How Our Games Rewire Your Dog’s Brain, Why It Takes Time (And Why It’s So Worth It!)
“A client recently asked me a great question when I was showing them one of my training games. They asked: are we just rewarding the dog for looking at us? What’s the purpose behind these exercises? Why do we do that?”
This got me thinking about how to better explain what’s really happening in a dog’s brain during our training games—and why consistency matters so much.
Here’s what I came up with:
Our Brains Love the Path of Least Resistance
Just like us (and any other living being), our dogs' brains are wired to sense the world and come up with a response to whatever we perceive. Our brains process the stimuli we receive, then react based on what’s been done in the past.
Here’s where it gets interesting, the more often we take a certain action in response to something, the stronger that neural pathway becomes.
Think of it like this:
If you're riding a bike, you don’t have to think about balancing—your body just does it.
If you're driving and see a light turn red, you don’t have to think about it—you automatically hit the brakes.
But back when you first started driving or riding a bike, you had to put all your focus on every little movement and every little decision (that takes a lot of energy!).
After doing it over and over again, these reactions are now easy because they’ve been rehearsed so much that they’ve become automatic. They’re well-worn roads in our brains.
The Same Thing Happens with Dogs
Let’s take reactivity as an example. Many reactive dogs have practiced the same sequence over and over:
1. See a dog. 2. Fixate. 3. Explode—bark, lunge, freak out
This reaction happens automatically because it’s the most traveled road in their brain.
That’s where our training comes in.
Building a New Road
What we’re doing with counter conditioning games, and engagement exercises is paving an alternate route.
Every time our dog sees a trigger (like another dog) and we offer an alternative response—looking at us, engaging with us, chasing a treat—we’re showing them another option.
At first, the brain will default to the old road because it’s easier but the more we practice, the stronger the new pathway becomes.
It starts as a small dirt path, but over time, it gets reinforced and slowly turns into a full on highway.
The first sign of progress? Your dog hesitates before reacting. That little pause means their brain is recognizing they have a choice.
The more we successfully repeat the new option (engaging with us) and the less we let them repeat the reactivity, the more natural the new response becomes.
Training Your Dog Is Like Training For A Marathon
So many people struggle with training their dogs because it’s like training for a marathon. You don’t expect to work out for a week and suddenly be ready to run 42km.
But deep down, part of you kinda wish that’s how it worked. So when you don’t see results right away, it’s easy to get discouraged and quit.
The same thing happens in dog training. People focus too much on the end goal—“I just want my dog to stop reacting!”—and get frustrated when progress feels slow.
But instead of obsessing over the final result, what if we focused on the journey? On the little wins? On those moments where our dog looks back at us instead of lunging?
Training takes time. It takes patience. It takes reps, reps, and more reps. But if we commit to the process, not just the outcome, we build something real. Something lasting.
So let’s lean into the work and enjoy the progress, however small.
And let’s remember that all the best things—strong relationships, real change, deep understanding—take time. But they’re always worth it!✨
