Beyond Obedience | Dog Training, Dog Body Language, Anxious Dogs, Scared Dogs, Reactive Dogs cover art

Beyond Obedience | Dog Training, Dog Body Language, Anxious Dogs, Scared Dogs, Reactive Dogs

Beyond Obedience | Dog Training, Dog Body Language, Anxious Dogs, Scared Dogs, Reactive Dogs

By: Tracy Franken- Dog Trainer Vet Tech Dog Lover 🐾
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Do you wish you could enjoy life with your dog again? Are you struggling with a reactive, fearful, anxious, or misunderstood dog? Do walks, visitors, or everyday situations leave you feeling stressed, frustrated, or embarrassed? I'm Tracy Franken, a retired vet tech turned dog trainer. I discovered the secret to a life of ease with my dogs; Through trust-based training, and a deeper understanding of dog behaviour, I'll help you build confidence, strengthen your relationship, and create a dog you can trust in the real world. Because lasting change starts with understanding the dog you love.Tracy Franken- Dog Trainer, Vet Tech, Dog Lover, 🐾
Episodes
  • 241 | Want to Build a Deeper Connection With Your Dog? Stop Telling Them to “Look at Me”

    241 | Want to Build a Deeper Connection With Your Dog? Stop Telling Them to “Look at Me”
    Sep 21 2026
    Hey Dog Lover 🐾Your dog notices another dog coming down the road.Their ears go up.Their body changes.They’re looking at that dog because, for whatever reason, that dog matters to them.And what do we so often do?“Look at me.”“Look at me.”“LOOK AT ME.”But why?Your dog knows the other dog is there.You know the other dog is there.Everybody knows the other dog is there.So why are we trying so hard to get our dogs to stop paying attention to the world and pay attention to us?What if we did something completely different?What if we looked too?In this episode, we’re talking about what connection with your dog actually looks like and why I think we’ve gotten part of it a little bit backwards.Because connection can’t just be about getting your dog to pay attention to you.Connection also requires you to pay attention to your dog.We’ll talk about:🐾 Why I question our obsession with teaching dogs to “look at me” when something important is happening🐾 What your dog may actually be communicating when they stop, stare, listen, or notice something in their environment🐾 Why acknowledging what your dog sees doesn’t mean letting them make every decision🐾 The difference between distracting your dog from something and experiencing it with them🐾 Why being heard isn’t the same thing as getting your way🐾 How simply saying, “Yep, I see it too,” can change the conversation between you and your dog🐾 Why connection isn’t necessarily constant eye contact, a perfect heel, or a dog who is always focused on you🐾 How those tiny moments when you and your dog notice the same sound, sight, or experience can build connection🐾 Why caring about what matters to your dog can make you more relevant when you need your dog to care about what matters to youBecause maybe we’ve made connection a little too one-sided.Come into my world.Look at me.Listen to me.Walk with me.Care about what I care about.Ignore what I tell you to ignore.But what happens when we occasionally turn that around and say:Show me yours.The next time your dog suddenly stops and looks at something, try looking too.What did they notice?What changed?What are they experiencing?You don’t have to fix it.You don’t have to turn it into a training exercise.And you don’t necessarily have to let your dog do what they want to do next.Just get curious.Because maybe building a deeper connection with your dog isn’t about getting them to pay more attention to you.Maybe sometimes it starts when you pay more attention to them.Hope you enjoy this one!Tracy xoxoxRESOURCES🐾 Join me for the FREE CALM DOWN, DOG! Bootcamp!BeyondObedience.ca/bootcamp🐾 Take the Quiz!Beyond Obedience Dogonality Quiz🐾 Read the Blog!Beyond Obedience BlogCONNECT WITH ME!Contact → info@beyondobedience.caPodcast → Beyond Obedience PodcastConnect → Living Beyond Obedience Facebook CommunityResources → Dogonality QuizMerch → Beyond Obedience Store🐾 NEXT STEPS 👣Step 1: Join the free Living Beyond Obedience community and connect with other dog owners who are learning to lead through trust, relevance, and understanding.Join Living Beyond ObedienceStep 2: Take the Dogonality Quiz to discover how your dog's unique personality shapes the way they learn, communicate, and respond to leadership.👉 Take the Dogonality QuizStep 3: Ready to stop guessing what to do when your dog is struggling? Join me for the completely free CALM DOWN, DOG! Bootcamp, October 20th, 21st and 22nd.👉 Save Your Spot for CALM DOWN, DOG!Music Credit 🎶: Shawn TrotterShawn Trotter
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    24 mins
  • 240 | Your Dog Knows the Command. That’s Not the Problem.

    240 | Your Dog Knows the Command. That’s Not the Problem.
    Sep 17 2026
    Hey Dog Lover 🐾Come.Stay.Leave it.Off.Down.Let’s go.No.We humans are incredibly verbal.And somewhere along the way, we seem to have decided that because our dogs live with us, they must also be fluent in English.So when we say “come” and our dog doesn’t come, what do we do?We say it again.Usually louder.“COME!”As though the problem is that they didn’t hear the English the first time.Sometimes dog training looks an awful lot like shouting English as a second language at your dog.And then comes the sentence I hear all the time:“But my dog KNOWS come.”Okay.Maybe they do.But do they know what “come” means here?And even if they do, is the word really the entire conversation?In this episode, we’re talking about what we’re actually communicating to our dogs, what they’re paying attention to besides our words, and why knowing a command might not be the problem at all.We’ll talk about:🐾 What we really mean when we say “My dog knows this”🐾 Why knowing a command in one situation doesn’t necessarily mean your dog understands it everywhere🐾 Why we put so much responsibility on a single word like “come”🐾 Everything your dog is paying attention to besides what’s coming out of your mouth🐾 How movement, body language, spatial pressure, intention, and your history together are all part of the conversation🐾 What happens when your body and your mouth are saying two completely different things🐾 Why your dog may need a reason to choose you, not just a command telling them to🐾 How your relevance and relationship with your dog influence whether they follow your guidance🐾 Why relationship-based communication doesn’t mean we stop teaching or using cues🐾 The question I want you to ask instead of “What command should I use?”Because I absolutely use words with my dogs.I teach cues.Recall matters.Skills matter.But the word isn’t carrying the entire conversation.Your dog is also learning what you mean.Your movement.Your body.Your patterns.Your intentions.Your history together.Your relationship.So the next time you find yourself thinking:“My dog knows this. Why aren’t they listening?”Get curious.What are you actually communicating?What does your dog understand in this situation?And instead of immediately asking:“What command should I use?”Try asking:“What am I trying to communicate?”Because once you know the answer to that, the word becomes just one of the many ways you can say it.And maybe we can finally stop shouting English as a second language at our dogs.Hope you enjoy this one!Tracy xoxoxRESOURCES🐾 Join the Online Program Fearless Framework!https://beyondobedience.ca/fearless🐾 Take the Quiz!https://www.beyondobedience.ca/quiz🐾 Read the Blog!https://beyondobedience.ca/blogCONNECT WITH ME!Contact → info@beyondobedience.caPodcast → https://beyondobedience.ca/podcastConnect → https://facebook.com/groups/LivingBeyondObedienceResources → https://www.beyondobedience.ca/quizMerch → https://www.beyondobedience.ca/store🐾 NEXT STEPS 👣Step 1: Join the free Living Beyond Obedience community and connect with other dog owners who are learning to lead through trust, relevance, and understanding.https://facebook.com/groups/LivingBeyondObedienceStep 2: Take the Dogonality Quiz to discover how your dog's unique personality shapes the way they learn, communicate, and respond to leadership.👉 https://www.beyondobedience.ca/quizStep 3: Ready to stop second-guessing yourself and start understanding what your dog actually needs from you? Join the Fearless Framework.👉 https://beyondobedience.ca/fearlessMusic Credit 🎶: Shawn Trotterwww.shawntrotter.com
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    23 mins
  • 239 | The Goal Was Never a Well-Trained Dog

    239 | The Goal Was Never a Well-Trained Dog
    Sep 14 2026
    Hey Dog Lover 🐾What did you actually want when you brought your dog home?Probably a dog you could do life with.A dog you could walk with.Take places.Go on adventures with.Hang out with.A dog you enjoyed being around and who enjoyed being around you.And yes, you probably wanted them to listen to you. You wanted a good recall. Some basic manners. Because nobody wants to live with an absolute hooligan.But somewhere along the way, we started confusing training the dog with the actual goal.Sit.Stay.Come.Heel.Leave it.Place.Don’t jump.Don’t bark.Don’t pull.And suddenly, we’re measuring success by how well our dog performs the things we’ve taught them.But was that ever really the point?In this episode, we’re talking about why a well-trained dog and a dog who can successfully navigate the world aren’t necessarily the same thing, and what we might start paying attention to if obedience isn’t the ultimate goal.We’ll talk about:🐾 Why being well trained and being confident aren’t necessarily the same thing🐾 How a dog can perform beautifully and still feel uncomfortable, overwhelmed, or unsure🐾 Why compliance doesn’t tell us the whole story about what’s happening underneath the behaviour🐾 The difference between “I know how to do this” and “I believe I can handle this”🐾 Why I don’t want my dogs to need me for every answer🐾 How we move from “You’ve got me” to “I’ve got this”🐾 Why skills, boundaries, recall, and dog training still absolutely matter🐾 What we could start celebrating if obedience wasn’t our only measure of success🐾 Why training is a tool for helping our dogs navigate the human world, not the destinationBecause ultimately, I want something bigger than a dog who knows how to perform everything I’ve taught them.I want a dog who knows how to live successfully in the human world without losing who they are in the process.I want communication.Trust.Confidence.Skills.Boundaries.Freedom where freedom is appropriate.Guidance where guidance is needed.And a relationship strong enough to hold all of it.The name of this business is Beyond Obedience for a reason.Obedience isn’t bad.Training isn’t bad.But I don’t want my dog’s greatest accomplishment to be that they’re easy for humans to live with.I want the dog who once needed:“You’ve got me.”to eventually be able to say:“I’ve got this.”So train your dog.Teach them skills.Give them boundaries.But remember what all of that is supposed to serve.Training is a tool.It was never the goal.Hope you enjoy this one!Tracy xoxoxRESOURCES🐾 Join the Online Program Fearless Framework!https://beyondobedience.ca/fearless🐾 Take the Quiz!https://www.beyondobedience.ca/quiz🐾 Read the Blog!https://beyondobedience.ca/blogCONNECT WITH ME!Contact → info@beyondobedience.caPodcast → https://beyondobedience.ca/podcastConnect → https://facebook.com/groups/LivingBeyondObedienceResources → https://www.beyondobedience.ca/quizMerch → https://www.beyondobedience.ca/store🐾 NEXT STEPS 👣Step 1: Join the free Living Beyond Obedience community and connect with other dog owners who are learning to lead through trust, relevance, and understanding.https://facebook.com/groups/LivingBeyondObedienceStep 2: Take the Dogonality Quiz to discover how your dog's unique personality shapes the way they learn, communicate, and respond to leadership.👉 https://www.beyondobedience.ca/quizStep 3: Ready to stop second-guessing yourself and start understanding what your dog actually needs from you? Join the Fearless Framework.👉 https://beyondobedience.ca/fearlessMusic Credit 🎶: Shawn Trotterwww.shawntrotter.com
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    28 mins
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Tracy is very easy to listen to and what she says is amazing. It feels like everything she says seems obvious but I’ve learnt so much about working with my dog and being the best dog owner I can be.

I like that it goes into the mind of the dog, so that it’s easy to work out what’s going on with my dog and why and therefore how to help them!

Simple guidance

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I love listening to this podcast! Tracy has found the simple truth of what makes our human dog relationships so special and how we can strengthen that bond even further to create something magical. By following her simple steps, you can see the difference with your own dog. Not only does she have amazing knowledge to share, but she puts it across in a friendly, entertaining way, like you might just be having a chat with your best friend. Honestly, by listening to this podcast and following Tracy's ideas, both you and your dog will experience a greatly improved quality of life.

Every dog owner should listen to this podcast!

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