Military K9 Training & Behaviour

09/11/2025

Remembrance parade, Oakham 2025

28/10/2025

27/10/2025

Week two of The Rural Dog Course.

If we live or go walking in areas where there are livestock then we have to be responsible dog owners and train around them. We need to help our dogs manage their behaviour around other animals that they might come into close contact with.

Like all other dog training, this should be on going.

20/10/2025

No matter how experienced or knowledgeable your trainer claims to be, if they’re not taking you and your dog out into the real world, they’re missing the point.

Training in a hall or a barn is easy peasy, proofing in the real world is where the work happens.

Your dog doesn’t live in a classroom.

They live in the world.

So if your trainer’s all theory and no fieldwork… ask yourself, are they teaching, or just talking?

13/10/2025

Every dog owner struggles at some point. That’s the truth nobody likes to admit.
Training doesn’t always look like the highlight reels you see online, sometimes it’s messy, slow, and f**king frustrating.
But that’s where the real progress happens.

The difference between failure and progress isn’t about being perfect or having a naturally good dog. It’s about showing up every day, even when it feels like nothing’s changing. It’s about staying patient when your dog forgets what they knew yesterday. It’s about being consistent with the small things, the routines, the boundaries, the calm handling.

Those little moments of effort stack up. They build clarity, trust, and understanding between you and your dog. That’s what creates real, lasting results.

So if you’re struggling right now, you’re not failing, you’re training. Keep going

10/10/2025

We have a hand feeding guide and others like loose lead walking guide, crate training guide, working with an anxious dog guide and more in our members area.

Head over to www.military-k9.co.uk or follow the link
in the bio👆🏼

09/10/2025

Reactivity doesn’t fix itself but you don’t have to face it alone.

Join as an online member and get every resource you need, plus a Zoom call every two weeks to keep you and your dog on track.

All you have to do is Dm me and I’ll send you the link to get started, all from as little as 65p per day.

09/10/2025

When you’re working on behaviour modification, your mark system is everything. It’s how you tell the dog, “Yes, that’s the bit I want.” But if your timing’s off, you can accidentally reward the wrong part of the behaviour. Mark too early and you reinforce the build up of reactivity; mark too late and you’re rewarding the fallout.

A well paced mark system gives the dog clarity. It helps them understand exactly what earns reinforcement, and that creates calm, confident learning. Most problem behaviours don’t improve because the dog’s “stubborn”, they improve when the communication gets clear.

Good timing builds trust. Trust builds confidence. And that’s how you turn a reactive, confused dog into one that makes steady, reliable choices under pressure.

08/10/2025

There is growing, quality evidence that teaching a dog a new olfactory skill such as tracking, trailing or scent work can help reduce reactive, impulsive or stress-driven behaviours. Let’s be very clear, it is not a standalone miracle cure, but it is a powerful, evidence backed component of a behaviour modification plan.

Reggie’s owners attended our Introduction to Tracking Course a few weeks back and we’re going to carry it on over the next few weeks. This week we’re reinforcing his induction on an article with human scent.

Why it may help:

•Dogs trained in scent work have been shown to perform better on tests of impulse control.

•Lowers stress and arousal through focused, species appropriate work.

•Improves emotional state and confidence.

•Olfaction drives cognition and emotion in dogs, so engaging the nose changes how dogs perceive and react to the world.

Studies support the concept that learning olfactory skills can reduce the drivers of reactivity by improving impulse control, lowering arousal, and boosting confidence. Replace reactive energy with controlled, purposeful drive through structured olfactory work.
Calm dog first, training second. All tracking or scent work is done below the dog’s stress threshold.

08/10/2025

Week One:

•Relationship building, mutual truest and respect.
•Decompression, because no one can work in chaos.
•Communication, verbal and physical.
•Motivation, without it there’s no focus and engagement and certainly no learning.

Everything we do has a purpose, there’s no freedom (this is earned) and more structure than you can shake a sh*tty stick at, why?

Reggie is very anxious and struggles to decompress. His addiction of dogs is through the roof. So, the part of his brain that is hooked on all things canine, I want to occupy with other things.

This week we’re keeping him under threshold, away from other dogs and not rehearsing any negative behaviours.

18/09/2025

One of the biggest frustrations I hear from owners is this: “I feel like my dog should be further along by now.”
That mindset causes more stress than the dog ever does.

Let me be very clear, when I work with a puppy or a dog new to training, my expectations are low. I don’t expect them to do everything straight away or to be consistent. Training doesn’t work like that.
Take my own dog Nero. He’s 14 months old and still on a house lead for a large percentage of the day. That’s not because he’s bad or because I’ve failed, it’s because I know where he’s at in his development. I know he needs clarity and structure, not freedom before he’s ready for it.

I don’t let my emotions run the show. I don’t feel sad if he spends time doing nothing. In fact, I want him to learn that doing nothing is a skill. Relaxing in the home, decompressing, switching off, that’s just as important as obedience.
Here’s where most owners go wrong:
* They expect progress too quickly.
* They confuse freedom with kindness.
* They let guilt and frustration dictate their training.

The truth is, dogs don’t need 24/7 action. They need us to fulfil their needs in the right way, through structured work like scent training, tracking, and controlled exercise, while also teaching them how to settle and live calmly in the home.
That balance doesn’t happen overnight. It happens because I steer the course, stay consistent, and make my expectations crystal clear. Nero doesn’t have to be perfect today. What matters is that we’re on the right path, and that every day adds a brick to the foundation.
So if you’re struggling because your dog isn’t there yet, stop measuring them against where you wish they were. Measure your consistency instead. Progress comes from time, patience, and clarity, not from hoping your dog magically gets it tomorrow.