Rewriting the Rules: Raising Dogs with Heart, Science and Soul

Bethany Bell
  • 5.0 (2)
  • PETS & ANIMALS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

A thought-provoking podcast for dog lovers and ethical professionals who want more than obedience. Hosted by Bethany Bell, creator of the Canine Dialogue Dynamics (CDD) Method, this show explores a deeper, emotionally intelligent approach to life with dogs. Weekly episodes include real-life stories, science-based insights, and powerful reflections to help you rethink behaviour and rewrite the rules—for good.

  1. 7H AGO

    When Dogs Grieve.

    Do dogs grieve? What does dog grief actually look like? And how can you support a dog after the loss of another dog, a person, or an animal companion? In this episode of Rewriting the Rules, we explore canine grief in depth. When a dog loses a companion, whether that is another dog in the home or a beloved human, their world changes in ways that are often misunderstood. Grief in dogs can show up as anxiety, clinginess, withdrawal, separation distress, appetite changes, reactivity, confidence loss, or even trauma-like behaviours. We discuss: Do dogs really experience grief? How attachment and co-regulation shape canine behaviour Why behaviour changes after loss are often nervous system responses What happens when two dogs become one Why alone time can suddenly feel frightening How grief can sometimes resemble PTSD or trauma Practical, compassionate ways to support a grieving dog How long dog grief may last How to rebuild safety, confidence, and emotional stability This episode also gently acknowledges your own grief as a guardian, and how your emotional state interacts with your dog’s adjustment without placing pressure on you to suppress your feelings. If your dog is showing behavioural changes after losing a companion, this episode will help you understand what may be happening beneath the surface and how to support them in a calm, steady, and emotionally intelligent way. Grief is not a behaviour problem. It is an attachment response. Listen now to learn how to walk alongside your dog through loss with compassion and clarity.   Further resources  Free Learning: Patreon Page  What is the CDD method? Our Free Facebook Group Our YouTube Channel Facebook Page Bethany’s Facebook Page  Our Blog Website Free Rescue Course Take The Next Step Patreon Page Our Programmes  –  Work With Bethany One To One  Our Online Courses Bethany’s Books  Rewriting the Rules: The CDD Mentorship Online Programmes Surrey & Surrounding Areas- Programmes Student Group If you’re ready to step into something different - something kinder, wiser, and more meaningful - you’re in the right place. Let’s raise dogs with dignity. Let’s teach through connection. Let’s begin the conversation.

    42 min

  2. FEB 6

    Teaching Dogs Life Skills Not Just Commands

    In this episode of Rewriting the Rules, we explore what it really means to build a meaningful relationship with a dog, and why obedience is not the same as understanding. Rather than focusing on commands like sit, stay, or down, this conversation looks at life skills that help dogs live safely and confidently in the real world. We explore the difference between training behaviours and teaching concepts, and why blind obedience can limit a dog’s ability to think, adapt, and make safe decisions on their own. Using real-life examples such as waiting at doors, loose lead walking, and everyday boundaries, this episode shows how dogs can learn safety and self-regulation without rigid positions, constant management, or repetitive training routines. We discuss why teaching concepts like waiting, pacing, and awareness creates more reliable behaviour than obedience alone, and how this approach supports emotional wellbeing and trust. This episode is for anyone who wants to move beyond control-based thinking and build a deeper, more ethical, and more effective way of living with dogs. If you care about safety, behaviour, and genuine connection, this episode will help you rethink what dogs really need to learn.   Further resources  Free Learning: Patreon Page  What is the CDD method? Our Free Facebook Group Our YouTube Channel Facebook Page Bethany’s Facebook Page  Our Blog Website Free Rescue Course Take The Next Step Patreon Page Our Programmes  –  Work With Bethany One To One  Our Online Courses Bethany’s Books  Rewriting the Rules: The CDD Mentorship Online Programmes Surrey & Surrounding Areas- Programmes Student Group If you’re ready to step into something different - something kinder, wiser, and more meaningful - you’re in the right place. Let’s raise dogs with dignity. Let’s teach through connection. Let’s begin the conversation.

    20 min

  3. JAN 25

    Dog Play: What’s Healthy, What Isn’t, and Why It Matters More Than You Think

    Dog Play: What’s Healthy, What Isn’t, and Why It Matters More Than You Think   Dog play is one of the most misunderstood topics in the dog world. In this episode, we explore what healthy dog play actually looks like, what is commonly mistaken for play, and why getting this wrong can quietly contribute to stress, over-arousal, and behaviour struggles. We talk about the emotional state behind play, the importance of consent, pauses, self-limiting behaviour, and choice, and why intensity does not automatically mean enjoyment. You’ll learn how to recognise when play is genuinely regulating, and when it is driven by over-arousal, frustration, social pressure, or stress release.   This episode also explores the difference between dog-to-dog play and human-led games such as fetch or tug, why not all dogs enjoy play, and why forcing play or using it as an “outlet” can backfire for sensitive or reactive dogs. Rather than focusing on rules or management, this conversation invites you to slow down, observe more closely, and rethink play through a relationship-led, emotionally informed lens. If you want to support calmer behaviour, emotional regulation, and genuine wellbeing, this episode will change how you see play forever.   Further resources  Free Learning: Patreon Page  What is the CDD method? Our Free Facebook Group Our YouTube Channel Facebook Page Bethany’s Facebook Page  Our Blog Website Free Rescue Course Take The Next Step Patreon Page Our Programmes  –  Work With Bethany One To One  Our Online Courses Bethany’s Books  Rewriting the Rules: The CDD Mentorship Online Programmes Surrey & Surrounding Areas- Programmes Student Group If you’re ready to step into something different - something kinder, wiser, and more meaningful - you’re in the right place. Let’s raise dogs with dignity. Let’s teach through connection. Let’s begin the conversation.

    37 min

  4. JAN 8

    Diet and Nutrition: Feeding Dogs for Emotional and Behavioural Health

    In this episode, we explore diet and nutrition through a much wider lens than calories, protein percentages, or trends.   Food does not just affect the body. It affects the gut. The nervous system. Emotional regulation. And ultimately, behaviour.   We talk about why dogs are facultative carnivores, what that actually means in real life, and why carbohydrates have been so heavily misunderstood and demonised. We explore the importance of balance, individual dogs, and the type and quality of ingredients, rather than extreme or one-size-fits-all feeding rules.   This episode also looks at the gut–brain connection, why feeding the same food every day can negatively affect the microbiome, and how dietary variety supports resilience, emotional steadiness, and long-term wellbeing.   We unpack common pet food marketing tactics, including misleading buzzwords, ingredient list tricks, and the reality behind claims like “no artificial additives” and long lists of added vitamins and minerals.   This episode is not about doing things perfectly. It is about understanding how deeply food and behaviour are linked, and how thoughtful, pressure-free choices can make a meaningful difference to a dog’s physical and emotional health.     If you enjoy these conversations and want to go deeper, there are two additional podcasts each month exclusively inside my Patreon   The Patreon episodes explore the deeper emotional, relational, and philosophical layers of living with dogs through the CDD lens. We slow things down, challenge common assumptions, and talk honestly about behaviour, pressure, and what dogs actually need to feel safe and settled.   If you would like to support the podcast and access those additional episodes, you can join via the link below.   If you want practical guidance alongside the theory, all of my main courses include a comprehensive canine nutrition course, which is currently being fully updated and will be complete by the 1st of February.   The updated nutrition course covers: • How diet affects behaviour and emotional regulation • The gut–brain connection explained clearly and accessibly • Understanding carbohydrates, protein, and balance properly • Reading ingredient lists with confidence • Avoiding common marketing traps • Feeding variety safely and thoughtfully • Home cooking options, from partial to fully prepared diets • Supporting individual dogs rather than feeding by rule   The nutrition course is included as part of all of my main courses, so there is no need to purchase it separately.   It is designed to remove fear, confusion, and pressure around feeding, and replace it with clarity, confidence, and calm decision-making.   Further resources  Free Learning: Patreon Page  What is the CDD method? Our Free Facebook Group Our YouTube Channel Facebook Page Bethany’s Facebook Page  Our Blog Website Free Rescue Course Take The Next Step Patreon Page Our Programmes  –  Work With Bethany One To One  Our Online Courses Bethany’s Books  Rewriting the Rules: The CDD Mentorship Online Programmes Surrey & Surrounding Areas- Programmes Student Group If you’re ready to step into something different - something kinder, wiser, and more meaningful - you’re in the right place. Let’s raise dogs with dignity. Let’s teach through connection. Let’s begin the conversation.

    21 min

  5. 11/20/2025

    When the Years Catch Up: Navigating Ageing, Presence, and Love

    As our dogs grow older, so do we — not just in years, but in depth, awareness, and presence. In this reflective episode, Bethany shares the emotional landscape of ageing dogs: the quiet grief that begins long before goodbye, the slowing rhythms of daily life, and the sacred shift that happens when we stop rushing and start noticing.   With deeply personal stories of her own dogs — Steve, Dave, and Hank — this episode holds space for the beauty and heartbreak of growing old together. You’ll also hear gentle insights into the physical changes that accompany ageing, and how to support your dog with love, patience, and practical care.   This is an episode for anyone walking beside a grey muzzle… or bracing for the day they will.   Further resources  Free Learning:  What is the CDD method? Our Free Facebook Group Our YouTube Channel Facebook Page Bethany’s Facebook Page  Our Blog Website Free Rescue Course Take The Next Step Our Programmes  –  Work With Bethany One To One  Our Online Courses Bethany’s Books  Rewriting the Rules: The CDD Mentorship Online Programmes Surrey & Surrounding Areas- Programmes Student Group If you’re ready to step into something different - something kinder, wiser, and more meaningful - you’re in the right place. Let’s raise dogs with dignity. Let’s teach through connection. Let’s begin the conversation.

    25 min

  6. 11/13/2025

    The Myth of the Neutral Dog

    What if the calmest dogs aren’t truly calm — just quietly overwhelmed? In this powerful and thought-provoking episode, canine behaviourist and CDD Method creator Bethany Bell explores the widely accepted, yet deeply misleading, idea of the “neutral” dog. You’ll learn why neutrality is often confused with emotional maturity, how stillness can signal shutdown, and why aiming for a dog who ignores the world may do more harm than good. Bethany unpacks the hidden costs of flooding and avoidance, reframes reactivity through the lens of emotional safety, and offers gentle, relationship-based alternatives rooted in dialogue, choice, and trust. Whether you’re a dog guardian or a professional, this episode will challenge everything you’ve been told about calmness, socialisation, and control — and help you build a more ethical, emotionally intelligent bond with your dog.

    42 min

  7. 11/06/2025

    The Obedience Hangover

    Have we mistaken obedience for understanding? In this episode of Rewriting the Rules, I’m exploring what I call “The Obedience Hangover” - that quiet, uneasy space we find ourselves in after years of teaching our dogs to behave, only to realise that something still feels disconnected. We’ll talk about what really happens when dogs are praised for being calm, quiet, and compliant - and why that calmness can sometimes be a mask for emotional suppression and confusion. Together, we’ll look at how obedience culture shaped so many of us - even the most ethical of trainers - and how to begin recovering from it with compassion, curiosity, and dialogue. This isn’t about throwing away everything you’ve learned. It’s about rediscovering the “why” behind it - rebuilding trust, confidence, and communication so your dog feels seen, not just well-behaved.   ✨ In this episode: • What the “obedience hangover” really means • How good intentions can still lead to emotional suppression • The difference between calmness and safety • How to begin recovery through observation, empathy, and dialogue • Replacing control with connection in everyday life   If you’ve ever felt that quiet voice inside saying “something about this doesn’t feel right”, this episode will help you listen to it - and to your dog - with a new kind of understanding. 💭 Because love isn’t about control. It’s about relationship.   Further resources  Free Learning:  What is the CDD method? Our Free Facebook Group Our YouTube Channel Facebook Page Bethany’s Facebook Page  Our Blog Website Free Rescue Course Take The Next Step Our Programmes  –  Work With Bethany One To One  Our Online Courses Bethany’s Books  Rewriting the Rules: The CDD Mentorship Online Programmes Surrey & Surrounding Areas- Programmes Student Group If you’re ready to step into something different - something kinder, wiser, and more meaningful - you’re in the right place. Let’s raise dogs with dignity. Let’s teach through connection. Let’s begin the conversation.

    22 min

  8. 10/30/2025

    The Myth of the Perfect Dog

    Once upon a time, I thought there was such a thing as the perfect dog. The one who walked calmly on the lead, ignored every distraction, greeted other dogs politely, never barked, never chewed, and somehow understood every word I said. I thought if I just worked hard enough — read enough, learned enough, and did everything “right” — we’d get there. That mythical point where everything fell neatly into place, where my dog would finally behave the way all those glossy photos and polished videos promised me he could. But what I didn’t realise back then was that the “perfect dog” doesn’t exist. Because perfection isn’t real. It’s a performance. What does exist is the dog in front of you — the living, breathing, emotional being who’s doing their absolute best to make sense of a human world. And when you stop chasing perfection, you start seeing them. Their individuality. Their sensitivity. Their courage. Their quirks that make them who they are. In this episode, I talk about how my perspective completely changed — from striving for control and compliance, to building connection and understanding. We’ll explore where the idea of the “perfect dog” even came from, why it’s so damaging, and what happens when we replace perfectionism with compassion. You’ll hear about the quiet power of letting go, of recognising that progress looks different for every dog, and that your dog doesn’t need to be perfect to be incredible. Because when we stop trying to fix our dogs, and start learning from them, we find something far more meaningful than perfection — we find relationship. Further resources  Free Learning:  What is the CDD method? Our Free Facebook Group Our YouTube Channel Facebook Page Bethany’s Facebook Page  Our Blog Website Free Rescue Course Take The Next Step Our Programmes  –  Work With Bethany One To One  Our Online Courses Bethany’s Books  Rewriting the Rules: The CDD Mentorship Online Programmes Surrey & Surrounding Areas- Programmes Student Group If you’re ready to step into something different - something kinder, wiser, and more meaningful - you’re in the right place. Let’s raise dogs with dignity. Let’s teach through connection. Let’s begin the conversation.

    18 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

A thought-provoking podcast for dog lovers and ethical professionals who want more than obedience. Hosted by Bethany Bell, creator of the Canine Dialogue Dynamics (CDD) Method, this show explores a deeper, emotionally intelligent approach to life with dogs. Weekly episodes include real-life stories, science-based insights, and powerful reflections to help you rethink behaviour and rewrite the rules—for good.

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