Welcome to Onward...

For most of my life, dogs and the outdoors have been two constants.  I've spent the better part of 50 years wandering through woods, walking trails, and exploring new places, and whenever possible, I've brought a dog along with me.

For the last 12 years now, dogs have also been my sole profession.

I've trained dogs and coached their owners.  I've worked with puppies, difficult dogs, family companions, and dogs learning the skills they need to experience more freedom.  I've attended conferences, earned certifications, taught other trainers, built programs, changed programs, and probably spent more hours thinking about dogs than any reasonable person should.

But somewhere along the way, I realized something: dog training was important but the dogs were the easy part.  Helping people understand that living with dogs is a team sport... a partnership... and a journey.

And the best way to experience that happens outside.

That's where Dog On Adventures begins.

From the Backyard to the Backcountry

When people hear the word adventure, it's easy to picture mountains, backpacks, remote trails, and multi-day trips into the wilderness.  We're going to talk about those things, but that's not where adventure has to begin. It might begin with a walk through a local park, your dog's first trail, or a weekend exploring a state park.

It might look like camping together, learning to handle a long line, getting comfortable around water, building a reliable recall, learning some basic first aid, or figuring out what belongs in your packs. Or it might simply mean becoming confident enough to leave the backyard and try something new?

That's why the idea behind Dog On Adventures is simple...

from the backyard to the backcountry.

You don't have to become feral (being a little feral is never a bad thing though) and your dog doesn't have to become an expedition dog.  You just have to become a little more capable together.

Adventure Requires More Than Obedience

I've spent years teaching dogs to walk nicely on leash, come when called, stay on place, settle around distractions and navigate the human world.  Those skills matter. 

But taking a dog into the outdoors asks a number of different questions.

Can you recognize when your dog is becoming fatigued?  Do you know how much water your dog needs?  What happens if your dog cuts a paw three miles from the trailhead?  Can you read the environment around you?  Can your dog move calmly past another dog on a narrow trail?  Do you understand wildlife encounters, weather, heat, cold, trail etiquette, and navigation?  What about human first aid, or canine first aid... yeah, it can be overwhelming.

Also, maybe the most important... do you know when to turn around or call for help?

Nature has a way of exposing the difference between knowing something and actually being capable of doing it.  That's one of the ideas I want to explore here.

Capability Changes Everything

I've become increasingly interested in one word... capability.  A capable dog isn't necessarily the dog with the most titles or the longest list of commands... it's just a dog that can navigate life successfully.

A capable person isn't someone who knows everything... it's someone who has developed enough knowledge, judgment, skill, and experience to make good decisions when things don't go exactly according to plan.

Put those two together and something interesting happens... you begin developing a capable team, a confident human and dog.  That's where I believe real freedom starts.  It doesn't come from simply taking the leash off, collecting obedience commands, or chasing some picture for instagram of the "perfect dog."

Nope, freedom comes from preparation... judgment... and capability.

Dog On Adventures Is Going to Be Built in the Open

I want to be clear about something from the beginning... this isn't a finished project. 

I'm drawing on more than a decade of professional dog training experience (and lessons learned in other careers) while deliberately expanding the conversation into outdoor recreation, wilderness medicine, risk management, canine first aid, navigation, environmental awareness, and other disciplines that belong in this conversation.

I'll share that process here.  Some posts will be practical.  Some will be about dogs, and some will be about outdoor skills.  Some will explore equipment, conditioning, training, and some may simply be stories from the trail.  Sometimes I'll write about lessons learned the hard way or just something I believed five years ago that I see differently today.

That's the point.

Dog On Adventures isn't supposed to be a monument to what we already know. It's supposed to be a place where we keep learning. 

Why Now?

Because I think dogs need adventure and frankly, I think many of us do too. 

Sometimes they need dirt under their feet, or something to roll in, some new smells, more movement, bathing in sunshine, splashing in a creek, and a person willing to experience those things beside them.  We don't have to abandon modern life and disappear into the wilderness.  We can simply start creating a little more adventure in the lives we're already living... one walk, one trail, one skill, one experience at a time.

So, Where Are We Going?

I don't completely know yet, and the funny part is that's probably appropriate for something called "Dog On Adventures"...

but I know the direction...

and I have an idea of what I want to build.

So this blog... Onward... along with the Dog On Adventures Podcast will become something of a field journal to those interested in doing more with their dogs.

I'll share lessons I've learned, question some conventional wisdom, and bring in people who know far more than I do about the subjects we need to understand.

We'll talk about dogs, dog training, the outdoors, equipment, risk, responsibility, and adventure.

And like I said earlier we'll explore what happens when we stop just asking, "How do I train my dog?" and start asking, "What could my dog and I become capable of doing together?"

That's the journey I'm interested in.

You don't need to be an expert or own all the gear... and you definitely don't need to wait until you think you're ready. Just start where you are. Take your dog... go outside... learn something... build capability.

Then go a little farther next time.

Welcome to Dog On Adventures.

From the backyard to the backcountry.