Start Here: The Tails of Connection Guide

Everything you need to understand your dog—and build a better relationship

Welcome to Tails of Connection.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by conflicting dog training advice—or wondered why something should work but doesn’t—you’re in the right place.

This page is your shortcut to our most helpful Substack resources, organized by topic so you can quickly find what you need.

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📍 Table of Contents

• Training Foundations

• Markers & Reinforcement

• Recall (Start Here)

• Real-Life Training

• Kids & Dogs

• Games & Enrichment

• Cooperative Care

• Life With Your Dog

• Community & Interviews

• Viral Video Breakdowns

• Essays

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🎓 Training Foundations

• The Slot Machine Myth: What Science Actually Says About Rewarding Your Dog
  Why inconsistent reinforcement might be working against you.

• Stop Ignoring Your Dog (Seriously)
  Rethinking one of the most common pieces of training advice.

• Should You Reward Mistakes?
  A more nuanced look at reinforcement.

• The Language of Learning: Behavior 101
  A simple framework for understanding behavior.

• The Cheat Code I Use in Dog Training
  Why environment matters more than you think.

• The Power of Training Where the Behavior Already Shows Up
  Make training easier and more effective.

• Why I Stopped Trying to “Change How My Dog Feels”
  A smarter approach to behavior.

• Dog Reactivity: Does It Ever Go Away—or Are We Just Managing It?

  A realistic look at what training can (and can’t) change.

• The Dog Training Game I Can’t Stop Playing (and Why It May Really Work)

  A step-by-step breakdown of how I’m using movement puzzles to enrich my dogs’ lives

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🧠 Markers & Reinforcement

• What Is a Marker in Dog Training?

• Do You Need to “Charge the Clicker”?

• Office Hours: More on Markers

• Part One: Markers & Reinforcement Systems

• Part Two: Teaching Markers & Reinforcement

• Naturally Occurring Reinforcers

• Should You Always Reinforce Attention?

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🐕 Recall

Start Here

• The Recall Guide

• There’s No Such Thing as Perfect Recall

• Why Dogs Come (or Don’t)

Build the Foundation

• Foundations

• Gathering Data

• Food Markers

• More on Reinforcement

Train & Apply

• Adding Your Recall Cue

• Using Recall in Real Life

• Building Engagement on Walks

• Turning Distractions Into Cues

Advanced

• Adding Distractions

• Food as a Controlled Distraction

• Toys for Recall

• Leash Handling Skills

• Other Recall Resources

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🐶 Real-Life Training

• What to Do When Your Dog Hates Something

• Helping Your Dog with Vet Visits

• Could Your Dog Be in Pain?

• When Behavior Is Actually a Problem

• Training Games for Reactive Dogs

• “Check It Out” Game

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👶 Kids & Dogs

• Kids and Dogs: What Actually Works

• 18 Games for Kids and Dogs

• What My Son’s High Chair Taught Me

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🛠 Games & Enrichment

• Easter Egg Hunt Game

• Scavenger Hunt

• What to Train When You’re Stuck

• Chair Training Ideas

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🧩 Cooperative Care

• How to Put a Hat on Your Dog

• Let Your Dog Control You

• Why “Take It” Matters

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🏡 Life With Your Dog

• Before Your Move

• Build Optimism

• What Is a Good Life for a Dog?

• Who Does Your Dog Belong To?

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💬 Community & Interviews

• Meet an American Who Followed Her Dream and Her Dog to London

• Meet Liz Williams

• Meet Heather Woodward

• Meet Noël Duan

• Meet Eryn Schultz

• Behind the Scenes: JW Dog Training App

• Integrating Dogs with a Partner

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📱 Viral Video Breakdowns

• Take Five With These Viral Videos

• Take a Break With Viral Videos

• Treat Yourself With Viral Videos

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✍️ Essays

• Convenient for Whom?

• The Ant on the Trail

• Loving a Dog Who Resource Guards

• The Bird, the Branch, and the Myth of Confidence

• The One Mistake I’ll Never Forget

• The Weeks I Lost My Home

• The Hardest Kind of Love

• The Case for Caring Anyway

• A Little More Free

• Changing Seasons

• What If We Didn’t Ask Anything of Our Dogs?

📌 Bookmark this page—you’ll want to come back to it.