The Dogs They Are Becoming

Over the last few months I have watched my dogs become versions of themselves I did not know existed. And it has been both beautiful and emotional in ways I never expected.

I have always cared deeply about welfare. That has never been in question. But what I did not realize until recently was that caring about welfare and centering welfare are two very different things. For years I loved my dogs the best way I knew how. And now, through a shift in how I live with them, how I interact with them, and how I interpret their behavior, I can finally see how much more they needed from me.

This shift began when I had the privilege of working closely with Kim Brophey while helping prepare for the rollout of the Total Welfare App. Learning from her in real time, seeing behavior through lenses I did not even know existed, has changed my dogs, my work, and honestly, my heart.

There are days when a new behavior appears and I feel tears well up because I realize it had been missing all along. Not because my dogs were lacking anything obvious, but because they simply did not have the internal ease, regulation, or confidence to express those parts of themselves yet.

I cannot count how many texts I have sent Kim saying, “Rumor just did something she has never done before,” or “Lettie just noticed something he would have completely overlooked last year.” These moments sound tiny, but to me, they feel enormous. Like small windows into who my dogs have been waiting to become.

When Social Access Opens Up, So Does the Dog

One of the biggest realizations came from understanding just how much my dogs needed from me socially. They were never isolated, but they lacked relaxed, meaningful, reliable access to me, the kind that fills a dog up emotionally.

They were not interacting because they wanted to.
They were interacting because they were living with social scarcity.

And that scarcity created subtle competition.

• Subtle blocking
• Pushing ahead for attention
• Needing to be the first to be touched
• Quick tension between them
• Hyper vigilance toward me
• Working overtime to stay connected

At the time, I thought it was excitement or drive.
Now I know it was unmet social need.

And the moment they had calm, predictable access to connection and closeness, everything softened. They stopped competing. They relaxed. They shared space without friction. Their choices became voluntary rather than urgent.

Seeing the Stress Once You Learn How to See It

There were so many little things I had normalized because working line Shepherds are intense.

• The fixation on me
• The inability to settle
• The constant readiness to go, go, go
• The obsession on hikes
• The pushiness

I once thought, “This is who they are.”

But now, through the Total Welfare lens, I see that this was who they felt they needed to be. They were managing internal stress in ways that looked functional on the surface.

This is the part that stings a bit, realizing the dogs you love were carrying more than you knew.

Rumor Becoming Herself

Rumor, my perfect angel baby dog, has unfolded in ways that feel profound. Her behavioral diversity has bloomed into something I had not known was waiting under the surface.

She is showing me:

• Allogrooming
• Parallel exploration with other dogs
• Independent, out of sight adventuring
• Object manipulation, caching, possessing
• Rooting through grass and hunting
• Air scenting and thoughtful investigation
• Joyful scent rolling
• Softer social greeting rituals
• Digging and foraging because it feels good
• Resting shoulder to shoulder with Roulette

The first time she showed one of these new behaviors, I stopped in my tracks and felt tears in my eyes.

That was Rumor.
Not the Rumor trying to keep up.
Not the Rumor shaped by pressure.
The Rumor who finally felt free enough to show me who she is.

Roulette’s Slow, Steady Bloom

Roulette’s transformation has been quieter, slower, and just as emotional. For so long he lived inside my shadow, checking in constantly, monitoring my every move, unable to take in the world because he was too busy watching me.

He used to pop up the moment I shifted on the couch.
He used to walk on hikes as if glued to my leg.
He used to prioritize me over his environment.

Then one day he stopped to investigate a balloon stuck in the grass.

A balloon.
He would have missed that completely before.

The shifts kept coming.

• Playfully manipulating objects
• Rooting and nosing things curiously
• Taking curved, exploratory paths
• Choosing the world over me
• Becoming less frustrated in training
• Feeling regulated enough to try new things

Watching him run hundreds of feet away, track, dig, scent roll, and investigate something that genuinely intrigued him, I teared up. I immediately texted Kim because that moment felt like witnessing a part of him finally exhale.

Roulette is no longer living through me.
He is living with the world.
And it feels like a gift I did not know I needed.

Working Line Shepherds Need Welfare, Not Just Work

Rumor and Roulette are true working line German Shepherds, bred for intensity and drive. Dogs like this can look fine while quietly suppressing natural behavior. They can love training and still have unmet needs. They can seem functional while carrying stress they have no outlet for.

This is why the Total Welfare Model matters. It gives us the clarity to see beneath the surface, beyond obedience, beyond performance, beyond structure.

Working line dogs do not just need work.
They need balance.
Choice.
Expression.
Regulation.
Authenticity.
Dog things, not just people things.

This shift did not just help them.
It saved parts of them.

A Priority Shift That Changed Everything

I used to ask:
How productive can we be
How structured can our days be
How much training can we get done

Now I ask:
Did they express natural behaviors today
Did they feel socially full
Did they have choices
Did they explore
Did they feel safe

I still train.
I still compete.
But now training supports who they are, not the other way around.

A Note About Ruger

As Rumor and Roulette soften into themselves, I cannot help but think of Ruger.

Ruger was my heart dog in every sense. He gave me everything he had. He met me where I was, even before I fully understood the depth of what I understand now.

And the truth is, I wish I had known this sooner.
I wish I had seen him through this lens.
Ruger deserved that too.

It is an ache I carry gently.
Not out of blame.
Out of love.

Because of Ruger, I look deeper now.
Because of Ruger, I notice the subtleties.
Because of Ruger, I listen harder.

He shaped the trainer and human I am becoming.
And every dog moving forward receives a version of me shaped by his memory.

This shift is part of his legacy.

The Total Welfare Model Made Everything Make Sense

Working with Kim on the Total Welfare App brought everything into focus. Behavioral diversity, natural expression, cataloging behaviors I had never noticed before, suddenly I had language for things my heart had felt but could not articulate.

Every new behavior Rumor and Roulette offer feels like a small miracle.
Every text to Kim feels like discovery.
Every day I watch my dogs live more freely, I feel something like gratitude mixed with awe.

This model did not just change my dogs.
It changed me.

Four Months of Change

All of this has happened in just four months.

Four months of:
A calmer rhythm
More choice
More noticing
More being
Less pressure
Less performance
More dog

My dogs are more themselves today than ever before.
And I am more myself too.

Because when we shift our priorities and open up space for authenticity, the dog changes.
And sometimes, the person does as well.