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Bark To Basics, Manchester (2026)

02/08/2026

Meet Reggie !

Reggie came in for a Half Day Session recently, this handsome boy is a mix of Presa canario, Black Russian Terrier, Giant Schnauzer, American Bulldog and American Staffordshire Terrier - a very new breed in the works that is being called a Rackars terrier. For one reason or another Reg didn't make the cut in the working dog world for personal protection dog training, which led him to being sold on at around a year old. He's a lovely boy but his breed mix means he's naturally wary and suspicious of strangers and could become abit intolerant of people rushing to make friends, he would also lunge at joggers and at some, but not all, dogs that he walked past. His previous trainer recommended a harness and to throw food on the floor to encourage him to ignore the other dog but this method just wasn't working for Reggie - we got to work !

Thankfully this big lad landed on his feet and found a really dedicated home to call his own. During the assesment period I got to see what needed to change to help benefit Reggie and his owners going forward. After witnessing Reggie constantly pulling out ahead & strong fixation on dogs we opted to make a start by getting him off of the harness and onto the slip, we began heel work foundations to help proof in the heel position being a positive place to be before we began working around dogs. We spent the first 2.5hrs absolutely drenched while we worked him around joggers and passing dogs and he took to everything beautifully ! We spoke about how some dogs can become so stressed by constant reactions and becoming "self employed" in this area, that he is redirecting onto people. When dogs release adrenaline and cortisol it can remain in the system for up to 72 hours ! He was very handler friendly and let me pet him without a problem but his owners mentioned he was abit worse with men - so for the second half i thought it would be beneficial for us to view this behaviour too.

During the break period Reggies owners used their new found skill sets to take him to a pub for the first time, where he yet again behaved beautifully thanks to reading his body language, counter conditioning & classical conditioning. When they returned our male decoy was ready - Reggie was relaxed and opted to ignore him for a while before giving him a brief sniff. We spoke about how we can advocate for dogs like Reggie by telling people how to interact with their dogs, alot of dogs really don't like it when you immediately dive in for an over the head stroke or when you go to stick your hand in their face for them to sniff . Simply walking besides a dog like Reggie can really help then accept you and not view you as threatening. Within a matter of minutes our decoy was handling Reggie in a slack leash heel, giving him rewards and he even got a kiss from big Reg after giving him a stroke 😂 the cause was pretty clear, Reggie isn't an inherently aggressive dog just an over stimulated, frustrated teenager. With a nudge in the right direction he thrived in session and was so much more relaxed 🙌🏼

Because Reggie was smashing every task and excelling at such a good rate, we decided to work him around one of our own to finish the day. The goal here isnt to let the dogs engage in free play, to let them meet and try to become friends - it's to build neutrality. He had already done so well walking past dogs without a reaction since the assesment period, so we brought out one of our stooge dogs to work him around. Suprise suprise, he smashed it again. He walked calmly and confidently with Khali, sat across from her around distractions at a cafe, passed random dogs with her and sat in a heel position on the same bench.

He's a great dog with bags of potential and i can't wait to see his progress going forward, some dogs are built for this but can fall into bad habits during critical development periods - well done Reggie !

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31/07/2026

Meet Rodney !

Rodney is a handsome Rottweiler who came in to work on his Reactive behaviour on walks. Rodney has been experiencing some reactivity towards dogs and has began becoming a little reactive towards people who wanted to say hello to him while out on walks too.
When approached by a person Rodney would growl and warn them off, and this had understandably made his owners abit worried, especially coupled with his reactions towards dogs. There had been the odd occasion where Rodney was so frustrated that he would redirect & come up the lead - He's a very large working line Rottie, so they needed to get all of this nipped in the bud ASAP !
We got to work.

Upon meeting Rodney I could see from the beginning that he was abit cautious and unsure of me, he gave me some polite, clear warnings as I approached him and his family, showing me that he felt apprehensive - if I didn't listen to these subtle signals, he might feel the need to further warn me. He showed the whites of his eyes, some fixation, a hard expression and lip licking. I didn't directly approach Rodney due to this and stopped side on and spoke to his family, completely ignoring him. He came over to investigate me and give me a good sniff, this is when most people would think it would be fine to dive straight in with their hand & stroke a dog and in that scenario, given the aforementioned behaviours, he may feel the need to escalate. I waited for him to sniff for around a minute or two and the lack of pressure meant Rodney quickly felt at ease and relaxed, he shook it off the tension and instantly wanted to be friends and was more than happy to be stroked and Jump all over me 😂 - he's a really a big sweetheart. What I loved about Rodney from the get go is how communicative he is and the fact that he doesn't want any conflict with people, but he's also not the type of dog you can rush into being mates with either.
We went over some of the more subtle and lesser known ways dogs communicate with us to ask for space to help his owners advocate for him when he's not feeling it. These skills sets alone help keep everyone involved happy and safe !

Rodney has been to a trainer previously and while the obedience side of things improved and there are some great foundations, the reactivity was still there, he'd been placed on a prong with this trainer so we adjusted how the prong was used and adapted our method to suit, with our end goal to get him onto a standard flat collar eventually. We showed his owners how to ensure there wasn't consistent pressure on the collar, while they are meant to evenly distribute pressure, constant pressure will muddy the communication and it can build frustration. Rodney has some beautiful heel foundations so that really sped things along ! This meant we had more time to tweak how we used corrections while we added a completely new structure to his walks while we began creating a "job" to build strong handler value and engagement. After the foundation period, we got him out and about to mimic a normal everyday walk passing triggers, and he did beautifully, as did his owners ! His body language was so more relaxed 🙌🏼

In session we only saw one reaction towards a reactive small dog, and while Rodney wasnt elevated enough to redirect like he has previously thanks to all of our structured decompression in session, we also showed him that just because he wants to be involved in that conflict doesn't mean he gets to do so. This was a really important part of the session, when a dog of this size says "well I am going over there to tell that dog how it is" and they plant themselves in an effort to get involved in conflict, it can be abit of a mexican standoff ! You can't physically move the dog, they want to stay and engage with a negative situation, they'll end up becoming too stressed and that can lead to redirection onto the owner - we showed his owners how to help him understand other reactive dogs are non of his business and how to move him on in this scenario. The less he gets to practice this, the less worthwhile it is to practice when there are positive alternatives he can choose instead !

By the end of the session Rodney was on his back getting belly rubs from us all, he's a typical rottweiler and two hours of calmly plodding around the park and learning had tired him out 😂
Rodney and his owners now have some homework to get on with and they've been amazing at sending updates, he's doing so well ! I can't wait to see him make even more progress 🙌🏼

Well done big boy 🐕

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19/07/2026

Meet Odin !

Odin is a Belgian Malinois X Bull Herder who came in for a Half Day Session to work on his reactive behaviour towards dogs and people on walks. Odin has a complex history with both people and dogs where he has shown intolerance or aggressive behaviour in the past, this understandably made his owners abit worried about day to day walks and how to manage him, not to mention he's very strong - we got to work !

Upon meeting Odin I was pleasantly surprised, there wasn't any offensive aggression going on towards me as an approaching stranger or any that passed us by, but he was aroused, fixated and a little apprehensive - Like many of the dogs who come in here, Odin had already been to a couple of trainers so he did have some foundations in place, largely surrounding tools and their use - this meant we had more time to focus on providing a "job" for Odin - he was in desperate need of one !

Malinois & bull herders generally need a job to do, otherwise they will find one and become "self employed" this typically looks like a dog who will decide who is and who isn't a threat, searching for dogs to get into conflict with, over arousal, reactivity and struggling to decompress & be calm. Because the mix is typically bred to enjoy conflict for a purpose, be it training as a personal protection dog, security work or sports like PSA or IGP, we can't magic those genetics away - instead we need to provide an outlet for them. We discussed getting Odin involved in a sport to provide a clear outlet for these behaviours going forward. Outlets help highly driven dogs like Odin understand where they can and can't practice certain behaviours & the more black and white it is for the dog, the better.

During repetitions we adjusted how and when Odin's owner should use corrections alongside how to read his body language and behaviour. In the early stages there was still some clear fixation towards passing dogs but zero to people. The next time that I met up with Odin and his owner the fixation towards passing dogs had practically vanished, they had seriously drilled the hoemwork and I was really impressed. By changing how we corrected negative behaviours and how we rewarded behaviours & decisions, Odin had quickly clicked on what is and isn't worth engaging with.
we had him passing dogs and people in no time in a nice heel - he did beautifully.

It's still early days yet and Odin is capable of learning much much more, I'm really eager to see how he does going forward.
Well done big lad !

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15/07/2026

Meet Maverick !

This handsome, soggy German shepherd came in to work on his dog reactivity & pulling ahead on the lead - Because Mav is a large boy, it was becoming difficult to control him when he reacted or lunged & this was understandably making walks stressful not only for Maverick, but for his owners too. Luckily this was just a little bit of nerve & barrier frustration combined with a couple of other things, he's such a sweet natured boy !
Barrier frustration is a common problem alot of working breed owners face during critical development periods - we got to work !

We made a start by classically conditioning Maverick during bouts of exposure to triggers while we taught his owners the subtle body language to look out for so they knew when to counter condition ahead of time, this encourages positive decision making skills rather than avoiding the trigger. Mav did beautifully in this portion of his session, we had him in a heel & walking past dogs in no time at all while allowing for structured decompression breaks in-between each repitition. My favourite thing about Mav is his eager to please nature, he really does want to make the right decisions and once he understood what these were he did great! It also helps that his owner is very dog savvy 🙌🏼

At the time, Mav had the chemical castration implant, this is a great route to go down when you're considering neutering. Recent studies show neutering a dog who is prone to abit of nerve can actually increase reactive and other nerve driven behaviours, this can occur because testosterone is a regulatory hormone that can help with modulate motivation & responses to challenges - in short, it can help some dogs be abit more confident in situations where they have previously felt abit unsure. At the time if Mavs first session he was also slap bang in the middle of a critical development period, commonly referred to as a fear period - most dogs experience these and it's usually the age when reactivity crops up for the first time. Now that the implant is wearing off & the fear period is over all alongside daily training (when possible in this heatwave !) he's doing miles better with his Reactivity out on walks.

Mav came back in recently to work on his preydrive & recall aswell as a touch up on leash skills, 9/10 a leash skills touch up is all down to positioning and thankfully that's all it turned out to be, no regression at all on Mavs part which I love to see. We've put in the foundations now for Mavericks prey aversion training where we worked him around a herd of cows which he found super interesting - he was fixated and eager to go over, by the end of this session he was relaxed, Kay at his owners feet & asking for a belly rub instead.
Next time we'll be working around further prey distractions to continue positive decision making skills in highly distracting & arousing environments.

Well done big lad !
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25/06/2026

You may have noticed that the page has been silent for over a month now - don't worry, we are still training, just not in these temps to keep your dogs safe.

One month ago today I lost the light of my life, Luka.
As a result I'd taken some time away to grieve - I've had Luka for 11.5 years, loosing him has left a hole in my life that I know for some of you is all to familiar. My boy was running around with me one day and the next 75% of his kidneys shut down and I just couldn't save him, there was no option to do anything beyond the hardest decision of my life. We gave him the best last days we could, he used the last of his strength to come over to me and lay by my side in the cool grass of Heaton park where he got to see dogs, get fussed by strangers, see rabbits and squirrels and enjoy the fresh air.
Many of you worked with Luka in session - he was a genuine ray of sunshine & he helped so many of your dogs become who they are today 🩵 A dog like Luka comes along once in a lifetime & while I miss him deeply, I recognise how lucky I was of all people to have him in my life. Luka is the entire reason Bark To Basics exists, he was and still is my biggest Inspiration to help reactive dogs become who they really are.

I have a huge back log of dogs to feature, so if you're waiting for your dog to appear on the page you'll see them in the next few weeks - we've not forgotten about you !

Give your dogs an extra treat tonight, from all of us here 🐕

10/05/2026

Meet Vic !

As you can see from his body language alone, Vic has not-so-great relationship with anyone who isn't his owner..Vic is a working line border collie who has seriously struggled with his reactivity, coupled with his predisposition to herd, for a good few years now.
He's a very nervous boy but he has learned through behaviour rehearsal that lunging at someone and attempting to bite = that person going away.
After an incident with a jogger a few months ago Vic's owner sought our help so he could begin living a happy, normal life. We got to work !

After a good few attempts at coming up the lead to give me a good telling off with attempted bites, Vic learned this doesn't make me back away, we showed him it equals nothing. No added pressure, no trying to make friends, I simply didn't move - his first lesson was that this behaviour will not control his environment and the people in it any longer, and that there are positive things to get involved with in my presence instead. After a few minutes, this clicked & I was able to take his lead and he was happy to follow. For the first time a stranger could walk beside Vic without him continually lunging up at them. Now realistically, we can't expect people who aren't used to dogs behaving like this to tolerate or replicate what I did in session, so our main focus was providing Vic with some clear boundaries and structured reinforcers so he understood that there are different & less offensive ways to ask for space.

We made a start by walking past people, he's a typical border collie and incredibly intelligent, so he very quickly didn't want to lunge at passers-by, after we successfully passed a person we offered him a nice reward and provided him with some decompression outlets so we could set him up for success for the next trigger. This worked a treat, and while he still didn't want to be my best friend he was happy to receive a reward from his owner which is completely understandable ! We had Vic calmly passing people, bikes, kids and dogs in no time. During his training we suggested some minor adjustments to make him abit more fulfilled and comfortable long term such as providing an outlet for herding behaviour - all that drive needs a constructive place to go! You'll see this is one of my go to suggestions for working breeds as they really do need to feel like they've worked to be happy, and it's a great confidence builder for nervous dogs - alongside a larger bite proof muzzle for walks and training to allow for better pant room, treat taking and drinking.

We are still on step one with Vic but he now has some homework to complete over the next few weeks and I'm really looking forward to seeing him progress even further. He did great! Well done Vic 🙌🏼🐕

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07/05/2026

Meet Misty !

Misty is a very pretty German shepherd who came in to work on her strong pulling on the lead and reactive behaviour towards passing dogs. Misty is only young, so I'm really impressed with her owners and how proactive they've been - there's no point in waiting until she's 3x her size and weight to get on the right track 🙌🏼 we got to work !

Despite being a puppy, Misty was experiencing some intense behaviours surrounding her dog reactivity and pulling, some lines of German shepherd are bred specifically for tenacity & if that's combined with inherited nerve or insecurity, how they direct that tenacity can cause some problems ! Thankfully Misty has a beautiful temperament and was really eager to learn. We worked on some key foundations such as handler engagement and loose leash walking, we spoke about how consistent tension on the lead can make some dogs feel trapped and exacerbate reactivity.
Through our structured hand feeding, using food as a clear reinforcer rather than a distraction & focusing on the very basics a young dog like Misty will need to master, she took to her new routine in no time at all.

We gradually began working Misty around dogs at her pace and she did amazingly well with this, particularly when two little dogs reacted at another passing dog ! Puppies tend to have poor impulse control and we spoke about ways we can improve this going forward, but in this particular circumstance when passing other reactive dogs, we gave her a little more room and helped her make the right decision - instead of feeling the need to join in with the barking and lunging, she sat quietly, observed without fixation and engaged with her owners for some tasty high value rewards !

Lastly we focused on some structured decompression techniques that we can implement to help Misty relax and build an off switch. This is a really important thing to build with any working breed from a young age - it helps them understand that they can relax and reduces the likelihood of developing hypervigilance, self employment and holding onto stress - all in all it helps improve recovery time from minor stressful events so we can build, maintain and improve upon neutrality and tolerance for long term results.

Misty is currently practicing her homework, we are eager to see her again and her progress !
Well done Misty !

28/04/2026

Meet Oslo !

Oslo is a handsome Great Dane who came in to work on his Reactive Behaviour, his owner had tried training before but the last one was abit too afraid to get close to this big boy, but that's nothing new to us here! Oslo is reactive towards passings people & dogs, his owner traveled all the way from Chesterfield to come and get this behaviour sorted with us and I just love to see that kind of dedication 🙌🏼 Oslo is a large boy which made his reactivity all that more difficult to control when he would lunge, bark and pull toward a trigger. Upon meeting Oslo, we took our time and worked on a little self soothing & decompression and after one minor attempt at telling me off, I was able to take the lead and we quickly became friends as he's really a big sweet boy at heart - we got to work!

Once I had taken the lead after taking the time to get to know Oslo, we worked on leash pressure and communication. The last thing you want with a dog of this size is them lunging or rearing up ! We taught Oslo's owner how to use the slip while maintaining a slack lead as we built a nice relaxed heel. Oslo took to this beautifully and quickly learned that the heel position is the best place to be on a walk. After a few repitions to ensure he and his owner were ready, we began working him around triggers. We had discussed that often times, it's not people that are a massive trigger for dogs like Oslo but trigger stacking can impact tolerance and stress can be redirected towards people who want to come over and say hello to an impressive dog like him. It's similar to how road rage for us works, it's the car Infront of you that's stressing you out but you might direct that stress at the person sat next to you. Thankfully he has a brilliant relationship with his owner so he was really eager to please and make the right decisions.

We spent 5 hours in total with Oslo and had him passing dogs and people closer than ever before, calmly, relaxed and without a reaction. Our half day sessions are split into 2.5hrs across a day so we can give our client dogs and owners a well deserved break, alongside little breaks to observe dogs passing us - during one I got a lovely big kiss from Oslo right in my eye, so it's safe to say we built up some trust which is great progress for him ! He wasn't bothered by our additional handler who assists with larger breeds, despite the handler being a male. We spoke about hand feeding and how this is going to help create long term change for Oslo, our end goal is to have him happy, relaxed & neutral to triggers while maintaining his ability to communicate his feelings effectively with his owner without having to react if uncomfortable - we spoke about how this becomes a reliable way to ask for space, when our dogs react one of two things happen - either they are removed from the trigger OR the trigger is removed from them, all they learn is it works and encourages rehearsal of the behaviour again and again. Ontop of covering body language and communication skill sets for his owner, we also covered how trigger stacking plays a role across a 72 hour period and how we can help mitigate the adrenaline and cortisol response via self soothing techniques that will help him hit his REM sleep cycle and as a result, improve tolerance for the next day. The relief on his owners face at the end of our session is something I live for 🙌🏼

It was a pleasure to work with this big lovely boy, and to be honest I was expecting far worse ! Oslo has bags of potential and I can't wait to see his progress in a few weeks time! He currently has some homework to be getting on with until we see him again to maintain, proof and further the skill sets taught in session 🐕✅
Well done Oslo !

02/04/2026

Meet Goldie !
Goldie is a lovely rottweiler who came in to work on her Reactive Behaviour towards passing dogs. Goldie is full of beans & struggled to contain her excitement in general & due to her size, walking her was nowhere near as enjoyable as it could be despite her lovely temperament -
We got to work !

We made a start by swapping her harness out for the slip & began teaching her some leash communication in a quieter area. Now that food was involved, she was ready to earn it and offer us engagement in the heel position. Goldie took to this really well & was eager to learn ! We gradually moved her into busier areas at her pace to work her around environmental distractions aswell as her biggest trigger - dogs !
Goldie took to this beautifully and we maintained her food drive under threshold during training.

Alot of people don't recognise that a dog bring overly friendly is classed as reactive - if left, it's a fast track to a form of reactivity called barrier frustration. Luckily Goldies owner was really proactive and wanted to get this behaviour resolved for Goldies benefit which I love to see ! We had Goldie passing multiple dogs with out a problem in no time at all !

Goldie will be 6 weeks into her homework now - practice makes perfect 👌🏼we can't wait to see her progress. Well done big girl !

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Bark To Basics

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