The Canine Paradigm

Haz Othman had already travelled to Europe for the WUSV World Championship when, he says, he learnt that a clip from his training footage had cost him his place in the event.

In Episode 377 of The Canine Paradigm, Haz joins Glenn Cooke and Pat Stuart to talk through what happened, the dog behind the footage and the wider questions it raises for dog training.

Contains strong language and discussion of serious dog bites.

Haz Othman and the WUSV controversy

Haz explains how he qualified for the Canadian team and what happened...

Pat Stuart had planned to spend his life in the Army. Becoming a professional dog trainer was never the plan.

In Episode 376 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn Cooke puts Pat back in the interview chair as we revisit our original episode two. Following our conversation about Glenn and Harley, it is Pat’s turn to explain how he got here. This is a new conversation, not a replay, about the experiences, mentors and unexpected turns behind the voice listeners know. episode 376 episode 376

Content note: Contains strong language and detailed descriptions of military combat, deaths and se...

Glenn Cooke and his mate Mark wanted a dog for their share house. They each put in $100 and bought a puppy through the Trading Post. They called him Harley. What began as a decision to get a dog became the starting point for a very different life.

In episode 375 of The Canine Paradigm, Pat Stuart puts Glenn back in the interview chair as we revisit our original episode one. This is a new conversation, not a replay. For listeners who have joined us along the way, it is a chance to discover how Glenn got started. For...

When polished content replaces practical experience.

In Episode 374 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn Cooke and Pat Stuart examine AI slop in dog training and the growing distance between content that looks authoritative and work that survives contact with a real dog.

The conversation begins with an attempt to modernise the podcast’s episode artwork using artificial intelligence. At first glance, the result looked convincing. Look more closely and Pat and Glenn’s faces had changed, the dogs had been subtly altered and the words on Pat’s T-shirt had become complete nonsense.

It was po...

In Episode 373 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn Cooke and Pat Stuart sit down with David McKelson, founder of Pro Dog Training.

David has one of the more unusual backgrounds in Australian dog training. Before moving into dogs, he spent 17 years working in zoos. Much of that time was centred around elephant handling and training.

He also worked with marine mammals and assisted with the training of many other species. Those included gorillas, giraffes and maned wolves.

That experience gave David a very different perspective on training, animal welfare, staff development and risk management.<...

Dog training motivation is not simply about how quickly a dog performs or how intensely they pursue a reward. Does your dog genuinely enjoy training, or have they simply learned to chase the food, ball or tug at the end of it? The difference matters. When the reward is the only valuable part, performance can become dependent on what the dog can see, while the training itself holds very little value.

In Episode 372 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn Cooke and Pat Stuart explore dog training motivation, what actually matters to the individual dog, and how handlers can...

In Episode 371 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat explore the idea that people are often reflected in their dogs. This topic came from conversations Pat had with his boot camp attendees and Skool subscribers, where the discussion turned to how much a trainer can observe about an owner simply by watching the dog.

Dogs do not live in isolation. They live inside our habits, our timing, our emotional patterns, our inconsistencies, and our expectations. As a result, the way a dog behaves can often reveal the structure, confusion, pressure, or clarity that exists in the human...

In Episode 370 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat begin with a quick recap on The Bear and the lessons carried over from the previous conversation. However, the main focus quickly moves into a topic that always seems to stir emotion in the dog training world: punishment.

Recently, parts of the training community have been poking holes in each other’s understanding of punishment, learning theory, and how these concepts apply in real dog training. Some of those conversations have been useful. They have encouraged trainers to think harder, define terms more clearly, and question whether they tr...

In Episode 369 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat catch up after a run of recent adventures, including PSA trials, Red Team work, and the arrival of a new dog. However, the main thread of this episode comes from two powerful episodes of The Bear, titled Fishes and Forks and the phrase, every second counts.

Glenn explains how he interpreted those episodes through a dog training lens. Fishes shows chaos, pressure, poor communication, emotional overload, and the damage that can happen when people are stuck reacting instead of leading. In contrast, Forks shows what can happen when...

In Episode 368 of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat discuss the uncomfortable reality of aggression in dogs and the question many owners quietly ask themselves. How unbearable does aggression need to be before people seek help, change course, or finally admit the situation is no longer manageable?

Aggression affects millions of dog owners around the world, yet it is often misunderstood, minimised, excused, or handled too late. In this episode, we explore the nuance behind aggressive behaviour, including fear, conflict, frustration, genetics, environment, learning history, and poor management. We also discuss why aggression is not always loud...

In Episode 367 of The Canine Paradigm, we explore how a dog understands its name and whether that understanding is anything like the way humans think about names. For people, a name often carries identity, history, emotion, ownership, and social meaning. However, for dogs, the concept may work very differently. We walk through the difference between human interpretation and canine learning. Does the dog understand its name as “me”, or has the sound simply become a cue that predicts attention, movement, reward, pressure, or interaction? We also discuss how owners often use a dog’s name in confusing ways, sometimes as a reca...

In Episode 366 of The Canine Paradigm, we start with Pat giving an update on Remco’s health battle and what the last stretch has looked like. From there, we move into a conversation that matters for every dog owner who has ever felt overwhelmed by advice online. We unpack the trainers who claim they have the one method that works on every dog. We discuss why that promise is so appealing, why it sells, and why it usually fails in the real world. Dogs differ in genetics, history, learning style, and emotional resilience, so a single approach will never fit ev...

In Episode 365 of The Canine Paradigm, we work through listener questions and cover the kind of practical training issues that show up in real homes and real schedules. Along the way, we also talk about avoiding burn out, because training does not happen in a vacuum. If the handler is fried, the plan falls apart, so we discuss how to structure work in a way that is sustainable. Then, because our TCP listeners keep requesting it, we take a sharp turn into alien territory. The conversation moves from dog training to aliens, and the result is exactly what you would...

In Episode 363 of The Canine Paradigm, things get wild, technical, and a little heavenly. Glenn opens with an update on Ladybug after she nearly tried to punch her own ticket to the pearly gates again. We talk through what happened, what the recovery looks like, and why these moments hit so hard when you live life with dogs. Then we pivot back to the listeners. We asked what topics you want, and you delivered. One question took the episode into a completely different orbit. What happens when AI starts interacting as a dog trainer, and how far could that realistically...

In Episode 363 of The Canine Paradigm, we talk about a mindset that changes everything, I’m strong enough to tackle this situation. The first step is learning the dog you actually have, not the dog you wish you had. We discuss reading the individual in front of you, understanding what drives them, and identifying where they feel capable versus where they feel unsure. From there, we focus on confidence. When a dog lacks confidence in a specific area, many owners either avoid it completely or push into it too hard. Neither approach builds real strength. Instead, we explain why you ne...

In Episode 362 of The Canine Paradigm, we start with a short recap from our recent chat with Nick Benger and the wider issue of people in the industry who wear masks to dupe their followers. We talk about how performance and branding can replace honesty, and why that creates confusion for owners trying to do the right thing. Then we get into the real value of this episode. When training starts to fall apart, most people try to fix the top layer. However, the fastest way forward is often to go back. We explain what it actually means to take...

In Episode 361 of The Canine Paradigm, we sit together in the studio to welcome Dr Melanie Uhde to Australia. Melanie spent a week in the country with Glenn, fitting in as many sights as humanly possible, before delivering two weekend seminars, one in Sydney and one in Melbourne. It was a big week, a lot of learning, and a lot of laughs. We talk about what it was like bringing evidence-based education to Australian audiences, what stood out in the seminars, and why Melanie’s approach resonates with people who want something solid rather than something performative. Pat also asks Me...

In Episode 360 of The Canine Paradigm, we sit down with UK trainer Nick Benger for a long, honest conversation that runs close to two hours. Nick has been a prominent part of the positive only dog training movement, however his thinking shifted after an epiphany while considering dog sport training. That shift led him to question what he believed, what he had been taught, and what he had been telling others. We talk through the moment the penny dropped, what changed in his perspective, and what it feels like to step away from a tribe that rewards conformity. We also...

In Episode 359 of The Canine Paradigm, Pat drops a classic ethics grenade on Glenn: the trolley problem of five versus one. An out of control trolley is racing down the track and you are standing next to the lever. On one track, five people are tied down. On the other, one person is tied down. You can pull the lever or you can do nothing, and either way someone pays the price.We unpack what that dilemma reveals about values, responsibility, and how people justify hard decisions. Then, as we always do, we drag it back to dogs. Training and...

In Episode 358 of The Canine Paradigm, we talk about tool bans and the wider pattern behind them. Across Australia and elsewhere, governments appear willing to trade away rights and privileges without proper consent, expert input, or ethical process. We unpack why this worries dog owners, trainers, and working-dog handlers, and why many feel angry and disappointed with leadership that seems to act first and consult later.We discuss what “consultation” should mean, how evidence should be weighed, and how tool removal can harm outcomes for dogs when nuance is ignored. Then we outline practical, professional actions for anyone who wants to c...

In Episode 357 of The Canine Paradigm, we unpack a simple truth. When a dog does not know what earns success, confusion grows, and confusion creates conflict. We look at how to define success clearly, how to show the dog what “good” looks like, and how to design training futures so today’s choices support tomorrow’s behaviour. Then we discuss clean criteria, plain language markers, and reinforcement that truly matches the behaviour you want. We talk about splitting steps, rehearsing short wins, and avoiding mixed messages that push the dog into conflict. Then we map training futures. If you plan to trial...

Happy New Year and welcome back to The Canine Paradigm. We start 2026 with a clear message. Too many rules and laws are being introduced at speed, without fair consultation, and often without evidence that they will achieve what is claimed. In Episode 356, I don’t approve so I want it banned is the belief we are pushing back against. We talk about how sudden bans and policy shifts affect dogs, owners, trainers and the wider community. We look at the real cost of rushed regulation, the way lobby groups and loud voices can drown out good data, and why professional, re...

In Episode 355 of The Canine Paradigm, we ask a simple question with a messy answer. Is a tired dog a good dog, or just a flat one? We look at why clients and trainers sometimes try to tire the dog out before a lesson, and when that helps or hurts. Then, we weigh arousal, clarity, and quality of reps, and we talk about warm ups, decompression, and sensible resets.We also touch on session design, neutral exposures, and how to set criteria that the dog can actually meet. Sometimes you need a little exercise to take the edge off. Sometimes...

In this episode of The Canine Paradigm, Pat asks Glenn about travelling around Australia to work with Pet Resorts Australia teams on the floor. The focus is showing staff how to read dog behaviour in real time, so social boarding and daycare stay safe, structured, and enjoyable. We discuss how to set sessions up well, how to brief simple rules, and how to notice the early signs that a group needs a reset. We cover practical ideas staff can apply immediately. For example, start with a calm entry, match energy levels, and use short check-ins to keep arousal steady. Then...

In Episode 353 of The Canine Paradigm, we talk about how genuine science gets twisted online and why that matters for dogs and their people. We begin with voices who keep the facts straight, including Dr Melanie Uhde, and show how clear reporting can upset those who rely on vibes over evidence. Then we look at the pattern that follows. Big personalities rarely enter the arena themselves. Instead, they rally highly engaged followers to attack, while they stay behind the wall and keep their hands clean.We unpack how this cycle forms, why confused audiences become cannon fodder, and how to...

In Episode 352 of The Canine Paradigm, we look at stereotypes of dog owners on social media. First, we talk about how these labels form, why the algorithms reward them, and how that shapes what owners believe about training. Then we contrast two worlds. On one side, ethical and brilliant trainers who teach clearly and show real progress. On the other, clout chasers who market better than they train and turn drama into a business model. We explore how to spot red flags, how to verify claims, and how to find reliable guidance that helps dogs and families. It is a...

In this gloriously grubby edition of The Canine Paradigm, we lean right into the dog pooh life and answer the two questions you sent that made us laugh out loud. First, our worst dog diarrhoea story. We relive the slip, the splatter, and the sprint for paper towels, then talk through what the mess told us about health, how we calmed the situation, rehydrated, and reset the diet without drama. Next, a classic training confession. A listener asked for a memorable time a dog blew us off in a session. We share the look, the turn away, and the magnetic...

In this episode, we shift the lens away from outcomes and titles and look at what often gets overlooked, the dog’s experience during training. Is the dog learning with clarity, or simply complying under pressure? Are we building understanding or just building behaviour? We explore how training isn’t just about what a dog does at the end of a program, but how they felt throughout the journey. Confidence, confusion, fear, motivation, these internal states shape the long-term success of training more than most realise. Whether you're a trainer, a handler, or a dog owner, this conversation will get you...

In Episode 349 of The Canine Paradigm, we dive deep into a question that gets to the heart of dog ownership, what do most families actually need their dog to be trained to do? We explore the essential skills and behaviours that, if taught properly, make the difference between a happy, well-integrated companion and a dog that ends up rehomed or worse. From recall and loose-leash walking to house manners and neutrality, we outline the minimum viable behaviours that support a successful relationship between dogs and their people. We also venture into a future-facing discussion, will AI replace dog trainers? As...

In this lively and insightful episode, Glenn sits down in person with three of the industry's entertaining and passionate figures, Jacob Morgan from the Yorkshire Canine Academy, Ian Kirke, also from YCA, and Simon Moody (aka the Mutt Nut, aka the Best Dog Trainer in the Universe). Unfortunately, Pat couldn’t join us for the episode, but when the universe gifts you the Mutt Nut, you’ve got to shake and bake. What follows is a candid conversation filled with laughs, stories, and reflections on the dog training industry as it stands today. We discuss some of the things we love...

In this emotionally charged episode, Glenn and Pat hit the reset button after scrapping their original recording, something we don't often do. The reason? Frustration and sadness. The original session had been overshadowed by anger and disbelief at the overwhelming wave of negativity sweeping through both the dog training community and the wider world. Rather than push out content clouded by emotion, we chose to re-record with clearer intent, to voice their concern, reflect more calmly, and explore why it feels like something is very wrong right now. The conversation touches on a wide range of disturbing behaviours, events, and...

In this episode, Glenn and Pat take a hard look at the ethical cracks forming in the professional dog training industry. Prompted by Justin Rigney, who continues to call out deceptive trainers, telling lies or hiding their use of tools, we dive deep into the consequences of rewarding the wrong behaviours, not in dogs, but in people. Too often, we see professionals extending hospitality, collaboration, and trust to individuals or organisations who do not reciprocate. These individuals happily accept support and visibility, while simultaneously working to undermine the very values and standards that good trainers work so hard to uphold...

In Episode 345 of The Canine Paradigm, we're joined once again by our wonderful friend and regular guest, Birdy O'Sheedy. This conversation revolves around the real, often under appreciated, joy of simply living a full and present life with our dogs. It’s a reminder of why we do what we do. Together, we explore the deep connection between humans and dogs, one built not only on training and structure, but on unconditional love, shared moments, and being truly present. As coaches in our respective fields, we reflect on how our mission has always been about improving that bond for the pe...

In this eye-opening episode of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat explore the full weight of what happens when a dog is declared a nuisance, menacing, or dangerous by council authorities. Firstly, they unpack how such labels don’t just affect the dog. Instead, the repercussions ripple through entire households. Families must adjust their routines, manage legal obligations, and cope with emotional stress. Meanwhile, victims of the incident face their own challenges, often receiving little support despite the trauma they may carry. Importantly, the conversation shifts to another growing concern: the influx of underqualified trainers who are diving into these hi...

In this moving episode of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat welcome back their close friend and regular guest, Birdy O’Sheedy, for a conversation that speaks to the soul of dog ownership. This time, Birdy introduces us to her new initiative, The Magic in Dogs. While it isn’t a training program, it offers something equally valuable—a shift in perspective. Instead of focusing solely on control or obedience, Birdy invites us to reconnect with our dogs in a more present and intentional way. Throughout the episode, Birdy shares her experiences working with dogs and the people who love them...

In this powerful episode of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat reconnect with one of their favourite guests, Dr Melanie Uhde. Known for her no-nonsense, science-first approach to canine behaviour and training, Melanie has become a respected but polarising figure in the dog world. Her deep dives into peer-reviewed research and willingness to challenge misinformation have been applauded by many, but they’ve also drawn the ire of some high-profile dog trainers more concerned with protecting their brand than evolving with the truth. We discuss the toll of speaking out in a field still dominated by ego, outdated narratives, and co...

In this episode of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat sit down with Jacob Morgan—founder of Yorkshire Canine Academy and host of the Caffeine and Canines Podcast. Jacob’s name has been rising fast in the UK dog training scene, thanks to his blend of solid training principles, business acumen, and an unmistakable online presence. Both Glenn and Pat have been guests on his podcast, so it was only fitting to return the favour and shine a light on his journey. From his impressive social media growth to building a thriving training business, Jacob shares candid insights into the hard...

In this episode of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat take a moment to reflect on the biggest lessons, shifts in thinking, and key takeaways from the last decade of living and working with dogs. From the missteps to the breakthroughs, this episode offers a candid look at how much can change when you commit yourself to growth. But this isn’t just a walk down memory lane. We’re also proud to promote Pat’s brand-new online course, Everything Pat Knows, now available at seriousdogbusiness.com. After years of in-the-trenches work, thousands of hours with dogs and handlers, and plenty...

In this episode of The Canine Paradigm, Glenn and Pat unpack a viral video that’s got social media buzzing. It shows a dog walking into a situation and seemingly “resolving” a behavioural issue between other dogs, sparking all kinds of commentary about dominance, energy, and control. But is that really what’s going on? Glenn and Pat break down what might actually be happening, without the hype or projection and why it’s important to remain critical of viral interpretations dressed up as truth. The episode also revisits the ongoing debate about training tool bans. Why are certain people and groups...

In this episode, Glenn and Pat explore the vital role of rhythm and rituals in dog training. These two elements, when intentionally used, can provide clarity and structure to the training process—both for the dog and the handler. The episode breaks down how rituals help dogs understand how to enter a scenario correctly. Whether it's a training session, a working environment, or a daily routine, consistent rituals reduce confusion, build engagement, and set clear expectations from the outset. Equally important is the idea of developing rhythm throughout your training, which ensures continuity, flow, and a sense of timing that st...