When Loving Your Dog Too Much Is Keeping Them Stuck

When Loving Your Dog Too Much Is Keeping Them Stuck

From The Everyday Trainer Podcast by Meghan Dougherty

June 12, 2026 · 1h 14m

About this episode

The episode discusses how excessive tenderness towards dogs can lead to anxiety and teaches owners how to provide a stable environment for their pets.

Too much tenderness can look like love and still leave an anxious dog feeling unsafe. We sit down for a real virtual coaching session with a caring owner and her five-year-old Aussie doodle, Coco, and we get honest about the empathy trap: when we absorb every feeling, avoid every discomfort, and accidentally teach our dogs that the world is unmanageable. The goal isn’t to become cold. The goal is to become clear, steady, and predictable so your dog can stop making anxious decisions all day lo...

People in this episode

Host: Meghan Dougherty

Guest: Coco

Topics covered

  • dog training
  • anxiety in dogs
  • pet ownership
  • empathy trap
  • dog behavior

Keywords

  • anxious dog
  • dog training
  • Aussie doodle
  • empathy trap
  • pet care

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