Barking Up the Right Tree

18/06/2026

Are you playing Collar Grab?

here’s a quick 1 minute video of the collar grab game with Stevie.

The Collar Grab Game is brilliant for building confidence for your dog. It is also an important foundation for other things like recall and handling.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

17/06/2026

Time to brag about your dog!

After my goat-related adventure last weekend (if you missed it - my reactive dogs, a field of pygmy goats, and absolutely no drama), I want to hear about YOUR dog's proudest moment.

The one where they coped better than you expected. The walk that went surprisingly well. The moment you thought "hang on... look how far we've come."

Drop it in the comments - I'd love to celebrate the wins with you!

16/06/2026

My dogs. Pygmy goats. What could possibly go wrong??

We went away for a night last weekend - a much-needed escape to the Lake District. Found the most idyllic spot: a shepherd's hut with a secure garden, right next to a smallholding with goats, sheep and chickens.

Idyllic, yes. But also... my dogs, around goats??

Will they cope??

Why hadn't I thought this through????

We arrived and the goats were literally on the other side of the fence. Dash made friends with one of them (hi Woody) and Hattie tried to get a game going - bouncy as anything, bucket filling fast. But they were impeccable.

Then the owner's dogs came out barking.

Mine?

Silent.

Sometimes recognising how far your dogs have come and taking a chance pays off. What if it hadn't? What if my dogs had really struggled with the goats and the barky dogs - would that have been a disaster? Not really, because we were prepared anyway - leads, a place to retreat to, bones and sniffy/licky things on standby.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, then relax and enjoy. You've got this!

26/05/2026

Progress, not perfection. Easy to say. Not always easy to do, especially with a reactive dog.

Because the second your dog reacts, or feels like they’re going backwards... we feel like we’ve failed. Like everything we’ve done was rubbish. Like we’ve let our dog down. Again.

Is that you?

It’s me. Completely.

I’m actually going through exactly this with my ACE qualification right now. I’ve got an assignment to write, I’ve got all the resources, all the examples... and all I’m doing is looking at what other people have done and thinking “mine will never be that good.”

What if it’s rubbish? What if I’ve totally missed the point?

What if,
what if,
what if...

One of the ACE instructors basically told me to stop stressing and just enjoy it. And I’m really trying. But the perfectionist in me is loud.

Here’s the thing though, it’s the same with our dogs. We’re not chasing perfection. We might never get there. And that doesn’t make us rubbish owners. It just makes us human.

Be kind to yourself today. I’m going to try to do the same. 💛

Who needs to hear this right now?

21/05/2026

Time to admit to my guilty pleasure...

I love watching Sumo. Yes, THAT. Japanese wrestling done by huge men wearing very little!

But here's the thing - it's SO much more than fat blokes pushing each other around. These men are seriously strong, the history is fascinating, the rituals, the culture... and don't even get me started on the women in the audience wearing the most stunning traditional dress!

It started because of my parents - both in their 80s and absolutely obsessed after trips to Japan. And now I'm hooked too.

And yes, it has everything to do with dogs.

Just like a reactive dog isn't trying to kill anyone, Sumo isn't what it looks like on the surface - there's so much more to it than big blokes pushing each other around. To really help our dogs we have to look beyond the behaviour - find the WHY behind it. That's what Sumo reminded me.

We're in week 2 of the May Basho right now and it's a wild one - both Yokozuna (the top guys) have pulled out! I'm rooting for Wakatakakagi and Tobizaru, though I suspect Kirishima might take the Emperor's Cup again...

What's YOUR unusual interest? Drop it in the comments - I genuinely want to know!

And if you're curious, go watch five minutes of Sumo. I dare you!

Sayonara!

20/05/2026

BARK BARK BARK!! 🐕

Falken's reactivity to neighbourhood barking has ramped up lately. And when he suddenly erupts, it's really startling - even for me!

Reactive behaviours are hard to deal with. But behaviour change follows a three step process, and here's what that looks like in real life...

𝟭. 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁
Help your dog feel safe and set them up to succeed. I've been keeping windows and doors closed (thankfully it's getting colder!) and experimenting with white noise from YouTube to muffle outside sounds.

I also know that Falken's arousal level matters. Early morning or evening, resting in his crate, he won't react at all. Daytime is a different story.

𝟮. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴'𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲
While Stevie and Nawa are curled up on their beds, Falken stands in the middle of the room, tail up like a scorpion. 🦂 He also scratches a lot when stressed. Once I spot those signs, I can step in before he reacts.

Sometimes I'll set him up with a chew. Sometimes I ask for some calm behaviours for food. Sometimes I separate the dogs - Stevie and Nawa head to John's study while Falken stays with me. Even calm dogs add stimulation!

𝟯. 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀
Every time your dog chooses a calmer response, make it count. The more success they have, the more likely they are to make that choice again in future.

Management like this is the foundation. It helps your dog feel safe enough to eventually learn a different emotional response to their triggers. But that lasting change can only happen once they feel safe first.

If you're navigating this with your own dog, you don't have to figure it out alone. Come and join us in the membership - we'd love to help.

Just click here: https://www.barking-up-the-right-tree.com/courses/the-reactive-dog-club

19/05/2026

Sunday was a couch day.

Cold afternoon, pot of tea, and my Chinese drama obsession that I'm not even slightly sorry about.

The dogs had already had a good walk, and by the time Stevie (my youngest border collie) came out of her crate after the cleaner left... we all just snoozed. Dogs piled on the couch. Blankets. Bliss.

Here's the thing though.

Border collies are known workaholics. But Stevie slept for three hours straight.

Rest does that.

We talk a lot about 'a tired dog is a good dog' - and yes, exercise matters. But calm isn't actually built in movement. It's built in recovery. The exercise gives you something to recover from. The rest is where the magic happens.

So if you had a lazy afternoon this week?

Good. Your dog probably needed it too.

No guilt. Just tea.

05/05/2026

A message from your dog. We're just passing it on.

Dear Human,

I love you. Even when you make that disappointed noise and whisper "whyyy" at me on walks.

But when I see that Labrador across the road? The one who STARES at me like he owns the whole pavement? Something happens in my brain I genuinely can't explain.

It's not your fault. It's not my fault. But it IS something we can work on.

I heard you googling stuff at midnight. I was watching from my bed.

I want to get better at this too.

We deserve nice walks.

Also I'm sorry about the postman thing.

Love always,
[Your dog] 🐶

If this hit close to home, drop your dog's name in the comments and tell me: what's their "thing"? 👇

Other dogs? Cyclists? Squirrels with the audacity to exist? I want to know.

29/04/2026

Myth of the week: training a reactive dog with treats is essentially rewarding bad behaviour.

Sounds logical. But it's wrong.

Here's why: you can't reinforce an emotion. Fear isn't a behaviour your dog is choosing, any more than you choose not to flinch at a loud noise. The treat doesn't teach them "lunging is great." It teaches them "okay, that was scary, but something good happened after."

Do the training right and the reactions get fewer.

Here's something useful to try this week: watch how your dog takes treats during training.

Eating normally? You're good, keep going.

Sharky mouth, not taking treats, or spitting them out? That's your cue to get out of there. Treats are tool to help you gauge exactly how they're coping. Listen to them.

28/04/2026

Do you have a dog who barks and lunges at things?

Then here is a piece of advice that you definitely don't want to follow:

Reward your dog when he does not bark at the trigger.
This statement on its own is really bad advice. Because it is very likely to make things worse.

But Barbara, isn't rewarding my dog a good thing?

Yes, of course! I am all for rewarding your dog. And by all means, rewarding when your dog is able to stay calm and not lose his s**t is great!

But the problem with this piece of advice is that it leaves out so many steps that have to happen first. It's like saying to fix a leaking toilet, replace the wax ring. True! But maybe turn the water off first, or things could get messy.

The problem is most people never even get to the rewarding part. By the time they reach for the treat, the dog is already gone. Barking, lunging, completely unreachable. So now you have an escalating dog AND a treat doing absolutely nothing, which feels totally s**t.

Sound familiar? Drop a comment below. Tell us where it's all going wrong. Promise we won't just tell you to replace the wax ring. 👇