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Barking Up the Right Tree, 30 Linley Grove, Alsager (2026)

21/08/2026

It’s one of those days where the couch and the TV remote are calling my name louder than anything else. Life seems a bit gloomy. I'm sure you know what I mean.

It’s days like this that I feel grateful to have my dogs. Our daily walk has become a highlight of my day. It gets me out, it cheers me up.

A year ago, this walk looked nothing like this.

I was walking the dogs in batches. I have 3 dogs but only 2 hands after all. One dog always on lead. Harness, longline, a rucksack full of toys and treat bag full of chicken gizzards. That was me. Walks had to be planned carefully and highly structured. I was constantly scanning for e-bikes, motorcars, and other dog walkers. Birds were our nemesis as it's hard to see or hear them before Falken did. And if he was off lead when his prey drive kicked in, he was gone. Not listening, not checking in, no chance of getting him back. Just me, standing there, feeling frustrated and helpless. Sigh.

Now I bring one lead and I have some treats in my pocket. Walking my dogs is relaxing me rather than adding stress. I feel very grateful. This is proof that there's always hope.

We put in the work, we practiced, and yes we struggled. And now we're reaping the benefits. The dogs have lots of freedom now that was just not possible before.

If your walks are currently stressful, if you're tense before you've even clipped the lead on, bracing for the lunge or the bark or the chase, we can help. Our online course Reactivity Remedy will teach you, layer by layer, how to transform your walks from nightmare to dream. Look for the link in the first comment.

18/08/2026

This morning I walked into my living room expecting the usual welcome committee. Dash, bouncing off the walls, whole body wag, the works.

Instead? Snoring. Flat out on the sofa. Didn't hear me open the door. Didn't hear me walk in. I had to actually get in front of him before he realised I existed 😅

Add that to a few times recently where I've come up behind him and he's had no idea I was there, and I think we're looking at the start of some hearing loss.

It's SO common as dogs get older, and it creeps in slowly, which is exactly why it sneaks up on us as owners too. A few other things worth watching for:

🐾 Not responding to their name
🐾 Sleeping through noises that used to wake them instantly
🐾 Ignoring "known" cues (it's not selective hearing, they genuinely can't hear you)
🐾 Seeming startled more easily
🐾 Head tilting or shaking in a new way

Here's the bit that matters if you've got a reactive dog like I do: hearing loss changes their early warning system. No more hearing trouble coming from three gardens away and having time to prepare. That can mean more startle. It can also mean less, because a chunk of what used to wind them up just isn't reaching them any more. Every dog's different.

Either way, it means leaning harder into visual communication. Hand signals. Body language. Using touch.

We got to interview Deb Bauer for our festival. Deb's an expert on blind and deaf dogs so if you haven't seen it you can catch her interview here: https://www.barking-up-the-right-tree.com/courses/the-international-reactivity-summit/contents/65a1158c62e92

Tell me in the comments: has this happened with one of your dogs? What was the first thing you noticed?

13/08/2026

Barbara says:

Someone asked me the other day, "When your dog runs off towards another dog, what command should I use?"

Err... I don't know. How about banana?

They laughed. Then they told me it was the best advice they'd gotten all day. I said I'd bang my head against a tree, and somehow that landed better than any real answer I could have given.

I know this sounds like I wasn't taking it seriously. I was. I know exactly how serious it is when your dog does a thing like that.

But I sometimes feel like people assume dogs come preloaded with certain commands. Say this word and your dog will come to you. Make this sound and your dog will never do this terrible thing again.

You and I know that's bu****it.

What is true is that we can teach our dogs to attach meaning to certain words or signals, and the better we teach them, the more reliably they'll respond. That's what dog training is all about. It's communication. But communication isn't just about exchanging signals or understanding the code. It's also about how we feel.

Here's an example. Insects are buzzing in the midday sun and Stevie is chasing them. She's incredibly quick, darting this way and that on nimble legs, eyes locked on her prey. So much focus.

The more she gets into it, the less she notices me. I might not even be here for all that she's looking at. I can almost hear the buzzing inside her head, bzzzzz, like the flies she loves to chase. I can't get her attention. She's so focused on those insects I can't even see them. Are they even there?

A dog that's focused on something else isn't ignoring you out of stubbornness. They're somewhere else entirely, and their body is doing exactly what their nervous system is telling them to do. No word was ever going to reach them there. Not because they don't know it, but because in that moment, the word has nowhere to land.

So what do we do instead?

For me, it comes down to relationship and engagement. My dogs want to engage with me because it pays off for them. They get rewarded a lot, and they have fun with me. Long before I need a word to mean something in a moment like the one with Stevie and the insects, I've spent a long time building the reason she'd even look for me in the first place.

This matters most for those of us with reactive dogs, because the stakes feel so high. We worry our dog will get away from us. We're afraid of embarrassing ourselves in front of others. We're afraid our dog will get hurt, or hurt another dog. Those fears are real, and they're exactly why "just say this word" advice falls so flat. It promises a fix for a moment when what actually needed fixing was built long before that moment ever arrived.

So no, there's no magic banana. There's no quick fix waiting to be discovered. There's only the relationship you've been building, one bit of trust at a time, so that when the world gets very loud inside your dog's head, there's still a thread connecting them back to you.

What's your version of "banana"? The word or phrase that gets a laugh but not much else when things go sideways? Tell me in the comments, I bet we've all got one.

12/08/2026

Nine in ten dog owners dealt with a behaviour problem this year.

Nine. In. Ten.

So if you've been sat there thinking you're the only one whose dog pulls, barks, panics on the lead or can't cope near other dogs... you're really, really not.

Dog training in the UK is totally unregulated. Anyone can call themselves a trainer. No qualifications required.

And to ourUS followers, this isn't a "glad that's not us" moment. Your situation is the same, arguably worse. No licensing for trainers there either, and shock collars are still legal in most states with no federal ban. Meanwhile Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria and Finland have had them banned by law for over a decade. Some ban prong collars too. It's treated as basic animal welfare there.

So wherever you're reading this from, this article is about you.

Behaviourist Andrew Hale put it perfectly:

"Frightened and overwhelmed guardians [are] being told their dogs are stubborn, dominant or deliberately difficult."

He goes on to say fear and force based advice may suppress what a dog is doing in that moment, but it does nothing to address why the behaviour is happening in the first place. Used carelessly, it can deepen a dog's distress, damage the trust between you, and actually increase risk.

Sound familiar?

Your dog isn't being naughty. Your dog isn't trying to dominate you. Your dog is very possibly scared, and slapping a "quick fix" over the top of that fear doesn't fix anything. It just teaches them to stop showing you how they feel. That's not progress. That's suppression.

You are not failing your dog. The industry has been failing you.

Full article in the comments:

Have you ever been given advice that felt wrong in your gut? Tell us about it in the comments

30/07/2026

Walking a reactive dog isn't a walk. It's a painful daily chore for many and a full blown battle for some.

I just wrapped up with a client and their young malinois, Seunjie. They called me because getting him out the door felt impossible. Clipping on a lead and strolling around the block, such an ordinary thing for most people, was completely out of reach.

If your dog loses it at other dogs, wildlife, bikes or cars, you know this feeling well.
Good news: Seunjie and his mom are now out enjoying daily walks. So here's what actually got them there:

Practice at home first.

Don't just bolt out the door and hope. Clip the lead on in your garden or yard. Get the mechanics sorted before the real world throws chaos at you.

Bring the good stuff. All of it.

Pack treats your dog actually loves, and pack plenty. Running out mid walk is basically drawing that "go straight to jail" card. Hot day? Bring something better than dry biscuits. Your dog loves to tug? Bring the toy.

Structure the walk. Don't just wing it.

One hand on the lead, not on your phone. Mix sniffy exploring time with quick engagement games (tug, hand targets, pattern games, whatever your dog loves) then a short stretch of loose lead walking. You won't get far, but that's not the point.

Practice the u-turn before you need it.

Make it a game your dog loves, not an emergency manoeuvre.
If you're wondering what games to play on your walk, in Reactivity Remedy we show you exactly, which games to play and when. https://www.barking-up-the-right-tree.com/courses/essentials

28/07/2026

Little puzzle for you! 🧩

This is a picture from the weekend when I went for a walk in nature. Can you spot what's missing??

Yes! You got it! No dogs!

They could, of course, be behind the camera, but they weren't. They were at home. Snoozing.

And guess what? I didn't feel guilty for having some time without them.

It's not always appropriate to take dogs with you. We know that when you go somewhere crowded, like a market or a cafe or pub, it's usually best to leave our reactive (or any other, quite often) dogs at home, as those environments can be super stressful.

But even if you're having a quiet walk in nature, it's OK to leave your dogs at home too.

When things are feeling tricky, we know that spending time in nature is one of the best things we can do for our mental health. But is that true if we've got a reactive, ill or old dog in tow? Or are we too busy worrying? Will another dog come round the corner? What if they're off lead?? What about the birds and squirrels???

There are so many good reasons to leave our dogs behind sometimes.

This particular day was warm and we didn't know how far we'd be walking. My dogs can't go far these days and definitely shouldn't be walking in the heat. So they stayed home, snoozing, and I got my nature fix guilt free.

Taking your dogs out matters, of course it does. But you matter too. A walk just for you is just as important as a walk for them.

Have you had a walk just for you lately? Drop a comment below and tell me what your soul needs right now 👇

23/07/2026

Tello is a dog in one of my group classes.

He is a lovely adolescent boy who is what's often described as "a lot of dog", meaning he is big, and he pulls his owner off their feet when he spots other dogs or people approach.

Both Tello and his guardians have made a lot of progress and I am super proud of them.

We train in a public space and sometimes there are a lot of distractions for Tello. But there are also bushes and trees, and Tello's guardians have become experts at using the environment to their advantage.

This kind of hazard awareness is central to how we approach reactivity training.

A lot of reactivity training focuses on the dogs, on counter conditioning or teaching the dog to listen no matter what. But reactivity is not about a dog being bad, it is about a dog being emotionally overwhelmed.

And in order to help and support our reactive dogs, we also need to learn new skills.

If you are curious and want to learn to support your reactive dog through hazard awareness and other important skills, check out our Reactivity Remedy.

https://www.barking-up-the-right-tree.com/courses/essentials

Let's make walks with your dog the best part of your day!

21/07/2026

I had a lovely chat yesterday with a woman who, two weeks ago, took home a dog from a UK rescue kennels. He'd been brought over from overseas earlier in the year.

Early days, I hear you cry.

Absolutely, but there's more.

Never lived in a home before. Her first dog ever. Big lad. She works. He does NOT like being alone.

Talk about overwhelmed.

We talked about her first. Then about him. Then we addressed the elephant in the room (never easy).

That maybe this dog wasn't the right fit for her and her lifestyle.

Of course she'd already thought it. Of course she felt terrible about it. I gave her "permission" to say it out loud, and to know that if he isn't the right fit, the best outcome for both of them might be a different pairing.

No pressure either way. Her decision, always.

She messaged me later just to thank me for making her feel better.

The overwhelm of a new dog, or even one you've had for years, is real. If all I achieve is making someone feel a bit better, that's enough.

Ever had that moment where you wondered if a dog was really the right fit? You're not alone in it, and it doesn't make you a bad owner. Tell us below.

16/07/2026

Our whole mission is to help you overcome your dog's reactivity.

We know that by resolving your dog's reactivity, you can fully enjoy life with your dog in all its facets.

We know because we’ve seen it.

This is Raven, who won a National Agility championship despite her reactivity.

Nadine said:
"Raven won SA Champs this year. Just thought I'd point it out to you so you're aware. 💕

What you did mattered and I am forever grateful. 🙏🏻🙏🏻 I learned so much from our sessions.

I don't think a lot of people have a clue of how hard it is to work with a reactive dog. That's why when I accomplish something with Raven it brings such joy and happiness, knowing she is not only coping but thriving!"

Nadine & Raven were a part of our Reactivity Programme and I'm just so freaking proud of the progress they made.

We really want you and your dog to thrive, too!

14/07/2026

I read something from Kamal Fernandez this week that I can't stop thinking about, particularly the bit about decompression. Worth a read if you've got five minutes.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17sgU7QZF7/

You can also check out the interview we did with Kamal for our free festival!
https://www.barking-up-the-right-tree.com/courses/the-international-reactivity-summit/contents/6575ce649dabf

It got me thinking about something I want to add. He talks about giving a dog the first 24 hours with almost zero expectation, just space to settle.

For most of us, we're lucky enough to be able to give our dogs far longer than that. Weeks, sometimes. And that's absolutely ok. There's no prize for doing it fast.

Where I think a lot of us actually struggle isn't the time itself. It's the patience.

Nobody's stopping us giving our dog a proper stretch of quiet, low pressure time to just be a dog.

What's hard is sitting through it. Watching your dog do apparently nothing while every cell in your body is screaming that you need this fixed. NOW.

Decompression asks you to trust that it's working when there's no visible proof yet, and that's not a scheduling problem, that's a nervous system problem, yours as much as the dog's.

We do this to ourselves with the basics too, not just decompression.

When a dog's struggling, it's so tempting to go looking for the clever answer. The specific protocol, the niche technique, the thing nobody else is doing. But honestly, most of what actually moves the needle for reactive dogs is unglamorous.

Proper decompression.
A walk that lets them sniff.
Food and enrichment that meets an actual need.
A recall you've built patiently rather than hoped for.
A settle.
Basic handling so the vet trip isn't a nightmare.

None of it's exciting.

All of it works.

I think we skip the basics because they feel too small for how big the problem feels. Your dog barking and lunging at every dog you see is a big, frightening, exhausting problem, so surely it needs a big, clever solution.

But it rarely does.

It usually needs the boring stuff, done properly and consistently, for long enough that it actually sinks in.

I know this because I've watched what happens when people skip it, from both sides.

I've had people leave my training and go to someone using compulsive methods, because that trainer could hand them something that looked like a fix, fast. Not the boring basics. Not the whole dog, doing whole dog things. Just a tool and a promise.

I get the pull of that when you're knackered and desperate, I really do. But you can't skip the actual dog to get to the behaviour. It doesn't work like that, however much we all wish it did.

And then I've had people arrive at my door after chasing the dream of the quick fix, carrying so much guilt it's almost physical.

If that's you reading this, I want to say it plainly: you are not a bad owner. You were exhausted, and someone sold you a shortcut when what you actually needed was the boring bit done properly.

Coming back and doing the slow work anyway makes you one of the most impressive people I get to work with. Genuinely.

Does this sound familiar? Tell us in the comments. You don't have to white-knuckle it alone.

Barking Up the Right Tree

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