Welcome to the Deliverance Dogs Blog

Welcome.

This space is an extension of Deliverance Dogs — a place for serious reflection on training, partnership, and the responsibility that comes with working dogs at any level.

I don’t believe in surface-level progress. I believe in depth. In understanding. In building dogs — and handlers — that can think, cope, and perform under pressure.

This blog will document lessons from the field, from competition, from mistakes, and from continued study. Because no matter how long you have been in this world, you are not finished learning.

This first post comes from that exact place.

Mistakes Belong in the Picture

I’ve just returned from an intense few days training with Tukka. Much of how I approach relationship, communication, and emotional clarity in dogs has been shaped through years of learning under him — and that learning continues..

The most valuable reminder I brought home was this:

Mistakes belong in the picture.

Not on the outside of it.
Not as something to avoid.
But as part of the work itself.

Even at this stage in my career, I still wrestle with perfectionism. It can look like high standards — and high standards matter. But unchecked, it becomes restrictive. It narrows decision-making. It reduces experimentation. It quietly prioritises image over development.

Real growth requires commitment before certainty.

Boundaries must be pushed.
Decisions must be made.
And they must be owned — whether they turn out to be right or wrong.

Often, the wrong ones teach more.

In competitive environments especially, there is constant pressure to produce results. To demonstrate competence. To justify your methods publicly. That pressure can subtly shift your focus away from understanding and toward outcome.

During the weekend, Tukka asked me something that stopped me:

Would you be more valuable to your clients if

A) you gave them a piece of insight that fundamentally changed their relationship with their dog,

OR

B) you produced an impressive competition result?

That question cuts to the core.

Because it exposes motive.

It forces you to look honestly at what you are chasing — validation, outcome, recognition… or understanding.

Competition results are visible. They are measurable. They are easy to point to.

Understanding is quieter.
But it is what endures.

If I focus primarily on outcome, I tighten. I protect. I manage risk.

If I focus on understanding, I expand. I experiment. I grow.

And only one of those paths leads to depth.

Driving home, I put on The Practice by Seth Godin — a book I’ve listened to before. The message aligned perfectly: the work is in showing up consistently, in committing to the process, in risking imperfection. Not in protecting yourself from error.

Mistakes are not detours.
They are data.

They expose gaps.
They reveal assumptions.
They deepen understanding.

I am deliberately recalibrating my focus.

Less outcome-driven.
More understanding-driven.

Because sustainable performance — and stronger relationships with our dogs — are built on depth, not perfection.

That is the standard I hold myself to.
And it is the standard that underpins Deliverance Dogs.