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Bark To Basics, Manchester (2026)

09/10/2026

Meet Mocha !
Mocha is a gorgeous German Shepherd pup who came in to work on arousal and leash skills, she's massive for only 13 weeks old and has been pestering her older Brother when he's trying to play fetch !
Mocha would become abit overly aroused by her big brother Moose when walking alongside him & reasonably, there's only so long and adult dog will tolerate this behaviour - Mochas owners are also interested in getting her started in a sport for genetic fulfillment which is going to really benefit little Mocha long term which I love to see 👏🏼 we got to work !

We had both Mocha and Moose in this session so we could correct and redirect the behaviour as it was brewing. We made a start on leash skills and showing Mochas owners how to lure the heel position and make it valuable for her. We opted to start this in a quiet area with some passing distractions to keep expectations reasonable for a young puppy. During luring, we worked on leash pressure & communication to help Mocha understand lunging & redirecting due to arousal wasnt as valuable to practice compared to the heel position & structured hand feeding. From there we began walking her alongside Moose and she was completely unbothered - By session end Mocha was walking in a nice relaxed heel, not opting to redirect onto her brother and ready for a much needed nap !

Moose has already trained with us, so his owners are already up to date on how valuable hand feeding is - this is something we reccomend for the vast majority of dogs in training. If you've worked with us before you'll have heard me say "look at your dogs food as a wage" ! Because she's still young it's unlikely she will be able to eat 3 full portions of food whilst out on walks & training, so we spoke about beneficial ways she can earn the rest of her food without keeping her constantly switched on. Despite being relatives, Moose and Mocha couldn't be anymore different when it comes to having enough drive for a "job" so we spoke about sports and outlets that will help her thrive. Her owners are really proactive & noticed early on she would likely need abit more than Moose - I love to see that 🙌🏼

Mocha now has some homework to complete, I've been enjoying seeing her updates and progress !
Well done pretty girl 🐕

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05/10/2026

Meet Bronson !
Bronson is a Dutch herder x Rhodesian Ridgeback who came in to work on his reactive behaviour towards dogs, and on occasion joggers too ! Aswell as some Redirection. Bronson's last trainer said his behaviour was "pure aggression" but all we saw in session was an aroused, frustrated young dog with some age related insecurities. He is a large, young rescue boy and he's inherited that Dutch tenacity - if he's not happy, he's got no problem in letting the problem know ! - that being said, he's not not we would call aggressive, he's just reactive and full of beans. When he saw a dog he would fixate at a distance, bark excessively & try to lunge toward - his size & strength was understandably making him abit hard to manage with these behaviours going on and to top it off he was pulling heavily on the lead - we got to work !

We made a start by swapping out Bronson's harness for the slip so we could teach him a nice slack heel. We spoke about how additional tension can cause more frustration - if you ever see clips of working Dutch you'll notice alot of the time they're on tie outs, not being able to actually get the lure builds frustration & drive towards the lure, adding value and the behaviour the handler wants to see. Now we obviously don't want Bronson becoming frustrated and aroused by dogs or people, and a slack leash heel can break alot of that tension. He took to this in no time, from there we started shaping in better handler engagement. Engagement isn't a flashy trick, it's really important for reactive dogs to learn to focus on you instead around triggers & to value you above all else.

We gradually began working Bronson around passing dogs and he did beautifully, we started him off nice and slow and gradually increased at his pace -
By session end Bronson was so much more relaxed when passing dogs and you could tell he had enjoyed using his brain on his walk, not just his eyes and mouth ! We also spoke about genetic fulfilment to avoid self employment and mistakes down the line - the vast majority of Dutch, Malinois, GSD, Rottweilers, even Terriers & Dachsunds that come in here end up are in a cycle of being "self employed" ! This happens when strong working genetics don't have a useful place to go, and there's no stopping those genetics ! So they end up being practiced in other ways instead, and it's never in a good way 😂 we spoke about some sports and links with reputable sport trainers that would be ideal for Bronson to express those genetics in a healthy structured way going forward.

Lastly, we have spoken about Bronson's Redirection as he didn't do this in session - Engagement is also incredibly important for dogs who redirect to reduce trigger stacking. Like many of the dogs that come in here, Bronson struggles with redirection when he's over stimulated - this can occur because of pressure, aggression, nervousness or even prey animals in view, more often than not it occurs when people or dogs come too close and your leg, arm, wrist is the closest available thing - and if course, it's linked to low impulse control. Basically anything that gives your dog a big kick of adrenaline can set this off. Bronson is currently muzzle training with his owners so we can get this nipped in the bud in his next session with one of our Decoys so we can show his owners the do's & don'ts while building better impulse control !

Well done Bronson 🐕✅

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02/10/2026

Meet Rhea !
Rhea came in to us after spending some time at a board & train Kennel. Rhea was been returned with a scab on her spine from a mystery injury, & ontop of this, since being returned home Rhea's behaviour has taken a massive U turn. She's become heavily fixated towards dogs & reactive. Her owners are understandably concerned & during the first minute or two of our assesment she was barking, lunging & growling at a passing dog in view. This is a pretty intense reaction for such a young dog who was fine only a handful of days ago, bless her - we got to work !

We made a start on some foundational behaviours in a quiet area while classically conditioning in the behaviours did want Rhea to offer such as loose leash walking and handler engagement. Rhea being a typical German shepherd took to this really quickly and was nice and relaxed in no time in a slack leash heel. We gradually introduced triggers during training to help her understand, a dog is passing, it's not your job to involve yourself, and there's a positive option that you can choose instead. Rhea has bags of drive so we discussed a sport via one of our amazing links to get involved with going forward so we can provide genetic fulfilment ontop of training.

Rhea is 6 months old and she was right in the middle of a difficult critical development period, commonly referred to as a fear period, due to behaviour regression. This is always made harder for both the owner and dog if a dog has a stressful experience during this stage - dogs brains undergo massive reorganization during this development stage, it commonly leads to issues surrounding reactivity, intolerance, nerve and conflict. We spoke about how to manage a fear period in regards to exposure and normalising everyday distractions that can become triggers while using everyday walks as a training opportunity.

By session end Rhea was far more relaxed, in a heel and showing Neutral behaviour towards passing dogs. Rhea is still only a puppy and still has a long way to go yet in her training & proofing, we are really looking forward to seeing her progress ! She now has some homework to crack on with until we see her again - well done big girl !

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20/09/2026

Meet Luna !
Luna is a standard American bully x Staffie who came in to work on her reactive behaviour towards dogs. Luna is 4 years old & this behaviour was really ingrained as a go to when she spotted a dog - she's a strong girl & was spending the walk pulling her owners along until she spotted a trigger & she would then lunge, bark & growl at the passing dog. This was making walks pretty stressful for everyone involved, despite this behaviour towards dogs Luna is a lovely, friendly girl with people and was buzzing to meet me ! - we got to work !

We made a start in a quiet area to keep Luna under threshold, here we began working on her leash skills. Prior to 2005 you just never saw pet dogs on harnesses and they've been really, cleverly marketed since then ! You would see them in conflict sports and on working dogs however, and at the time alot of these harnesses were and still are marketed as agitation equipment. This is a really common problem we see when reactive dogs come in, they're usually on a harness, straining at the end of the lead and you have very little control when they fixate on a dog and react ! Instead we got Luna on the slip to allow for full control - if you have the head you have the body, but it's important to learn *how* to use a slip lead, the tool alone is not going to magic away behaviour! Luna and her owners did really well with this skill set, we had her in a nice slack heel in no time at all - now it was time to get her walking past dogs !

We gradually began working around triggers at a comfortable distance while we laid the foundations for neutral behaviour. Luna did really well with this, and while she had habitualised the behaviour over the last few years, she showed us she is capable of calmly passing a dog 🐕 Luna is dealing with dog aggression, not just reactivity, and this is important because it's a different kettle of fish altogether. A reactive dog doesn't = genuine aggression, and an aggressive dog may not be reactive at all and strike silently - the reason as to why this is different than just reactivity is because we can't change genetics, but we can change how and when dogs practice them. Unfortunately aggression has become a dirty word over the last decade, even breed standards have had the word removed which makes it alot harder for owners to properly research the genetic predisposition of a number of breeds, but I do want to be clear that an aggressive dog does not = an unpredictable, dangerous dog ! Loads of breeds are prone to dog aggression, knowing this just means we can set her up for success long term with realistic goals in mind.

As we took Luna around passing dogs, we showed her there are positive alternatives she can engage with and earn for making the right decision. We spoke about to go forward with this long-term during the proofing stage - our only goal with Luna is to build Neutral behaviour, not to make her hyper social or friendly with other dogs, neutral behaviour is a realistic goal for her. Luna did so well passing dogs in session, we showed her owners how to create opportunities for structured decompression to avoid trigger stacking on a walk, this really helps with self regulation all while increasing exposure as we counter condition reactivity as we classically condition in engagement and neutrality to triggers. By session end Luna was loads calmer, had improved tolerance and was nicely plodding along at her owners side. To finish up, we covered abit on muzzle training - the attitude towards muzzles has massively changed in recent years thankfully, I like to think of them as a very clear marker for other dog owners that says "my dog is in training and needs abit more space" and most people are respectful and sensible when they spot a dog wearing one :)

Luna did great for her first session with us, we can't wait to see how she's doing after the homework period - well done good girl !

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16/09/2026

Meet Sadie !

Sadie is a rescue Lurcher, we suspect some terrier or bull terrier in her mix along with alot if whippet is in her mix - Sadie has been struggling with reactive behaviour towards dogs, where she would panic, lunge, bark & growl at passing dogs on the lead. After some discussion we found that Sadie was right on the cusp of her final fear period, which has exacerbated this behaviour! We got to work

Between the ages of 4-8 months and 18-24 months, dogs can experience a development period that's commonly referred to as a fear period - understandably alot of people mistake this period as their dogs being teenagers who are choosing to be abit cheeky or intolerant when in reality their dogs brains are undergoing massive reorganization in preparation of them becoming independent adult dogs, for those prone to nerve this can exacerbate reactive behaviour towards triggers and make you feel like you're taking one step forward and about ten backwards ! It's a really frustrating time for both dogs and owners

We focused on getting Sadie back on track by counter conditioning the reactive response as we offered positive alternatives for successfully passing dogs on her walk. Sadie took to this in no time, thankfully her owners are really on top of her training and thanks to that strong relationship they've built up, she was pretty easy to teach redirection and alternative behaviours to ! We continued to work around triggers at a comfortable distance and Sadie did so well throughout! By the end of session she was alot more relaxed and able to calmly walk past a dog, now we just need to focus on daily maintenance of this skill set so we can fully proof it in

Lastly we encouraged a reputable DNA test for Sadie.
This is so important when we're training mixed breeds, obviously being a lurcher we knew she was likely to have a very high preydrive so we've reccomended some genetic fulfilment to help satiate that natural hunting desire on top of training. Sports like lure coursing are perfect for preydriven sighthounds, lurchers and longdogs and allow dogs to feel like they've chased a rabbit, we also reccomend letting them have a go on a tug toy at the end so they can give something a good shake ! If we find out she does have some terrier back there then a sport like barn hunt would be another great edition that she would likely enjoy.

Sadie is currently practicing her homework, we can't wait to see how she does ! Well done long girl 🐕
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02/09/2026

We've Hit 5k Followers On Facebook 🎉

As Promised We Are Going To Give One Dog And Owner A Free Session Worth £250.

As Many Of You Know, We Work With The Cases Many Other Trainers Often Won’t Touch:
Reactivity Dog Aggression Bite risks Human Aggression Prey Aversion Resource Guarding Behavioural Euthanasia Candidates
Etc

We Can't Believe 5000 People Have Chosen To Follow What We Do - So We Are Offering This Session To Someone Who Truly Needs It 🙌🏼
In Session You Will Have An Assessment, Practical 1-1 Training Tailored To Your Dogs Needs, Ongoing Support And A Clear Plan To Move Forward With Your Dog.

To Enter:

• Follow The Page
• Like This Post
• Comment Your Dog’s Name & The Behaviour You're Struggling With (Feel Free To Drop A Photo 📸)

For an additional entry:
• Share This Post To Your Story & Tag Us

The Winner Will Be Selected When The Giveaway Closes On Oct 2nd 2026.
The Winner Will Be Contacted Privately By This Page.

Good Luck 🐕

26/08/2026

Meet Oskar !

Oskar is a Belgian Malinois X Doberman x Weimaraner who came in to work on his Reactive Behaviour towards joggers, bikes & dogs. Not only is Oskar a mix of 3 drivey breeds - he was also slap bang in the middle of a critical development period. Upon Oskars assessment we saw abit of lunging towards dogs & joggers aswell as some strong fixation towards his triggers, he's a powerful mix of breeds but his owner was really proactive getting this sorted now while he's still young - we got to work !

We made a start by teaching Oskar and his owner the heel position while teaching Oskar how to offer engagement of his own volition, these skills sets are a must for reactive dogs - the heel position keeps your dog close and under control, handler engagement helps neutralise surroundings by showing your dog you are the priority to engage with, and similar to us in this scenario dogs will more often than not choose a positive alternative over a negative interaction. We started this work in a quieter area of the park and Oskar took to these skill sets really quickly ! Once Oskar was ready, we began to take him past distractions.

During this stage of the training it was really clear to see the main issue here was dogs. This is a really common situation with reactivity that we see a ton of in young dogs in particular- a dog comes in who is reactive to 2 or more triggers, dogs being one of them, we put some basics into the dog and owner and the only reactivity we see from that point onwards is directed at dogs & dogs alone. This happens because reactive behaviour typically starts with other dogs and then bleeds over into other areas of their life due to trigger stacking - a dog who is frustrated and overstimulated won't be able to tolerate additional stimuli like a running person or a bike ontop of the root cause, as a result we see reactive behaviour towards the latter stop almost immediately, but the root cause - dogs and either a nerve, fear, arousal, frustration, offensive or defensive based response - take a little more work. Luckily Oskar is a softie whos behaviour was purely arousal & frustration based - We had Oskar in a heel walking past bikes, scooters & joggers in no time with little interest from Oskar, so we moved onto the main issue.

During this portion of the session we did repetitions while passing dogs at a comfortable distance as we mimicked an every day walk, I was really impressed with Oskar during this segment and beyond a little fixation in the early stages that we corrected and redirected, he smashed it and calmly walked past dogs until session end while maintaining handler engagement in a heel for some tasty rewards. The way we reward in session is imperative to change the behaviour long term - there are no bribes here, only reinforcers and how these are used is key in ensuring your dog actually understands what you do want and what you don't want. Lastly we spoke about genetic fulfillment and how we can make sure all of that drive is put to good use, we suggested some hobby sport, tracking, & a structured outlet for his preydrive to see how he enjoys both.

Oskar and his owner have been set some homework to get on with which he's been doing great with, well done Oskar ! 🐕

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21/08/2026

Meet Timmy !

Timmy is a suspected American bulldog cross who came in to work on his Reactive Behaviour & impulse control. Timmy was found abandoned and tied up in a park in winter last year by his new owners 💔 so there isn't a ton of history on this lovely boys past, but he's landed on his feet with his new family ! Timmy has been experiencing some frustration and over arousal on walks which led to redirection, after a call with his owner we got him booked into once of our emergency slots to get him help as quickly as possible. We got to work !

When we say the word "Reactive" understandably alot of people think about aggression, lunging, growling & barking and so on, but the truth is even very friendly dogs can be reactive. Reactive = not being able to be neutral around a certain stimulus. For Timmy, he struggled with wanting to go over to other dogs. This would cause some pulling on the lead and whining. If he couldn't meet the other dog it would cause frustration and later down the line redirection and a little resource guarding of the item he's redirect onto. Unfortunately the item he would redirect onto was his owners shoes & at one point began guarding the shoe itself while his owners foot was still wearing it - after a stressful experience involving this on a walk we had to get it nipped in the bud quickly.

During Timmy's assessment we saw he was abit too all over the show on the lead & had learned he could take his owners with him if he wanted to go over to the left side and then the right. He's a young, strong boy and if we wanted to crack the over arousal & frustration from sn*******ng we needed to provide a clear job on his walks. We swapped out his owners slip for my slip which was abit better suited for a dog of this size & strength, from there we showed his owners how to use the slip lead alongside clear reinforcers & structure as we counter conditioned frustration from building. Once he had a clear job to get involved with, he smashed the rest of the session ! He was walking in a heel past all kinds of exciting stimuli without so much as batting an eye, even when we took him for a quick swim he self regulated and was eager to please.

Prior to session we showed owners how to muzzle train & select appropriate sized muzzle. This is something I reccomend for all dogs who redirect and an added bonus is that everyone can see you are actively training ! His owners worked really hard on muzzle training and have done such a good job 👌🏼
Lastly, we encouraged a reputable DNA test. The purpose of DNA testing Timmy is so we can better understand the genetic predispositions we are actually working with. His chip says he's an Older Tyme Bulldog, but after giving the breeds creator a quick message to double check my suspicion of him being a mix, he confirmed he will be a mix breed down the line. I suspect American bulldog, maybe some Staffordshire terrier 🤷🏼‍♀️ I'm looking forward to finding out so we can get to work on offering some appropriate genetic fulfilment & outlets beyond what we have already suggested for this big lovely boy.

Timmy now has some homework to crack on with until we see him again which his owners are sending me updates on and he's doing so well. Well done good boy !

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19/08/2026

Meet Mocha !

This absolute Diva is Mocha, a Staffordshire Terrier x Pocket Bully who came in to work on her intense reactive behaviour towards dogs. Mocha was picked up as a stray so her new family don't have much history on her - but she's really landed on her feet with her new owners ! Mocha is a very strong girl and would lunge, bark and be pretty intense when she passed a dog, she would fixate at a distance and not be able to switch off. After being a stray the goal is to help her live the most relaxing life she possibly can - we got to work !

During Mochas assesment we spoke about how some breeds have a higher genetic predisposition for same s*x & dog aggression. This isn't always nice to read, but it's a fact of life - selective breeding for original purpose rarely just goes away, and while there are anomalies in every breed out there, they don't accurately represent the breed as a whole. I just want to point out that the word aggression isn't synonymous with a dog being dangerous or unpredictable ! for example, sighthounds & terriers are typically highly prey driven & small animal aggressive - but few people are cautious of them as a breed, and with the right training to suit the dog as an individual, the practice of traits like this can be reduced, controlled and managed. Thankfully Mocha has some very dog savvy owners so this was much easier for them to understand !

We got started on building handler engagement and prioritising this as a new job for her on her walks. This alone as a job wouldn't be enough for mocha, she's like most staffies - full of beans 😂 we spoke about genetic fulfillment and discussed some sports & activities that will be beneficial for Mocha as an outlet.
We swapped out her harness for the slip and got to work on an engaged heel, she was really eager to please - From there we began working her around passing dogs. After a little bit of practice, mocha was miles better and capable of walking past dogs without lunging & barking ! We spoke about what kind of body language Mocha is likely to struggle with in the early stages of training to help her continue progressing without unnecessarily throwing her in the deep end. We also spoke about Mochas eye problem which is currently being treated, which could potentially impact her reactivity - thankfully her owner works alongside vets so she's well taken care of !

All in all, Mocha did brilliantly for her first session, as did her owners. She's now getting on with some tailored homework that we've set up for her & we can't wait to see her progress !
Well done pretty girl 🐕

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13/08/2026

Meet Luna !

Luna is a gorgeous working line German Shepherd pup who came in to work on her seemingly unpredictable reactive behaviour after a couple of incidents at a family get together left her owner worried, ontop of lunging at joggers and bikes. Luna had lunged towards a couple of people for what seemed like no reason whatsoever, and she's still got a ton of growing to do yet so I'm really pleased her owner has gotten in with us as soon as this behaviour began ! Luna has bags and bags of drive but non of this has a constructive place to go, she was quickly falling into "self employment" - not something you want a large working line dog to do - we got to work !

We spoke about the genetic predisposition of working line German shepherds - alot of working line GSD are bred for intensity, high engagement with the environment as well as strong handler focus, strong nerve, defense & prey drive. On paper that sounds great, and it is if you want to work your dog. But dogs who have these genetics and don't have a "job" can become "self employed". Now that doesn't mean you have to start working nights as security 😂 although I'm sure Luna would absolutely love that - but it does mean an outlet has to be provided.
Regarding one of the incidents when Luna lunged towards a guest that she had already met and had been relaxed around for an adequate amount of time, the guest simply got up from their chair which triggered the lunge. Have a re read of those traits above - a young dog in the middle of a development period, with bags and bags of drive but no outlet, can become what I love to refer to GSD as : the fun police. They can enjoy controlling their environments and that's not a lesson we want little Luna to learn.

We see this behaviour alot between the 4-8 month period, this is partly because your puppies brain is undergoing massive reorganization in preparation for adulthood, they start to become more self sufficient and independent and for a driven dog that's feeling about deregulated it can quickly devolve into making negative decisions. In session we taught Luna & her owner how to focus on building strong handler engagement as well as providing structure around triggers, we also swapped out her harness for the slip because no dog who lunges should be on a harness - you might have the body but it doesn't count for much if the heads all the way over somewhere else haha. Handler value coupled with timed corrections around distractions and triggers helps devalue triggers longterm them, and with plenty of practice makes them obsolete and not even worth getting involved with. From there we began working Luna around joggers and bikes which her preydrive has played a role in regarding her attempts to lunge out at them - now that she had a job to do she just wasn't bothered - she did beautifully for 2hrs of work. Lunging at bikes and joggers is a really common problem we see with herding breeds and highly preydriven breeds, but because Luna's owner has been so proactive it'll be a much smoother process to get this nipped in the bud 👌🏼

Lastly we discussed providing an outlet for Luna, and while we have implemented ways to help express her preydrive we also covered a little on sport - when we discuss sport with owners it's understandably abit daunting, but you don't have to dedicate your entire life to it (although you might become obsessed as many of our clients have 😂) . You can take one up to allow for genetic fulfillment while improving your dogs training along the way.

Luna did so well in session and is such a lovely natured girl, It was great to have a dog in that actually wanted a little fuss, Luna now has some homework to carry on with until we see her again 🐕 well done Luna !

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Bark To Basics

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