17/08/2026
There's a growing emphasis in dog training on choice, agency and empowerment...and that is a good thing.
But sometimes freedom gets confused with empowerment.
Giving dogs more freedom can absolutely be empowering. Allowing them to choose where they sniff, which direction they explore or how they interact with their environment can be valuable.
But more freedom doesn't automatically lead to more empowerment.
Sometimes it simply creates more opportunities to rehearse challenging behaviours.
A dog who reacts to other dogs, with unrestricted access to the front fence, might spend their day running, barking and reacting to everything passing by. An off-lead dog might repeatedly rush towards other dogs before they have the skills to disengage or respond to their handler.
Practice matters.
Repeatedly rehearsing chasing, barking, lunging, fence running or rushing towards triggers can make those behaviours increasingly established and easy to perform.
It can also mean more stress, not less.
A reactive dog who has the freedom to constantly monitor their environment and respond to every potential trigger isn't necessarily relaxed or empowered. They may be spending significantly more of their day in a heightened state of arousal, repeatedly experiencing the physiological stress associated with those reactions.
This is where management is important.
Management isn't inherently restrictive and it isn't the opposite of empowerment. Done well, it creates situations where dogs can practise the behaviours and decision-making skills we actually want them to develop.
We can still provide choice within boundaries.
A dog can explore on a long line without having the option to rush another dog. They can choose where to sniff while we prevent them chasing wildlife. They can watch and process a trigger without being able to charge towards it.
And as their skills, confidence and ability to make good decisions develop, their freedom can grow with them.
Empowerment isn't about removing every boundary. It's about giving dogs meaningful choices, appropriate support and the skills to successfully navigate their world.
