RIJ K9

27/07/2026

Really good breakdown of why the seemingly small things matter a great deal!

-How your dog enters and exits the crate—patiently and awaiting your cue, or is it a pushy, chaotic mess?
-How your dog enters and exits thresholds—patiently and awaiting your cue, or is it a pushy, chaotic mess?
-How your dog enters and exits the car—patiently and awaiting your cue, or is it a pushy, chaotic mess?
-How your dog eats—waiting for permission or diving in as soon as the food is set down?
-The walk—walking with a loose leash, at your side and pace, no zig-zagging, no dragging you to go mark, or is it a pulling, chaotic, battle of wills with explosive reactivity added in for fun?
-Rules of the house—is your dog calm, polite, and respectful inside, do they respect your boundaries in regards to furniture, personal space, off-limit areas, or is the house a free-for-all, with chaos and dog-rules reigning supreme?
-Play—does it start and end on your word? Is it polite and respectful, even when your dog is super jazzed up?
-Off-Leash behavior—does you dog listen reliably the first time you issue a command, regardless of what enticing distraction is occurring in the environment, or are you yelling commands repeatedly and praying they actually listen?
-And any other rules, standards, expectations you have for your dog—or should have.

All of these activities, interactions, moments are far more than just your dog doing something. They’re deep conversations between you and your dog which establish either a healthy relationship dynamic, or something very different. They also have a huge impact on your dog’s general attitude and demeanor, how they move through the world, and the choices they make.

The biggest cause of disharmony between dogs and humans, as well as serious behavior problems is the simple fact that 99% of owners don’t see these activities, interactions, moments for the profoundly valuable conversations that they truly are.

And so instead of stacking countless healthy conversations which move things in a positive direction, owners stack countless unhealthy conversations which move things in a decidedly negative direction.

Thus the majority of quality dog training is simply reversing all of the negative activities, interactions, moments, and resetting the dog’s relationship to humans, and resetting the dog’s attitude, demeanor, and choices.

The other options that you can learn to see all this stuff yourself for what it actually is, and you can become your own dog trainer. :)

27/07/2026

-- 121 Training --

Does your dog pull on the lead? Or react to every dog they see? Are those daily walks becoming a nightmare?

I offer practical, effective training for you and your dog, with the aim of helping you both enjoy your time out of the house together.

I also provide training for unwanted and unsafe behaviour issues in the house, such as resource guarding, excessive barking, and jumping up.

I come out to you to work alongside you in your home, garden or local park.

To find out more, call/text/WhatsApp me on:
07425 501900

25/07/2026

Tug is one of the most rewarding, engaging activities you can do with your dog!

I’ve lost count of the number of clients who have told me the rescue they adopted their dog from told them tug increases aggression and should be avoided 🤦🏻‍♂️

Don’t get me wrong, if your dog is a firm resource-guarder, then you certainly need to unpick and resolve that first.

But to completely take tug off the agenda forever because you think it causes aggression in the first place, removes a valuable avenue for you to bond with your dog and give them an outlet for their energy.

Tug is more than just play. When it's done with structure, tug becomes one of the most versatile training tools you can use. It's fun for your dog, strengthens your relationship, and gives you countless training opportunities to teach and reinforce new things

BENEFITS OF TUG:

✔️ Builds engagement with you.
✔️ Provides a healthy outlet for energy and drive.
✔️ Increases confidence in hesitant or insecure dogs.
✔️ Serves as a high-value reward for dogs that aren't food motivated.
✔️ Strengthens your relationship through interactive play.
✔️ Channels excitement into productive behaviors instead of unwanted ones.

SKILLS YOU CAN TEACH WITH TUG:

⭐ A reliable "Out" or release.
⭐ Impulse control before the game begins.
⭐ Focus and engagement around distractions.
⭐ Recalls by making coming back to you rewarding.
⭐ Heelwork and loose leash walking by using tug as reinforcement.
⭐ Place by rewarding the dog with a game after they hold position.
⭐ The ability to switch from high excitement to calmness on cue.

The goal isn't to suppress your dog's drive. It's to teach them how to use it appropriately. A dog that can go from full-speed tug to calmly letting go, sitting, and waiting for the next game is learning far more than just how to play. They're learning self-control, cooperation, and that listening to you is what keeps the fun going. 🐶❤️

17/07/2026

Saw Labeagle pup Niko this morning for an at home assessment for his excessive barking, and reactivity.

We’ll be working on these issues over the next few weeks.

15/07/2026

This is really simple, yet we try to make it more complex. And the dogs suffer as a consequence.

Over the years I’ve shared countless examples of healthy vs unhealthy relationship dynamics, and have tried to explain the impact these dynamics have on your dog’s behavior.

I’ve tried to point out the value of healthy leadership, authority, and clearly conveyed hierarchy between humans and dogs… and what happens when these elements are absent.

But unfortunately, modern culture, and by extension modern dog training has vilified anything having to do with leadership, authority, hierarchy. It’s all been placed in the “old school”, “heavy handed”, “unscientific”, “unsophisticated”, “unnecessary”, “unhealthy”, “damaging”, and often “patriarchal oppressive” training s**t box.

Instead we celebrate the hyper-intellectual, the complex protocols, the fancy scientific terminology—and of course the emotional fragility and thus necessary bubble wrapping of our dogs to shield them from all things unpleasant… aka damaging and traumatic.

But it doesn’t take a training genius to see that owners are struggling at levels that are absolutely absurd. Of course we’ll offer all manner of justifications for this explosive upsurge in behavior issues… all manner of justifications except the obvious.

The list I shared in the primary post all have something in common. They all have humans who create order, respect, and healthy behavior via a very simple mechanism—they are able to leverage and wield healthy fear. Not terror, not incapacitating anxiety, not anything debilitating—just the awareness that they can and will levy valuable consequences for poor choices.

Of course almost everyone will bristle at this. It’s antiquated, anti-intellectual, old school nonsense.

And yet, like it or not, fear of consequences are THE behavioral guardrails for both human society, and canine alike. And as we’ve become disconnected from the simple, obvious, primal aspects of nature, we unsurprisingly find ourselves struggling with our kids, with crime, and of course with our dogs.

Current society despises leadership, authority, and hierarchy, and so it’s no surprise that current society, and our dogs are a mess.

My point here is a simple one. Over the years I’ve tried to share tangible, obvious, commonly experienced (and known) versions of healthy fear in action, in the hopes it will help reconnect owners to elements of reality that they know and understand, so that they can repair their broken relationships with their dogs.

Because here’s the simple truth: when I watch owners struggling, often after having great training and tools onboard, the reason is wildly obvious. Their dogs don’t have a healthy fear of them—or if it feels better for you, a healthy respect (which is the same, just with easier language)—and thus all decisions and behaviors they see from their dogs are filtered through this dysfunctional lens and dynamic.

Said even more plainly—if your dog doesn’t believe you can, and will share valuable consequences for poor choices and behavior, you better get used to a whole lot of s**tty choices and behavior.

Sorry for the blunt convo, but most of you guys are lost, and this is the stuff almost no one can or will explain to you.

07/07/2026

Couple of new in house assessments over the weekend with Rex and Cooper.

26/06/2026

It’s been far too hot to do any outside training sessions, however I managed to squeeze in some morning in-home sessions this week with Bella here. She’s an excessive barker, to the point where it has been driving her people a bit mad!
I’ve shown them how to use tools and techniques to suppress the barking in the moment, but also how to give her the right exposure and feedback so she doesn’t feel the need to bark constantly in the first place.

23/06/2026

Great advice here.

The less you say, the more they listen…

23/06/2026

Well timed corrections are so important…

You’re probably doing them far too late, which only serves to confuse your dog, and weaken your bond.

Get in touch to learn when and why to correct or interrupt that errant behaviour.

🐾 ETHICAL CORRECTIONS IN DOG TRAINING – PART 2 🐾

Why Most Dog Owners Correct Too Late

One of the biggest mistakes in dog training isn’t being too soft or too firm.

It’s being too late.

Dogs learn in the moment. The longer the gap between behaviour and consequence, the less likely the dog is to understand what you’re trying to communicate.

Think about the dog that ignores a recall, eventually comes back, and then gets told off.

From the owner’s perspective, they’re correcting the dog for ignoring them.

From the dog’s perspective, they came back and something unpleasant happened.

Timing matters.

The best trainers don’t wait for the lunge, the bark, or the jump-up.

They notice the signs beforehand and intervene early.

✅ Early intervention requires less pressure
✅ Good timing creates clarity
✅ Poor timing creates confusion
✅ Dogs learn best when feedback is immediate

The truth is that many owners don’t have a correction problem.

They have a timing problem.

Because in dog training, being right matters.

But being right at the right time is what changes behaviour.

🐕 Subscribers receive the full in-depth article.

🌐 www.k9manhuntscotland.co.uk

Coming Next:
Part 3 – The Difference Between Guidance, Interruption and Correction