ABOUT ZORAN LAZIC
A practical method shaped by decades of working with dogs and the people who live with them.
Natural Leadership Method™ grew from years of hands-on work with dogs and their owners—and from seeing the same problem repeatedly: a dog can learn plenty of skills and still struggle in everyday life.
I developed the method around a different question: What are the everyday habits, decisions and routines shaping the behaviour we’re seeing?
Change the habits, and you can begin to change the behaviour.
HOW THE METHOD DEVELOPED
I kept seeing the same problem.
Over the years, I worked with many dogs that knew the basics. They could sit, stay, come and respond well during practice—but those skills didn’t always carry over into everyday life.
The problems showed up somewhere else: pulling on walks, overexcitement at the door, difficult greetings, reacting to other dogs, demanding attention or simply being unable to settle when nothing was happening.
I began paying more attention to what was happening between the training moments.
The routines. The decisions. When affection was given. When freedom was given. What the dog was allowed to practise every day—and what the person was doing in response.
That led to the principle at the centre of Natural Leadership Method™:
We change our habits to change the dog’s habits.
WHAT BECAME NATURAL LEADERSHIP METHOD™
A different way of looking at everyday behaviour.
Natural Leadership Method™ developed from a simple idea: the behaviour we live with every day is shaped by the habits we create every day.
That means looking beyond commands and individual training exercises. I look at the relationship between the person, the dog and the environment—the routines being repeated, the decisions being made and the behaviour being reinforced.
The person becomes the coach. The dog is the player. The coach provides structure, makes decisions and creates clear opportunities for the dog to succeed.
As calm behaviour becomes more consistent, freedom can gradually increase. Affection becomes meaningful reinforcement for the behaviour we want to see more often.
Confidence, not dominance. Structure before freedom.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Experience shaped by real dogs and real life.
I’ve spent decades working with dogs, studying behaviour and helping owners deal with the challenges that show up in everyday life.
My experience has included private coaching, behaviour work, puppy raising, group environments and working with dogs of different ages, breeds and temperaments.
Over time, that experience changed the way I looked at dog training. I became less interested in how well a dog could perform an exercise and more interested in how the dog and owner functioned together when no formal training session was taking place.
That practical experience became the foundation for Natural Leadership Method™.
DECADES OF EXPERIENCE
Hands-on experience working with dogs, behaviour and the people who live with them.
CANINE BEHAVIOUR
Years of professional work helping owners understand and change difficult everyday behaviour.
AUTHOR & METHOD DEVELOPER
Developer of Natural Leadership Method™ and author of Transforming Habits, Transforming Dogs.
WHERE TO GO NEXT
The method is meant to be lived, not just learned.
Whether you’re starting with a puppy, dealing with difficult everyday behaviour or simply looking for a calmer way to live with your dog, the starting point is the same: look at the habits shaping what happens every day.