“Doggie 911” with Christine MacKay
Cricket & Tanner
From Frantic Herding Drive to Joyful, Focused Companion
Every herding dog carries a fire inside her — an ancient, wired-in urgency to move, monitor, and manage the world around her. In the right environment, that fire is breathtaking to watch. In the wrong one, it becomes a constant, exhausting storm. Cricket, a spirited Corgi mix, arrived at The MacKay Way caught in that storm — and Tanner arrived right alongside her, looking for a way through.
Before: When the Drive Runs the Dog
Cricket arrived in full frantic-mode — intense, hyper-vigilant, scanning everything.
Before Tanner began work with Christine, Cricket's herding instincts were running the household. Her eyes were always moving — scanning, tracking, fixating. The environment pulled her in every direction at once, and what looked like energy was really anxiety wearing the costume of enthusiasm. She whined for attention, locked onto triggers she had no business managing, and struggled to settle even when the moment called for quiet.
For Tanner, walks had become something to brace for rather than enjoy. His own social anxiety mirrored Cricket's restlessness in unexpected ways — two beings, each watching the world a little too hard, trying to navigate it together without a clear shared language.
"Before Cricket was getting her needs met, she lunged and made noise at anything or anyone moving too quickly.
She was alert by the scent or sight of a dog and it felt impossible to calm her nervous system down, Walking the dog felt like a challenge with lots of anxiety and overstimulation.
We never took her to dog parks due to being unsure of her behaviour with other dogs.
She whined at us for attention." — Tanner
The Work: Channelling the Drive, Introducing Calm Leadership
Christine's approach with Cricket began where it always begins — with the lead. The slip leash became the primary tool of communication, and for Cricket, that clarity changed everything. For the first time, she had a consistent, legible signal coming down the line. Communication she could understand. Expectations she could meet.
The strategy was precise: drain the intense herding energy first, through structured outlets designed specifically for her breed's needs, and then ask her to settle. Energy spent productively is energy that no longer searches for its own targets. Boundary work and focus drills followed — and Cricket responded with the speed and eagerness that only a working dog, finally given a real job, can deliver.
Her reactive habits began to shift within sessions. Where she had once locked onto the outdoor environment with anxious fixation, she began to check in with Tanner instead. The whining for attention faded. The frantic scanning softened into awareness — present, and purposeful.
"Even within sessions we'd see improvements from her. The amount she tries to control the outdoor environment is minimal." — Tanner
Today: The Focused and Joyful Working Companion
The New Cricket Cricket calm, focused, looking to Tanner for direction — relaxed and happy.
Cricket today is a dog who knows her purpose — and that knowledge sits in her body like a deep exhale. She is still bright, still present, still very much a herding dog. Her drive is entirely intact. The difference is that the drive now has direction, and direction has given her peace.
She goes to dog parks regularly now, something that would have been unthinkable before. She has made friends. She recovers quickly when a trigger appears — rather than locking on and escalating, she glances at Tanner, finds her footing, and moves forward. The partnership between them has become genuinely mutual.
For Tanner, the shift has been equally profound. Walking the dog is no longer a source of stress to manage — it is a relaxing activity. His own social anxiety has eased alongside Cricket's. When a dog learns to look to her leader for direction rather than taking matters into her own paws, something in the leader settles too.
"Cricket gets to enjoy life so much more now due to training!" — Tanner
Empowering One Pack at a Time.
Training the Human. Transitioning the Dog.
Where Instinct Meets Obedience It All Begins Here
