might regret not.

2. On‑Lead Greetings Suck 🚫🐕‍🦺

I can think of endless reasons why on‑lead greetings encourage behaviours that do not set your dog up for success:

• They make loose‑lead walking harder

• They increase greeting frustration

• They encourage face‑to‑face, unnatural interactions

• They teach your dog to focus outward, not on you

And I can’t think of a single reason they’re worth doing.

Keep your dog on the lead for focusing on you, not socialising with strangers.

3. Neutrality Over Overly Social 👀🌿

While we can’t expose puppies to everything they’ll ever see during their critical window (5–12 weeks), we can teach them that the correct response to novel sights, smells, sounds, dogs and people… is neutrality.

Coming from someone who has had to UNtrain dogs who were encouraged to greet every dog/person they saw — neutrality is far easier to build than it is to rebuild.

A neutral dog is a calm dog. A calm dog is a safe dog. And a safe dog is a joy to live with.

4. Fat Dogs Aren’t Cute 🏃‍♂️🐕

With rising temperatures each year, keeping your dog at a lean weight is more important than ever.

You should be able to easily feel their ribs. If you can’t — reduce food and/or gradually increase safe exercise.

Your dog has no control over this. Take the best care of them by keeping them healthy.

Which Hill Are You Standing On? 💬🔥

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Which training principles do you stand firmly behind? Share them in the comments below!

If you’d like help with crate training, neutrality, lead manners, or weight management, you can get in touch with Emma: 📞 07735795602   📧 emma@priestlandsdogs.uk