You may think that you’re listening to your dog’s wants and needs, but listening isn’t always what you think it is. We all want to do what’s best for our dogs. However, sometimes, in the quest for a successful relationship, we can get stuck pursuing traditional training methods that just aren’t working. The reality is, truly listening to your dog can look very different from how you might have imagined it. When you open up your mind and your heart to your partnership’s possibilities, that’s when things can really start to change ­– especially if you have a reactive dog. Steph Taleb and her dog, Pow, are a perfect example of how real listening can build a strong, thriving partnership. In this episode of Enlightened By Dogs, Kathy speaks to Steph about her journey with Pow and discusses how their relationship has gone from strength to strength since Steph chose to pursue a partnership lifestyle. In this episode: How Pow and Steph began their journey to a brilliant partnership What to do when traditional training doesn’t work Why Steph turned to the Brilliant Partners Academy How to embrace real listening Why expectations and compliance could be holding your relationship back What Steph and Pow’s brilliant partnership looks like now Read the blog post on this topic. Quotes: “What it feels like to listen to her now is that there’s a flow between us. It's a gentle flow of energy between us that is organic.” “It was like teacher-student relationship – now it's a partnership.” “My idea of what perfect was, of having a perfect dog, of trying to make her perfect, doesn't even exist anymore.” “Once I got rid of that pressure and that stress of compliance, then she wanted to come to me.” “Open your mind. Listen to your heart.” Want More of Kathy? Brilliant Partners Academy Dancing Hearts Dog Academy Website Facebook Community To read the blog post on this topic and to explore other episodes, click here.