Author Reflects on 2 Years Training Boxer Dusty, Finding Control Elusive

1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 25

Two years of training left the author with a partial victory: Dusty now usually comes when called, but the boxer’s excitability still shapes where and how she can be walked.
One park incident six months in—when Dusty harassed another dog and ignored recall—became the turning point, exposing the shame, guilt and loss of control that can define difficult dog ownership.
Steve Mann-style positive reinforcement, backed by behaviorist ideas from BF Skinner, became the main framework; the author spent hundreds of pounds on trainers while rejecting punitive tools such as choke and shock collars.
Dusty’s breed and age compounded the struggle: boxers are described as powerful, impulsive working dogs, and adolescence around 14 months pushed behavior close to breaking point, even prompting searches for rehoming.
The essay broadens that experience into a meditation on modern control—from surveillance and AI to dog neuroscience and medication—arguing that owners often seek not perfect mastery but relief from guilt and judgment.