Understanding your dogs misbehaviour

When a dog misbehaves—ignores commands, won’t settle, or seems out of control—it’s rarely because they’re “bad.” It’s almost always because they’re misunderstood.

The mistake begins when we assume dogs think like humans. Their thoughts, feelings, and instincts are not the same as ours. Where humans value words, dogs pay attention to energy. To them, your tone, body language, and calmness matter far more than the sentences you speak.

If you shift your perspective and begin to understand how dogs see the world, you’ll transform your relationship with them—and see unwanted behaviours disappear.

Dogs Live by Different Rules

• Dogs are pack animals. They naturally organise into leaders and followers.

• A true pack leader projects calm, assertive energy.

• Dogs don’t care about your job, your name, or your past—only the energy you bring and the actions you take each day.

• When humans lead with affection and emotion first, dogs lose clarity and stability.

  
  

Calm, Assertive Energy Comes First

Regardless of your dog’s age, breed, or personality, the foundation of change is always the same: you must connect with them through calm, assertive energy.

This doesn’t mean being harsh—it means being steady, confident, and clear. In nature, a mother dog never pleads, nags, or bribes her puppies. She simply projects calm authority, and the pups respond. The video below is the perfect example of calm assertive energy.

Nature’s Process: Walk First, Then Eat

Domesticated dogs don’t need to hunt for food, but instinctively they know food is something to be earned and waited for.

Watch a mother dog feed her pups:

• She leaves to find food and returns only when ready.

• She makes her puppies wait until they are calm before feeding.

• Excitement never gets rewarded—only calm submission does.

To keep our dogs truly balanced, we must follow this same natural order:

1. Exercise first – the walk is the most important ritual.

2. Feeding second – once calmness is restored.

3. Affection last – love is the gift they receive after structure is in place.
   

Rules, Boundaries, and Limitations

Puppies are given rules from the moment they’re born. How far they can wander, when to play, when to feed—these are boundaries their mother sets.

When humans skip this step, we give dogs control instead. Over time, this leads to problems we label as misbehaviour. But dogs aren’t misbehaving—they’re simply filling the leadership role we abandoned.

Respect comes through consistent rules, boundaries, and limitations. Affection alone cannot create it.

Why the Walk Matters

A walk is more than exercise. It is the primal activity that fulfills your dog’s body and mind.

• It satisfies their instinct to travel and explore.

• It establishes you as the leader when you guide the walk.

• It prevents frustration and the behavioural issues that come from pent-up energy.

A backyard or toys cannot replace the walk. Only moving forward together creates balance and connection.

The Fulfillment Formula

Cesar Millan calls it the fulfillment formula. It’s simple but powerful:

Exercise → Discipline → Affection

When we reverse the order—starting with love and skipping discipline—we create unstable dogs. When we respect the formula, we meet their needs as animals first, and they reward us with trust and calmness.

A Shift in Perception

To truly change your dog’s behaviour, you must first change how you see them.

• They are not little humans.

• They are not defined by their breed label.

• They are animals, living in the moment, looking for calm leadership.

When we provide that leadership—through walks, structure, and calm energy—we don’t just solve behaviour problems. We create balance, trust, and the deep bond we always imagined having with our dogs.