Many social media influencers and trainers avoid calling out abusive dog trainers because of backlash from those who choose to hurt and scare animals in the name of training.  2023 was a hard year for many of us because there was a movement calling the force-free community “extremists” if we decided to voice concerns over abusive practices.  

While we’re trying to make strides in the unregulated industry, it feels like we’re losing ground to this aggressive and harmful crowd.  

Enter Zac George and his wife, Bree. Zac is a dog trainer, author, TV show host and social media star.  Zac is an absolute powerhouse with almost 500K followers on Instagram and 3.7 million subscribers on YouTube.   You can follow Zak on Instagram at @ZakGeorge, check out his lineup of books and check out his YouTube account here. 

If you spend any time on Zac’s account, you’ll see he pulls no punches when it comes to speaking out against abusive training methods. 

For that reason, Zac and his wife Bree are the unsung heroes of 2023.  Refusing to be concerned about losing followers for speaking out, putting themselves in the direct line of fire of these harmful trainers and using their platform for advocacy is a huge breath of fresh air. 

I do speak up when I can, but I don’t have the fortitude or the size of platform that Bree and Zac have, so I wanted to sit down with them and find out why they are so passionate about using their social media to be advocates for the animals that have no voice in how they are trained.  They make no apologies for their advocacy and are truly lovely people. 

While we do so with care, we do discuss abusive training practices, so please take care while listening.  I sat down with Bree and Zack from my home office, and they took time to chat from the middle of a desert in Arizona. 

To get involved, check out their Instagram account and click on the link tree in their profile.  There are position statements, form letters, information, and many ways to get involved. 

This episode is brought to you by my book Urban Sheepdog.  I wrote it to help you better understand your herding breed dog, especially those struggling to fit into urban or non-working homes. It’s a part user manual and part love story, and it’s available on Amazon worldwide.  The Kindle edition is now available, so pick it up today and fall deeper in love with your dog.  Simply search Urban Sheepdog on Amazon.