My evolving take on wanting my cattle dog to be “calm”

When I first got into the online dog community after adopting Scout, I quickly found many trainers talking about the importance of our pets having a calm mindset. I fully bought into this idea for a while and prioritized a lot of structure with the goal of slowing our heeler down.

Over the years my approach has shifted to what I see as a healthier middle ground.

While I absolutely still think it’s important that our dogs are able to relax, today my biggest goal isn’t for Scout to be “calm”. It’s for her to be confident and able to self-regulate through a range of emotions and situations. I care about fulfillment and cooperation (regardless of mental state) more than limiting arousal.

Here’s a deeper look into my changing opinions on “calm” dogs over time!

You can read more related thoughts in our articles compiling resources we’ve used to help Scout calm down and outlining how we initially started practicing in public.