Bark To Basics

Bark To Basics Private Balanced Dog Training, Behaviour Modification & Assessments.

We Specialise In Reactive Behaviour, Dog & Human Aggression Cases & Bite Risk/Bite History Dogs.

Meet Rocco ! Rocco is a Great Dane who came in to work on his Reactive Behaviour towards dogs. Rocco is only 1 year old ...
07/11/2025

Meet Rocco !

Rocco is a Great Dane who came in to work on his Reactive Behaviour towards dogs. Rocco is only 1 year old but his size & strength were making him difficult and pretty unenjoyable to walk, which is completely understandable - he would lunge forwards, bark & growl and was particularly worse with smaller dogs who would react toward him first. He's huge for his age & this alone can make a reactive dog 10× more tricky for owners ! We got to work -

We began by working on his leash skills. Alot of my giant breeds owners default to headcollars because they give the illusion of more control, unfortunately they are one of the worst aversives you could ever use with a dog of any size. They don't make dogs stop pulling through sheer magic or in a kind or gentle way as they're commonly marketed, they work by making pulling really negative for the dog by pressing directly on the "stop" part of the muzzle. Instead we swapped him onto a slip - unlike a head collar this isn't a restrictive tool it's a communication tool, when used correctly.

Roccos owners had previously had him on the slip so We had a look at how this had been used prior to our first session, we adjusted a few things to help both Rocco & his family understand how to communicate via the slip and to how to mainatian a nice slack leash. We spoke about how constant tension will build more frustration - from there we worked on building engagement. Rocco has a brilliant food drive and was really eager to earn some tasty, high value rewards for maintained engagement in the heel position & We had him in a heel walking beautifully in no time at all during reps !

Alot of my giant breed clients end up habitualising a lot of unnecessary pressure on equipment but this makes pulling so much worse - his family are super driven & keen to learn - they all picked this up quickly during reps and I can't wait to see how they progress with more practice. We then began working Rocco around passing dogs politely & calmly whilst maintaining the heel position as we gradually increased distractions & triggers at his pace. Rocco did so well with this and passed all but one dog in two hours without a problem. The one dog he struggled with was particularly reactive towards Rocco, but the over all immediate improvement was clear - he did such a good job ! even if he did cover me in slobber 😂👏 Roccos owners now have some homework to practice until we see him next time, I'm looking forward to seeing his progress - well done big lad 🐕

For training tips, stories & more, follow us here or check out our other socials;

IG:
Tiktok: .2.Basics

Meet George ! George is a Handsome Pointer who came in to work on his Reactive Behaviour towards dogs. George would beco...
27/10/2025

Meet George !

George is a Handsome Pointer who came in to work on his Reactive Behaviour towards dogs. George would become fixated at a distance, bark, pull, lunge & panic when he passed most dogs. He also had some environmental nerve issues surrounding floor textures. Hes a powerful, tall dog so his reactivity and nerve was making him pretty difficult to control - luckily he's a sweetheart with people so building trust with him was nice & easy - we got to work !

We made a start by conditioning him to the slip which he took to quickly. This allowed us to teach him leash communication, so he could understand what we did want him to do. We orginally began working with George on his daily working route as he was really struggling to walk past one local dog that had free acsess to the front garden, which is also reactive, so George would get very pent up when he had to walk past this house - making his everyday walks incredibly stressful for him. We began classically conditioning him via hand feeding when passing this area to help gradually improve on the expectations he had when passing this spot. He did really well with this and has taken to hand feeding beautifully, teaching him a heel has also meant that he feels safer and is far easier to redirect and control.

The second time we worked with George was in a busier park, now that he had abit more confidence and training was already in place, we wanted to further it at his pace by doubling down on exposure and showing George that other dogs aren't any of his concern. We opted to do this in an on leash unless verbal control area, which he did beautifully with. We had him calmly walking past dogs and taking food in no time. We explained to George's owner, the impact of the trigger stacking cycle and that George had learned if he reacted one of two things would happen - either the scary trigger is removed or he is removed - reacting = being able to aviod the dog, it was working for him.
So we are focusing on helping him become nuetral and reading body langauge so we can advocate for him and his space long before he feels like he needs to react without avioding every passing dog. I was really impressed with how well he took to this and his owners hard work was really clear to see 🙌 because he is a working line pointer, we also covered some outlets for all of that drive so he can appropriately express it - this makes a huge impact for working line dogs, no matter the breed.

George is a nervous, sweet natured boy who really wants to make the right decisions and I'm mega proud of his progress so far. Intense nerve like this can take a little longer to convince, but it's well worth the journey. He was far calmer, collected and in a nice slack leash heel the second time around - i cant wait to see him progress even further! - Well done gorgeous George 🐕✅️

For training tips, stories & more, follow us here or check out our other socials:

IG:
Tiktok: .2.Basics

Meet Rio ! Rio is a KNPV line Belgian Malinois whi came in to work on some foundational skill sets before he begins his ...
24/10/2025

Meet Rio !

Rio is a KNPV line Belgian Malinois whi came in to work on some foundational skill sets before he begins his career as a Personal Protection Dog.
We absolutely *love* seeing dogs like this landing in homes who want to honor their genetics. Rio really impressed me straight out of the gate - he was confident, nuetral & sociable which was a great sign ! We got to work -

We made a start on some key skill sets surrounding heelwork & handler engagement. Engagement is a key skill for the vast majority of training, it makes recall a breeze, heelwork easy to achieve and means you have a dog who actually wants to listen to your every word. We spoke about hand feeding and breed specific outlets, and how we can utilise both as a structured reinforcer in his training.

Despite how many distractions, dogs, people, novel experiences, sights, sounds, smells, textures etc that we came across today - he absolutely smashed it & could maintain a engagement & a lured heel throughout. Those needle teeth caused a few minor injuries today during hand luring 😂 so we've sent his owner some reccomendations for some working grade gloves so he actually has some hands left to feed from going forward !

We did a little work around the fair ground today, everything was off but it's still a great novel place to work in. The novel sights, bright colours, new textures, people, noises, flags & signs blowing in the wind and more are alot for a 14 week old pup to take in, but he was completely unphased. A few times he was keen to clamber up on to the rides, the metal safety floors, no fixation or fear of the lads putting flags up or dragging cannisters around - he wasn't bothered whatsoever by how unusual all of this was & that alone was really impressive. Lastly we spoke about drive building, outlets, decompression/ building an off switch & how we can improve on engagement in some busier environments going forward. *This* is what socialisation is all about - not meeting every random dog and person out on walks - contrary to popular belief !

He did so well & I'm really looking forward to seeing him improve 🙌 Well done little man !

For training tips, stories & more - follow us here or check out our other socials;

IG:
Tiktok: Bark.2.Basics

Meet Skunk ! Skunk is an American Bulldog x English Bulldog who came in to resolve his pulling on the lead, his owner ha...
13/10/2025

Meet Skunk !

Skunk is an American Bulldog x English Bulldog who came in to resolve his pulling on the lead, his owner has ended up with two wrist injuries so we needed to get Skunk in a relaxed heel as quickly as possible so his owner could still take him out on enjoyable walks without risking further injury by being dragged ahead or pulled from side to side. Despite his size, Skunk is a big boy with alot of strength behind him - we got to work !

We made a start by getting him off the harness as he'd learnt he could use his full strength when on this equipment. Instead, we moved him onto the slip & taught him leash communication & pressure to build a slack leash heel and a positive association with the heel position so he *wanted* to be there of his own volition - every Bulldog owner that we get in says the same thing - bulldogs are stubborn. But really, Bulldogs aren't ! They're typically easy to motivate with both food and fun. We got the foundations down by hand luring and using some high value food in return for handler engagement. If a dog is engaged in a heel, they're not focused on pulling ahead ! Skunk took to this really quickly and while he did insist on some short breaks to have a quick rest 😴 he showed us he can maintain motivation for clear reinforcers and not charge ahead on the lead which, longterm, is going to be so much more comfortable for his owner, for him and easier to manage all round.

Due to the nature of this session we did two days in a row to really focus in on heelwork, engagement & hand feeding - another problem Skunk was experiencing, was that he would charge down the driveway excitedly to get to the park across the road. After one session and some advice regarding how to handle the driveway situation, Skunk walked down the driveway calmly and politely 🙌 he's a really intelligent lad with loads of drive and personality, he's caught onto training really quickly and heel work repitions have been giving him a ton of exercise and enrichment that he's really enjoyed - despite him being one the laziest dogs we've had in to date 😂

Skunk now has a few weeks worth of homework to focus on to refine the above skill sets, I've no doubt he will do great as hes so eager to learn and please - well done Skunk ! 🦨👏

For training tips, stories & more, follow us here or check out our other socials;

IG:
Tiktok: .2.Basics

Meet Gunner !Gunner is a 15 week old Belgian Malinois who came in to work on some basic obedience. She's typical for her...
11/10/2025

Meet Gunner !

Gunner is a 15 week old Belgian Malinois who came in to work on some basic obedience. She's typical for her breed and was full of beans. Early on into our session we saw Gunner was experiencing some frustration, she was lunging, growling and keen to nip, she wanted to untie my shoe laces a good few times with those little needle teeth 😂- I'm really impressed with her owner for getting on top of this now rather than waiting for this to go away on its own which is a really common mistake we see here when it inevitably becomes a bigger problem around the adolescent stage. We got to work !

Gunner was being walked on a martingale style collar and while these collars are useful for alot of dogs they're not ideal for young dogs who lunge, this is because they sit where a traditional flat collar sits and this can put pressure on the trachea when a dog lunges forward. We opted to move her onto the slip to stop lunging & frustration behaviours while working on some general obedience & heel luring via hand feeding. We spoke about leash pressure and communication and that if there was consistent tension on the lead, it can easily cause frustration. Naturally, when dogs lunge or are reactive, you will want to stop them from completing the action - how the action is stopped is the key here. If you block your pup from the exciting thing by holding them back & the trigger is just a little out of reach,it creates frustration and that will encourage a drivey dog to try even harder !
This is why you will see tie backs being used in bitework. Dog can't complete the action immediately = frustration = trying harder = tenacity under pressure. Instead, we showed her owner how to stop lunging without building further frustration. We slso covered some beneficial outlets for Gunner going forward, as she will make an amazing little sport dog & hes getting the basics down nice & early - once she was shown what we did & didn't want her to do she understood quickly and had a real willingness to please.

Gunner took to heel work exceptionally well for her age and showed us she has a great food drive. we spoke about how key hand feeding is at this stage to help build a solid foundation for engagement, which sets puppies up for success and helps you build upon an engaged slack leash heel and solid recall. We spoke about outlets and I was pleased to see her owner had brought a small bite pillow to session, one of the issues Gunner was experiencing is that she would loose interest in the pillow and occasionally would spit food out too. We covered why this can happen; when adrenaline is released it dampens food drive. Hand feeding a quality high protein food is going to really help build on food drive. we spoke about how we use food and that using it as a distraction once already aroused, will mean she is less interested in food and may refuse it. We saw during our training session that Gunner only struggled to take food as a distraction but not as a clear reinforcer. Its in our nature to distract but most dogs just won't operate this way for food 🐕

Lastly, we covered exposure. Gunner has mainly been walked early in the morning when there aren't many dogs, people, traffic, environmental noises, smells, sounds, or distractions to work around. While genetics play a huge role in who our puppies will become, exposure helps them learn from an early age that noises, distractions and other people/dogs are no big deal. We've sent a list of reccomendations to work on exposure whilst training to help Gunner see the world as no big deal as we continue to focus on the basics & handler value. And of course, we covered outlets that her breed typically enjoys so she can have a job and feel fulfilled 🙌

Gunner now has some homework to focus on until we see her next time, she did so well 👏 well done !

For training tips, stories & more, follow us here or check out our other socials:

IG:
Tiktok: .2.Basics

Meet Echo ! You may recognise Echo from his post earlier this year when he was only a few weeks old, hes now 6 months ol...
08/10/2025

Meet Echo !

You may recognise Echo from his post earlier this year when he was only a few weeks old, hes now 6 months old and absolutely huge for his age ! Things have being going smoothly for Echo & his owner until they hit the adolescent stage, there's been some regression in his engagement and leash skills which is a really common problem around the 6 month mark, so we got to work on setting him back on the right path. Massive props to his owner for getting this sorted now 👏

In Echo's first session we covered hand feeding and why it's so important in building a heel and engagement. Echo's owner really struggled to get him to take meals after his session as he was a little nervous of the world, adrenaline & cortisol commonly have a negative impact on food drive, this is normal in the sense that if you think you're in danger, you won't be stopping to eat! So high value treats were used instead but still abit hit and miss. Now he's alot more confident and socially nuetral, so we've opted to move back to the orginal hand feeding plan.

We spoke about the current food he's fed and while it's a top brand it was a working and sport food ! This always has an impact, additional carbs mean more energy - most pet dogs aren't doing half of what a working/sporting dog are doing in a day & all that energy has to go somewhere - it can exacerbate unwanted behaviours surrounding pulling and impulse control. We also went over that he has been on a harness and longline before the heel was solidified & walked on slip while wearing the harnees which we have found to be confusing for some more intelligent dogs who understand certain equipment = running and pulling full tilt. While Echo is miles better, there is still a tiny bit of nerve going on and the adrenaline released when feeling unsure will only tell him to keep moving and to be vigilant. The above three little problems above coupled with him being the most hormonal he will ever be in his life gave us a clear root cause for the regression. In session we focused on repitions in an engaged heel, he absolutely smashed this and quickly understood what we wanted from him really quickly & it was great to see the foundations were still in place - a slack lead, handler engagement and food being used as a reinforcer rather than a bribe or distraction 👌

Lastly, we covered a ton on slip use. It's normal when getting used to this tool for it to be used incorrectly, positioning matters, the method behind the tool matters but most of all TENSION matters. When large, strong dogs have a tendency to pull or new habit of pulling, we unconsciously end up putting a ton of pressure on the leash. This builds frustration, it means leash communication no longer works and it quickly can devolve into both parties putting a ton of unnecessary pressure on. We resolved this in session by adjusting how the slip was held leading to a much more relaxed walk for both Echo and his owner.

Echo did beautifully, he now has a few weeks worth of homework and practice ahead of him until I see him again when he will no doubt be bigger than he is now 😂 well done big lad !

For training tips, stories & more, follow us here or check out our other socials;

IG:
Tiktok: .2.Basics

Meet Ozzie ! Ozzie is a 14 week old South African Boerboel x Cane Corso who came in to work on the key foundations all p...
06/10/2025

Meet Ozzie !

Ozzie is a 14 week old South African Boerboel x Cane Corso who came in to work on the key foundations all puppies and owners need. At this age, it's so easy to make mistakes that can become habitualised & lead to unwanted behaviours. Here, instead of big puppy classes in sterile environments & trick training, we focus on real life skill sets. How to build a solid recall, How to build a solid heel, Development periods and what to expect, Likely genetic predisposition, handler engagement, true socialisation and more.
We got to work !

Ozzie is going to be a big lad when he grows up (just look at those feet !) so I'm super impressed with his owners for being so proactive and getting the foundations instilled now while he's so young. The first thing we focused on is the key to all good training - engagement. If you allow your puppy to free play and approach other dogs whenever they want then you can expect recall to be near non exsistant in a few months time as your pup won't have any reason to believe the odd biscuit is more important than a dog that wants to play. Engagement sets your puppy up for success, it's the foundational behaviour you need for both loose leash walking and recall and helps aviod issues that can lead to reactivity & frustration. We made a plan to begin hand feeding so we can really double down on handler value when training in public spaces and around exciting distractions like other dogs. We did heel repetitions around passing people, bikes, kids, dogs, scooters and Ozzie did beautifully- he's such an intelligent little lad and really eager to please !

At this age, confident puppies are really curious & exposure is extremely important to help stop issues in the development periods to come. When we hear the term "socialisation" most pet owners will think of people & dogs saying hello and playing with their pup, but what socialisation is for dogs is a little different. True socialisation is focused more on *exposure* and maintaining calm, nuetral behaviour and engagement in a range of environments, around a range of distractions, sights, smells etc. This makes It far easier for you and your dog during adolescence and after, and to come out the other side with ingrained, simple expectations of how to behave and what is most valuable.

Ozzie did so well in his first session, he was really eager to learn and quickly caught on to whatever we asked of him, he now has 4 weeks worth of homework until we see him next time - well done Ozzie !

For training tips, stories & more, follow us here or check out our other socials;

IG:
Tiktok: .2.basics

Meet Beau ! Beau is a Miortic Shepherd, a Livestock Gaurdian Breed from Romania who's purpose is to protect livestock fr...
03/10/2025

Meet Beau !

Beau is a Miortic Shepherd, a Livestock Gaurdian Breed from Romania who's purpose is to protect livestock from Bears, Wolves & Lynx. Beau came in to work on his Reactive Behaviour towards dogs - Beau is massive, hes not far off the size of a small horse & when he reacted towards dogs he would growl, bark & lunge & get on his back legs - all the classic stuff - but the sheer size & strength of him made him really difficult to control ! This was making walks difficult, stressful and unenjoyable for both his owner and Beau - We got to work !

We made a start by swapping out Beau's head collar & long line for the slip. We used a nice thick one to allow for better control - We did a few repitions in a quieter area whilst we spoke about how important hand feeding is going to be going forward. Like most independent and primitive breeds - they just wont do anything for free! They have a strong "whats in it for me" attitude and i love that about these breeds. Thankfully Beau has a brilliant food drive and he was extremely keen to work once he had a worthwhile incentive. We spoke about how to reward - and how important it is to not use food as a distraction, but instead use it as a clear reinforcer once the task was completed. Beau did brilliantly with this and passed several dogs, including dogs fixated on him which was one of his bigger triggers, without a problem.

Livestock gaurdian breeds are typically wary and suspicious of strange people, dogs or both. This is a key thing that they're selectively bred for so they can look after large herds of Livestock independently & protect and defend them from large predators and humans who may try to steal them, but wariness & suspicion shouldn't = reactivity. Beau has a beautiful temprament with humans and I got a much warmer reception than I'm used too 😂 but with dogs he would fixate at a distance. The constant pressure from the head collar and tightening of the leash was making him feel like the only option he had was to lunge & bark. After we had covered the foundations, it was time to transition these skill sets over to his owner who, despite being understandably very nervous, did absolutely brilliantly 👏 his owner took full control and had Beau in a heel, walking past dogs without fixation or a reaction in no time at all.

Beau doesn't love it when dogs directly engage with him. You may have heard old school dog trainers say something along the lines of "never look a dog in the eye" and of course, you can - because you're not a dog. Dogs understand ww don't communicate the same as they do. But when dogs do this to each other, they're communicating. What a stare says depends on the surrounding context of the dogs body language & spans from "I want to play" to " I want to fight" - the issue here is some dogs just care that they're being "spoken" too because no matter if it's positive or negative, they simply don't want the random dog to come over. Some learn if they react either they get removed or the other dog gets removed and thus quickly becomes a default to rely on. Today, we had Beau calm enough where he could politely tell any dogs wanting to come over to go away. Not every dog is a social butterfly and that's okay, as long as they can communicate that calmly and we can advocate *for* him. To finish up, we went over a ton of body langauge, behaviour & communication to aid his owner in reading dogs and reading Beau more clearly which takes a ton of stress off for everyone long term :)

Beau smashed his first session, he now has some homework to practice until we see him next time & I can't wait to see the progress he makes between now & then !
Well done big lad 🐕🫏

Meet Pearl ! Pearl is a French Bulldog who came in to work on her Reactive Behaviour towards, well, everything! Dogs, pe...
18/09/2025

Meet Pearl !

Pearl is a French Bulldog who came in to work on her Reactive Behaviour towards, well, everything! Dogs, people, cars, prey - if Pearl saw anything she would become intensely fixated, pull heavily on the leash & react by lunging, spinning around on the lead & barking. This was making walks really stressful for both Pearl & for her owner, shes a big girl for a French Bulldog & she wasn't shy about using her full strength ! We got to work -

When Pearl came in she was on a flexi lead attached to the back of her harness and fabric crip lead attached to the front of her harness, this is a really common set up we see here, owners typically do this to try and limit the lunging and spinning. We explained how this set up can cause additional frustration via constant pressure & tension, it also gives us the illusion of more control but really, all it does is mean you have two leads to untangle after each reaction. We spoke about how a slack leash can help dogs like Pearl not feel like they're trapped when triggers are passing- if our dogs feel trapped there's only one other option left - reacting ! We moved her onto the slip & taught her owner leash pressure & communication to not only build a heel to put a stop to the pulling out ahead, but to help Pearl understand she doesnt have to advocate for her space as we will do this for her. We worked in the heel position for a short while and Pearl caught on beautifully.

Pearl is experiencing barrier frustration & couldn't tolerate people stopping to speak to her owner, understandably, the more striking the dog the more they experience people stopping and wanting to interact with them We saw this occur twice in our session - the first time Pearl reacted but the second time she had already learned that people aren't a big deal and that there are more positive things she can earn in these scenarios. Her Reactivity is largely focused on dogs but when walks are this stressful it can cause stress to "spill over" & it ends up affecting triggers that we know the individual is actually okay with ! Pearls actually great with humans but she's understandably easily overwhelmed when in a heightened state, so people stopping to talk to her owner about her ended up being told off - after a little work we quickly saw an immediate change in her behaviour towards people, bikes, joggers - she was only bothered about the root cause - dogs ! This always takes a ton of weight off of my clients, on the surface the behaviour seems far worse than it really is - it's rare for me to work with a dog I can actually stroke, and im glad to say i wore my bite proofs for nothing - so it definitely could've been worse! 😂

From there we taught Pearl's owner body language and behaviour ID so she can better understand how Pearl is feeling and when she needs to decompress. With dogs like Pearl who are prone to both over arousal and nerve, little and often controlled exposure is key to getting through unwanted conditioned emotional responses such as reactivity. Pearl did wonderfully in her first session with us and was able to let several dogs pass her without a reaction whilst we worked her at a comfortable distance - this still needs more work but consistency is key for long term change.
Like many of my clients, Pearl's owner had been focusing on hiding triggers from Pearl, but all this does is make the trigger seem like it has appeared out of nowhere, creating even more uncertainty for Pearl - I empathise with this tactic, but to change the behaviour we need to expose dogs to the trigger to teach them yes there is a dog but it's okay ! Pearl did wonderfully with nuetral dogs and was able to engage for rewards, she also did wonderfully whilst working around a well behaved large dog & was calm enough to understand this dog wasn't a problem, and that her owner had something better to engage with.

Pearl really impressed me during her first session, she seeks reassurance from her owner, showing an already brilliant bond 🙌️ Pearls owner now has a few weeks worth of homework to practice until we see her again - I can't wait to see their progress !
Well done pretty girl 🐕✅️

For training tips, stories & more - follow us here or check out our other socials;

IG:
Tiktok:

Meet Gideon & Samson ! Gideon & Samson are a pair of working line Border Collie brothers who came in for a Half Day Sess...
17/09/2025

Meet Gideon & Samson !

Gideon & Samson are a pair of working line Border Collie brothers who came in for a Half Day Session recently to resolve a few problems on walks - both boys were seemingly reactive at random, they also pulled excessively when on the lead and were absolutely obsessed with fetch. Gideon struggled with more nerve based behaviours - he was obsessive when it came to play, reactive and pulled on the lead - while Samson was experiencing a lack of handler engagement, but he could calmly and clearly read dogs better than Gideon due to not being as stressed as his brother although he was more assertive and less tolerant of other dogs communicating interest - this dynamic is really common when dealing with Litter Mate Syndrome. Their owners had tried a few trainers in the past but things just weren't working for the boys or their owners, who just wanted both of the boys to be relaxed, calm, happy and more manageable - we got to work !

We made a start with Gideon, the lovely black & white boy. Both of the boys came in on a clip leash attached to a harness and a head collar - We opted to ditch the figure of eight head collar and the leash on the harness, we spoke about how both tools can cause additonal frustration due to the consistent pressure. Gideon in particular struggled when on these tools as one allows for pulling and one doesn't, making things abit confusing for him - the consistent pressure can make a nervous dog feel trapped and then their only option is to react, once the option of flight & conflict aviodance is taken away the only other option left was to react to create space. When nervous dogs react we either remove them from the scary situation or the trigger removes itself/ is removed by the owner- it works ! An intelligent breed like this will click onto this cycle and adopt it. We got to work on leash skills and communication and Gideon was instantly far more comfortable. Both boys had previously struggled to take treats on walks but we had them both relaxed enough to take treats in no time. This is due to us making a start on breaking the adrenaline & cortisol cycle that causes food refusal. We did similar with Samson who also settled beautifully and much quicker than Gideon due to not being as fraught.

We spoke about how the cycle of demand barking to play, and it resulting in being allowed off leash & their favourite game of fetch was exacerbating the adrenaline cycle and making it reallt hard for both dogs to ever decompress. Its really common when we get working line dogs in pet households that owners think they need to constantly stimulate their dogs, but this just leads to dogs that struggle to have an "off switch". Instead we've provided a structured outlet for all of that natural desire to herd and chase, while changing their perception of what their daily walks are all about. Both boys are learning to engage with their owner now rather than fanatically looking for a stick or a ball. Gideon in particular had become obsessive with this, and while there's nothing wrong with fetch for most dogs we don't want it to become such a powerful obsession that it results in constantly whining, barking & an inability to relax. Adrenaline affects impulse control and can exacerbate reactivity - so we've gone through some constructive self soothing activities for the boys that will help promote dopamine production - the feel good hormone - which in turn will help build that off switch.

Gideon has a little barrier frustration going on, but Samson surprised us all as the bigger of the two boys and doesn't really have many issues as expected on leash - he offers engagement freely, he has a great food drive and to top it off he can pass dogs with offensive/dominant body language & behaviour without being bothered where as Gideons nerve was higher, meaning his impulse control and ability to read dogs wasn't as great but he showed us he can do it today and he could receive reinforcers so while this still need a little work he did beautifully.

We did 5 hours total and both of the boys smashed it, we're now going to begin working on the symptomatic behaviours present within the home to double down on the structure required for a peaceful, multidog household and the management needed for adult littermate syndrome dogs. Both of the boys have really lucked out and landed themselves a driven & receptive, responsible owner who has tried and tested a few different methods before coming in and this to me just speaks volumes - the drive to keep trying is something every reactive dog owner should follow suit in and I absolutely love to see that 🙌

The boys now have some homework to crack on with until i see them next time - we'll done Gideon & Samson ! 🐕✅️

For training tips, stories and more, follow us here or check out our other socials:

IG:
Tiktok: .2.Basics

Address

Manchester

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Bark To Basics posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Bark To Basics:

Share

Category