The Missing Piece: Why Context Matters in Service Dog Training and in Life

For a long time, I thought that simply explaining what we do at Sapper K9—and even why—should have been enough. I thought laying out the facts would speak for themselves: veterans are waiting too long, the standard is too low, the system is broken. I thought explaining the benefits of proper training, or the urgency behind getting these dogs to the right people, would be all it took. But what I was missing was context.

I was trying to make people understand without showing them where I was standing.

Context is the difference between hearing and feeling.

See, there’s a difference between information and understanding. You can hand someone all the right words, but if they don’t have the framework—if they don’t know what it means—you might as well be speaking a different language. And for a long time, I didn’t want to give them that framework. I didn’t want to tell people where this comes from in me. The pain. The stakes. The reason this work has to matter.

But lately I’ve realized something: context is the message.

Context for YOU to hear

It’s not just about teaching people what goes into training a service dog. It’s about explaining what happens if we don’t. It’s about making them feel the weight of what’s on the line—not just for me, not just for my team, but for every veteran who wakes up with the weight of war still on their chest.

I’ve seen firsthand what it looks like when someone doesn’t get the help in time. I’ve trained dogs for the ones who almost didn’t make it. And I’ve been the one who needed that dog once too. That’s the part I used to leave out. I didn’t want people to see the cracks in the armor. But those cracks are where the truth gets in.

Dog training context

So now I talk about both.

I talk about the system. I talk about the dogs.

But I also talk about the nights I didn’t think I’d see morning.

And when I do, people start to get it. This is why dog training context is important.

I’m not just giving people data—they can Google that.

They don’t just nod along when I say, “This is life or death.” They believe it.

In the dog world, context is everything. The same correction can be training or trauma depending on how it’s delivered. A dog’s behavior makes sense when you know what it’s responding to. Same with people. If you want someone to understand your mission, you’ve got to give them more than facts. You have to let them see where those facts live.

So that’s what I’m doing now. I’m not just giving people data—they can Google that.

I'm giving you truth:

• Why this matters.

• Why it has to be done right.

• Why the standard matters more than the timeline.

• Why helping someone stay alive isn’t charity—it’s duty.

If you’re trying to make people understand something big—something hard—don’t just tell them what’s happening. Tell them where you are in the story. Tell them why it matters to you. That’s where the understanding starts.

Because context is the difference between hearing and feeling.

And sometimes, feeling it is the only way to get people to move.

– Benjamin Searle, Sapper K9