One of the core ideas that stuck with me from the Kynology workshop was this:
Welfare isn’t about keeping dogs stress-free. It’s about helping them predict and control what happens to them.
That idea mirrors what many of us strive for in our own mindset work. Think about it:
- That cold shower you take in the name of resilience
- That 4am alarm you set to get to a show
- That brutal early morning gym session
All of those are examples of challenge. And they’re what make you stronger.
At the workshop, we talked about hormesis—a biological concept where a little bit of stress, followed by recovery, actually makes organisms stronger. It’s not about avoiding pressure. It’s about learning to work through it.
This absolutely applies to our dogs.
If you’ve ever had a competition go sideways and come back stronger… If you’ve ever sat in the car after a tough run and said, “Okay. What now?”… If you’ve ever felt frustration melt into focus…
Then you’ve lived this, too.
Our dogs deserve that same chance to build resilience.
Dr. Hilliard offered this definition of canine welfare that stuck with me:
- A dog who can predict and influence outcomes
- A dog who shows a prevailing positive affect (not happy every second, but generally optimistic and confident)
- A dog who learns to recover from setbacks—not collapse under them
That’s not just safe. That’s powerful.
It’s also not far off from how we describe a resilient person.
And, it starts with the same approach we try to use in our own training and growth:
Challenge with clarity. Structure with support. Discomfort with direction.
Of course, there’s a lot more nuance here than one blog post can cover—but if this got your wheels turning, then I’ve done my job.
Oh, and props to 📸 Epiphany Pet Photography for the awesome shot of Dude at the top of this post!
More soon,
Daisy
For those who aren’t Agility Challenge members already, but are curious about the ringside behavior work I mentioned, you can check out parts of The Vida Vlog for free at theagilitychallenge.com/free-training.