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Bark To Basics, Manchester (2024)

07/11/2024

Meet Kobe !

Kobe is a gorgeous German Shepherd who came in for a Half Day Session to tackle his Reactive Behaviour towards dogs.

During Kobe's assessment, we saw he had very little engagement. We also saw that Kobe was pretty hypervigilant & fixating on dogs at quite a distance. Due to his size, when he did inevitably react on walks with his owners, the lunging made him really difficult for his owners to control - We knew from a phone call with his owners a few weeks prior he had managed to pull one of his owners over, and has previously been fitted with a prong collar by his previous trainers in an effort to control his pulling on the lead and lunging.

We made a start by refitting Kobes prong to the correct position, like the slip, if it isn't in the right position the tool cant be used appropriately - we also ended up removing one of the links as it was just too big for him and kept slipping down. We are open to tool use here for the cases that require them - we are big belivers that limiting what tools you will use, only limits which individuals you can help - and while we opted to work Kobe on his prong our end goal is get Kobe off the prong in a matter of weeks, which after working with him I don't think we will have any issue at all with achieving !

The previous method that has been used has allowed Kobe to fixate and inevitably react when a dog passes *and then be corrected once a reaction had been built up & practiced*
This is pointless & builds up an unnecessary amount of stress.
Everytime this occurred one of two things have been solidified for Kobe - either he gets removed from the trigger, or the trigger gets removed from Kobe - We began putting the foundations in for Kobes new method, which focuses on interrupting fixation so he doesn't become stressed enough to react, alongside building positive associations with passing dogs, engagement & handler advocacy- he took to the above beautifully. In a matter of minutes we had him passing dogs without an issue, in a relaxed heel, in a non sterile environment ✅️

From there we practiced some much needed decompression. We covered how natural behaviours are a must for dogs, but providing abit of structure behind them & using them as outlets does reactive dogs a world of good. The difference in Kobe before and after decompression work was clear, not only in his tolerance towards passing dogs while maintaining a heel, but his attitude towards food on walks had improved too. We had previously talked about past instances where Kobe would sometimes spit treats out, especially if they were used as a distraction or a short while after he had reacted but hadn't yet decompressed - we covered how this is largely down to the adrenaline and cortisol cycle as both are natural appetite killers and once in fight or flight mode its normal to reject food. Our method doesn't allow for dogs to become flooded with adrenaline & cortisol, and instead heavily focuses on food. Food releases dopamine - the feel good hormone - and massively helps mitigate cortisol

We continued our session simulating a normal dog walk passing a great range of different dogs & Kobe smashed it ! even when we had a little dog react at a comfortable distance he kept his cool, didn't react and earned a tasty high value reward. He has really impressed me and was so much more relaxed by session end. It's only onwards and upwards from here - We'll be seeing Kobe again in 4 weeks time once his homework period has been completed & we just can't wait to see his progress 🙌

Until next time big man 🐕

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24/10/2024

Meet the Planet Paws Team !

We ran a Behaviour & Body Language Talk & Lure Based Training Practical over at Planet Paws this week with 23 dogs ! What's great about these educational Talks & Practicals is that they allow Daycare, Pet sitting & kennel services to learn the more nuanced body language, behaviour & subtle communication skills that dogs use to not only communicate with one another but with us, too !

We did a portion on decompression to help sooth very excitable dogs, we also covered a ton on the 'conversations' we saw before us in session. This ranged from demand barking for treats, advocating for dogs space once its been communicated that is what they want in that moment, conflict driven behaviours & how to mitigate this situation if it ever arises, arousal, fixation, dog on dog dominance and how fluid the canine hierarchy is, nerve driven behaviours and how to provide self soothing activities, trigger stacking, the adrenaline & cortisol cycle and of course how to safely split dogs up a fight to protect both dogs and staff if this was to ever occur - it's *always* better to be prepared than not ✅️

During our Training Practical we focused on Lure Based Training with rewards where we focused on some easy & fun, real life skills like luring a heel. This is a great one to learn simply because it can help the owners shape a heel if they're struggling to teach one - if your dog enjoys being in the heel position they'll be more likely to want to be there !
We also taught the trick 'spin' through hand luring which the dogs enjoyed, and later we combined the two by having our chosen dogs walking in the heel position and spinning in motion. While we've largely focused on the must have life skill sets fun tricks like this do serve a purpose- training does more metal enrichment than sniffing and running around combined and hand luring tricks improves engagement & handler value !

Massive props to this great team for wanting to learn the above skill sets & they all picked everything up brilliantly! Not all Daycares are up to date on body language & behaviour, so we have a big appreciation for those that are & those that want to learn so they can do best by the dogs in their care 🙌
Well done everyone🐕

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22/10/2024

Meet Callie !

Callie is a gorgeous German Shepherd x Border Collie who came in for her first session recently. Cal has been struggling with some pretty intense nerve driven reactivity on walks towards people, dogs, traffic, bikes - pretty much anything and everything that passed her would cause her to lunge towards the trigger with a lot of defensive barking, she was also pulling a ton on the lead in-between triggers and was generally all over the show. This was making walks really stressful for Callie & her owners - we got to work !

We made a start by working on some exposure to triggers alongside leash communication to interrupt trigger stacking and showed her how to engage with her handler for some tasty high value rewards once she successfully passed a trigger that would have previously set her off. This really helped Callie understand triggers can exsist without being a threat. We worked at Callie's pace and she did amazingly well, we saw the main issue was her nerve driven responses towards dogs in particular. We spoke about how trigger stacking stressors works and that a high drive dog that is struggling with nerve can begin to experience what we like to refer to as "overspill" - This is when there is one predominant issue at play that stresses the individual out so much so that they begin reacting to almost everything in an effort to defend their space and to avoid additional stress & unfortunately they soon learn barking & lunging results in one of two outcomes, either they're removed from the stressor or the stressor removes themselves! After a short period of repitions around triggers, we saw a huge change in Callies Reactivity towards passing people, bikes, Joggers, kids and scooters. The only remaining stressor to tackle - dogs.

We did some more work around passing dogs while focusing on leash skills, engagement and communication and she did wonderfully. Once she understood she had something to "work" for, as well as showing her we would advocate for her, Callies threshold around dogs really improved ! We understand working with nerve in particular can often feel like a loosing battle for owners with dogs who are struggling in this area but it's important to remember there *is* a genuine benefit to nerve: Nervous dogs tend to have higher handler value and they thrive taking direction from their person. Relationship is the number one thing when dog training and Callies relationship with her handler was 10/10 - she was really keen to learn, earn and to engage. By the end of session she was so much more relaxed & could calmly pass triggers in the heel position & offering engagement in return for something tasty. It's onwards and upwards from here for this lovely girl, we can't wait to see how she gets on after the homework period - Well done Callie 👏

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15/10/2024

Meet pheonix !

This handsome boy is a Hungarian Vizla who came in to make a start on his leash skills on walks. Pheonix had developed a habit of pulling on the lead, we also saw he was struggling with abit of over arousal and a little nerve & apprehension when passing dogs on walks which would cause him to fixate, pull and do a fair bit of whining! We got to work

We made a start on teaching both Pheonix & his handler Leash communication. Focusing on this basic skill set, sets both ends of the lead up for sucsess. We swapped the head collar out for the slip and began shaping a heel by marking the wanted response in the correct position during repitions. Pheonix took to this in no time at all and we soon moved him into a busier area where we focused on engagement building and handler value around distractions, Pheonix already has a great relationship with his owner so we didn't need to do too much in this area which always speeds any training process along - relationship always comes first !

From there we continued proofing in the heel & engagement whilst working around dogs. Pheonix has a history of struggling to be neutral around dogs and one of his owners training goals is to be able to take him to a pub or café with him feeling relaxed in the presence of another dog at a comfortable distance. After a few repitions and teaching Pheonix structured decompression, as well as how to interrupt trigger stacking, he smashed it and did brilliantly around several passing dogs in no time at all 🙌 we want to work on this now for the next few weeks before starting his training in dog friendly pubs & cafes.

Pheonix did brilliantly in his first session and was so much more relaxed, engaged and content by session end. We can't wait to see his progress after the training period - well done Ginge! 🐕

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02/10/2024

Meet Loki !

Loki is a gorgeous German Shepherd who came in for a Half Day Session to tackle his Reactive Behaviour towards dogs. Loki's owners were understandably at the end of their rope with Lokis Reactivity on walks - he would lunge, spin around, bark and panic quite a bit making him pretty difficult to control. This made walks really stressful for both Loki and his owners, we got work !

After Lokis assesment we made a start on teaching Loki leash communication and pressure while maintaining a heel to earn tasty high value rewards. We adapted our standard routine to suit Loki & began this portion of his training in a quiet area and moved into busier areas at his pace. He did brilliantly with this portion of his training, from there we moved onto structured decompression which took him a few reps to master as he's been used to being hyper vigilant in the past but we got him there ! Teaching reactive dogs to decompress and relax on walks is one of the simpler skill sets you can teach that reaps a really positive change in our reactive clients across the board & Loki really enjoyed being able to practice natural behaviours that promote relaxation.

In the second half of Loki's session he was now ready to work in a busier paced environment around more triggers & he smashed it ! We had him passing multiple dogs at a time in a heel for two and a half hours without a reaction. Some dogs at this stage may be up to working around one of our demonstration dogs for prolonged exposure but Loki isn't quite there yet, we're all about adapting to the individual dog here so we opted to simulate a normal dog walk rather than risking him becoming flooded. He did wonderfully! We do need to further Lokis engagement to aid in his training, we've reccomended a hand feeding regime that promotes not only handler value but it will also change Lokis perception of a walk ✅️ the difference from start to end was clear.

I'm so proud of this lovely lad, he put his all into session and his owners said it was the calmest walk they've ever had with him ! 👏 Loki now has some homework to focus on until he's ready to see us again, well done Loki ! 🐕

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19/09/2024

Meet Summer, Ragnar, Maya & Chunk !

We had this gorgeous group of Rottweilers in this week for a Half Day Session so we could make a start on their Reactive Behaviour towards dogs on walks. During their individual assements we saw that the boys in particular were struggling - Ragnar was experiencing some nerve driven reactivity causing some thrashing on the lead, barking, stopping and fixating - Chunk was struggling with some over arousal and needed to build on his threshold, he would also do alot of jumping/trashing, stopping and fixating - Summer was struggling with some barrier frustration and luckily Maya didn't have a clue what was going on. She had previously reacted when Ragnar Reacted but there was no venom or nerve in it whatsoever, once the high value rewards came out she was oblivious to triggers without any encouragement
- we got to work !

We began with Ragnar & Maya as a pair. This pairing worked great for Ragnar as Maya is a pretty relaxed, highly food motivated girl who proved to be a great influence with Ragnar. We began in a quiet area and worked on leash skills, maintaining a heel and leash communication before gradually working our way into busier environments at Ragnars pace, all the while rewarding engagement and successfully passing triggers with some tasty high value rewards to keep things nice and simple for Ragnar. We spoke about hand feeding and how this is going to be the best way for this pack to further their engagement on walks. Once we got the foundations down we had Ragnar take the lead and he smashed it! We had him walking past multiple dogs, in a nice heel without a reaction in no time at all, by the end of session he was much more relaxed and had caught on to the fact passing dogs calmly = something really tasty! - Maya was also good as gold in session and only cared about earning her rewards for heel maintaince and engagement, which I love to see 👏

We then moved onto Summer & Chunk. This pairing was a little more complex as they both had individual behaviours at play, Summer is an older, more confident girl and can clearly communicate her need for space on a walk to passing dogs without reacting *until* she trigger stacks or spots a dog with offensive body language/ behaviour, then she would attempt to lunge and bark - this could easily set Chunk off, as could Chunks reactions when over stimulated. We worked on leash skills and communication with this pairing and focused a little bit more on structured decompression with Chunk. This is something we do with all reactivity cases but when working with over arousal, they really do benefit from having more opportunities to decompress and be redirected onto something more positive. While we worked on this we also proofed in how to interrupt trigger stacking and taught both owners how to spot the body language and behaviour that was causing a problem for Summer - We did a few hours work around dogs and they both did really wonderfully ! Summer was much more relaxed by the end of session, Chunks threshold had really improved but does need just little more work - we spoke about how both Chunk and Ragnar will benefit from some one to one work going forward.

All 4 did brilliantly in session and made a ton of progress each, we can't wait to see how they improve after the homework period 🙌

Well done 🐕🐕🐕🐕
Due to lighting and working the dogs in pairs, this photo of both duos has been masterfully edited together by Chloé Fuller of ITVs Stephs Packed Lunch & Owner of the

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17/09/2024

Meet Winston !

Winston is a Beautiful Bernese mountain dog who came in to work on his overly excitable behaviour towards dogs aswell as his leash skills. He was pulling out on the leash, jumping up, fixating on dogs at a distance, pulling from side to side, bouncing and generally just being overly aroused and abit frustrated that he couldn't say hello to everyone and everything! - despite his lovely, friendly temprament, he's a big boy so this was quickly becoming a problem and making walks not as enjoyable as they could be for both Winston and his owner. When we think of the term reactive our mind tends to jump to offensive or defensive dogs who are kicking off and barking, and while this is the case for many, reactivity just means reacting at all ! This commonly includes happy, over excited dogs - we got to work!

We made a start on teaching Winston a nice heel with the help of some tasty high value rewards.We spoke about how the lack of leash pressure would help Winston understand the heel position is a really positive place to be compared to being out infront and trying to engage with every single dog. The goal here was to improve Winstons handler value, so he could offer engagement to his handler around dogs and maintain indifference rather than fixating and becoming over excited. Winston settled with this in no time at all and we soon had him heeling and engaged past dogs.

We then moved onto structured decompression and allowing opportunities for Winston to practice natural behaviours that aid in self soothing - He took to this brilliantly. Sadly Winston suffers with Hip Dysplasia so we opted to adapt his session with rest periods in-between repitions that allowed for exposure to passing dogs so even while resting up he could still earn a tasty high value reward.

Winston did amazingly well in his first session and we can't wait to see how he further improves after the homework period
Well done big lad !

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13/09/2024

Meet Rupert !

Rupert is a lovely Staffordshire terrier crossbreed who came in to make a start on his reactive behaviour towards dogs. He's a strong, young rescue who was struggling with lunging out on the leash, barking and high fixation towards passing dogs & dogs in the distance. This frustration would occasionally cause some mild reactivity towards people too. We got to work !

We swapped out Ruperts martingale collar & back clip harness for the slip and made a start on teaching him leash pressure and communication. We spoke about how a double clip lead on seperate equipment can make you feel like you have more control but with a reactive dog who doesn't yet understand leash communication the additional pressure on equipment can cause additional frustration, it's also harder to stop them from lunging forward & the martingale can put some unnecessary pressure on the trachea - instead we focused on teaching him a nice slack leash heel in return for some tasty high value rewards and Rupert caught on nicely !

From there we began to increase Ruperts threshold towards triggers during repitions which he took to really well. We covered how trigger stacking stressors occurs and how to offer structured decompression to help Rupert maintain indifference towards passing dogs on walks. While we proofed in a slack leash heel and worked on reps around dogs we also began engagement building - this is a key skill for all dogs, but it's an absolute must for reactive dogs. With the help of some high value rewards he caught on in no time, we kept it nice and simple for Rupert by offering him 3 easy avenues to earn his rewards. We sent Rupert off with four weeks worth of homework to further proof in the skill sets he picked up in his first session & we can't wait to see how he gets on !

Well done Ru 🐕

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07/09/2024

Meet Kali !

Kali is a lovely Pocket Bully who came to us to make a start on her reactive behaviour towards dogs - we saw during Kali's assessment that she had some fairly high nerve & would lunge out on the leash & was very vocal. Alongside this issue, she was also pulling strongly on the leash & had some food refusal going on too which often makes rewarding the right behaviours a little harder - We got to work !

We began by swapping out her clip collar for the slip & teaching leash pressure & communication , we discussed how additional pressure on equipment can increase frustration & pulling. We showed Kali how to heel and encouraged a nice slack leash to reduce frustration - having your reactive dog in a heel makes a world of difference, especially for strong dogs like kali ! From there began working on interrupting fixation & the trigger stacking cycle so she could pass dogs without fixating & reacting - Kali has really habitualised this behaviour and its going to take some solid practice to work down but all in all she did well with all of the above during her repitions.

We then covered structured decompression which aids in ending the adrenaline & cortisol cycle - this is beneficial for all dogs, but the difference it makes for reactive dogs can be a game changer.
Kali really enjoyed having the opportunity to have these little breaks & during repitions we got her to the point where she was sucsessfully passing dogs under threshold without a problem, our goal now is to build up her threshold so she can maintain indifference, whilst being able to be rewarded with food for doing so - something she hasnt ever been able to do while out on a walk before. We spoke about how hand feeding will really aid in building her food drive, as we want to ensure she views her walks as positive as possible. Food refusal is a sign that a dog is choc full of adrenaline & cortisol, which is often the case when working with nerve - we stuck to Kalis pace & opted to reward her via affection and praise when she successfully passed a dog which she really enjoyed, as it is going to take some time to get that food drive where it needs to be.

Kali did really well in her first session and we can't wait to see how her skill sets improved during her homework period.
Well done Kali 👏🐕

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27/08/2024

Meet Lucy !

Lucy is a lovely Romanian Rescue we had in recently to make a start on her Reactive Behaviour towards dogs. She would pull on the lead, had little engagement and would bark, growl and lunge at passing dogs when out on a walk, she also wasn't too interested in taking food as a distraction and would opt to fixate on the passing dog instead - we got to work !

We made a start by working on Lucys engagement & building her food drive. We discussed how food refusal is commonly linked to nerve, and that trying to use food to distract often doesn't reap the wanted outcome - think about it this way, if you're feeling afraid and abit panicked, the last thing you're going to want is someone offering you a packet of crisps while you're gearing up to defend yourself! Instead we opted to allow her to decompress before we began and showed her owners the behaviours to keep an eye out for, this let's us know she's feelings calmer and will be able to take food ! Making the whole rewarding process easier for both Lucy & her owners.

We did a few repitions around dogs & interrupted her fixation, which in turn didn't allow her to become stressed & frustrated enough to build a reaction. When she successfully passed a dog without a reaction she earned a tasty high value reward - this kept things nicely black and white for Lucy so she understood her new, easy & achievable "job" on her walks & she did really well with her repitions for her first session, passing multiple dogs without an issue . We continued to work on this alongside her engagement building and she did brilliantly, this still needs further proofing but so far, very good !

Lastly we covered structured decompression. These are little breaks and activities and promote structured self soothing and relaxation - they're game changers for anxious, reactive and fearful dogs & can be offered both inside and outside of the home. Lucy took to this really well and really enjoyed having more structure and less stress on her walk, we also set her up with some homework focusing on setting her up for sucsess for the following day. It's early days for Lucy but we are really excited to see how much more she improves after the homework period !

Well done good girl 🐕✅️

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06/08/2024

Meet Ronnie !

Ronnie is a gorgeous olde english bulldog dog x English bulldog who came in to make a start on his leash skills. Despite being just 14 months old he's a very strong boy and was pulling hard on the leash, he had learned what most young powerful dogs learn during adolescence- if he pulled hard enough to insist upon a sniff or to say hello to a person or dog, his owner would have no choice but to be pulled along behind him due to his strength! Understandably, his owner didn't want this behaviour to carry on into adulthood as walks weren't as enjoyable as they could be - we got to work !

During Ronnie's assessment we saw he had some high fixation towards dogs, he's got a lovely temprament and only wants to say hello which is a rarity for us here but this level of distraction meant he had 0 engagement on the lead. We began by swapping out his harness & clip leash for the slip and began teaching leash pressure and communication. Many of you who have had a session with us have heard us say this before: if you put pressure on equipment, such as a harness, in a bid to control a strong dog they will just fight the pressure. This just causes more frustration and pulling. The slip allows for clear cut communication rather than restriction, enabling us to maintain a nice slack leash heel and show dogs like Ronnie that a heel is the best place to be with the help of some high value rewards.

After we had laid the foundations for a heel, we got to work on interrupting fixation towards dogs, Ronnie just wants to say hello to everyone and everything & despite this being a wonderful trait, it commonly causes a form of reactive behaviour called Barrier Frustration. Luckily, training has began before this has had a chance to develop and become a habitual response - prevention is *always* best ! Ronnie did great with his heel maintaince & passing dogs in no time at all and caught on quickly as to what earns him some tasty rewards. From there we covered how to further Ronnie's engagement via hand feeding to really proof in the idea that his owner is the most interesting, exciting thing to focus on, on his walks.

Ronnie smashed his first session and we can't wait to see him after the homework period to see how he's progressed ! Well done big lad 🦛

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23/07/2024

Meet Sonny !

Sonny is a lovely 19 month old German Shepherd x Labrador Retriever Rescue who came in to get started on his strong pulling on lead. During Sonny's assesment we saw he had quite alot of over arousal going on, he was doing a ton of cutting across and ploughing ahead, he was oblivious to anyone holding the other end of the leash and had 0 engagement - he was on his own little mission and he didn't mind pulling his owner along if it meant he got to do what he wanted ! All of this tension on the lead and excitement passing triggers was occasionally causing some arousal based reactivity towards dogs on top of everything else - We got to work !

We swapped out Sonnys head collar for the slip and taught him some leash pressure and communication via repitions- this is a must for all dogs, it enables them to learn that a heel is the best place to be and that the leash isn't a restriction tool that they have to pull against, but instead, a method of communication. We then moved onto providing an easy job for Sonny, engagement! This helps devalue passing triggers and maintain calmness on walks. Sonny really enjoyed having an easily achievable job to do on, and it put his brilliant food drive to good use ! We had him in a nice heel in no time without any darting or cutting across.

From there we focused on introducing some simple, structured, decompression for Sonny to aid in maintaining a slack leash heel and calm behaviour on walks. Alongside hand feeding, these skills combined allow us to interrupt adrenaline release which can lead to arousal based reactivity - one of the biggest mistakes I see owners make with young, wonderful dogs like Sonny is to constantly keep them stimulated. While it might tire them out on the day, all it does is mean they can do more the next day - in the same way an athlete builds resistance and tolerance the more they exercise, the more stimulation you provide a young dog means the more they can do ! Our focus was to build a nice "off switch" for him instead. Sonny settled into this really well !

The next 4 weeks are focused on the skill sets taught in session for both Sonny and his owners, he did great in his first session with us and we can't wait to see how he does !
Well done Sonny 👏 🌞

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