Ascendk9

12/08/2026

🐕 Is your dog reactive on walks?

If your dog barks, lunges, pulls towards or away from other dogs, people or other distractions, you’re not alone - and there’s a lot of misinformation online about how to help.

In my latest blog, I break down what actually works when it comes to reactive dog training, why quick fixes often fail, and what you should focus on if you want lasting progress.

Whether you’re just starting your training journey or you’ve been struggling for a while, I hope you’ll find it helpful.

📖 Read the full blog here:
https://www.ascendk9.com/free-resources/reactive-dog-training-in-harlow-what-actually-works

If you’re looking for reactive dog training in Harlow, Essex or the surrounding areas, feel free to get in touch to discuss how I can help you and your dog.

Looking for reactive dog training in Harlow? Learn why building engagement, motivation and confidence is the key to helping reactive dogs make lasting progress.

11/08/2026

One thing I think we need to be careful about with reactive dogs is how quickly we jump to stopping the behaviour without understanding what’s happening underneath.

I see a lot of dogs being corrected the second they look at another dog.

They spot the trigger, they look, and before they’ve even had a chance to think, they’re told off.

But looking at something isn’t the same as reacting to it.

Looking is information gathering.

The bit we actually want to work on is what happens next.

Can your dog look at another dog and then choose to disengage? Can they check back in with you? Can they make a different decision?

That’s the skill that gives dogs more freedom.

With dogs that are already struggling, I think we have to be mindful that adding more pressure around their triggers can sometimes make the underlying feelings worse.

If a dog already feels uncomfortable around other dogs, we don’t want to accidentally teach them that dogs appearing means even more stress is coming.

Of course, dogs need boundaries and clear communication, but we also need to teach them what we want from them.

A reactive dog doesn’t just need to learn “don’t do that”.

They need to learn “here’s what you can do instead”.

That’s where real progress comes from.

10/08/2026

🌸 EDGE:EXPLORE – Columbia Road Flower Market Client Trip 🌸

Ready to take your training out into the real world?

EDGE:EXPLORE is a client-only experience designed for dogs and handlers who are ready to progress into more challenging environments and put their skills to the test.

This trip will take us to the busy and vibrant surroundings of Columbia Road Flower Market - giving us the opportunity to work on:

🐕 Engagement and focus around high-level distractions
🚶 Loose lead walking in busy public spaces
👀 Neutrality around people, dogs and the environment
🧠 Confidence and resilience in new situations
🛑 Settling and calm behaviour while out and about

This isn’t a standard group session - it’s a structured training opportunity for those who have built a solid foundation and are ready to start transferring those skills into busier, more unpredictable environments.

We’ll work together as a group, support each other through challenges, and help our dogs build the confidence and reliability needed for everyday life.

📅 Sunday 4th October
📍 Columbia Road Flower Market, London

Spaces will be limited to ensure the right level of support for each team.

Open to existing clients at a suitable level of training to navigate a busier, more challenging environment!

09/08/2026

Something I think every dog owner should prioritise from day one…

Building the everyday skills that actually make life with your dog easier!

A good recall.

Walking nicely together.

Being able to settle when nothing exciting is happening.

Feeling comfortable being handled.

Choosing to check in with you when there are distractions around.

These things can seem boring compared to teaching tricks or showing off a fancy heel, but they are the skills that give dogs more opportunities.

They allow you to take your dog to more places, include them in more experiences and trust them in more situations.

The tricky part is that these skills don’t appear overnight.

They come from hundreds of small repetitions.

The five minutes you spend practicing recall mid-walk.
The few seconds you ask your dog to wait before rushing through a doorway.
The moments you reward your dog for calmly watching the world go by.

Those little habits add up.

A well-trained dog isn’t created in one big training session. It’s built through the choices we make with them every day.

08/08/2026

📚 Free Dog Training Resources from ASCENDK9

Looking for free dog training advice from a professional dog trainer?

Our Free Resources Hub is packed with practical articles to help you build better communication, confidence and real-world reliability with your dog. Whether you’re working on puppy training, recall, lead walking, engagement, behaviour or everyday obedience, you’ll find helpful guidance you can start using straight away.

We regularly add new articles covering seasonal training tips, common behaviour challenges and effective training techniques to help support your progress between sessions.

Browse our free dog training resources today and start learning:
https://www.ascendk9.com/free-resources

If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover in a future article, let us know - we’re always looking for ways to help dog owners in Harlow, Sawbridgeworth, Bishop’s Stortford and the surrounding areas.

07/08/2026

One of my biggest goals as a dog trainer is simple.

I want every dog to have as much freedom as they can safely handle.

Not because every dog has to be off lead, but because freedom is one of the greatest things we can give our dogs.

The freedom to explore.
The freedom to sniff.
The freedom to run.
The freedom to enjoy the world without their owner constantly worrying about what might happen next.

That freedom isn’t something dogs are simply given though. It’s something that’s built through training, trust and clear communication.

Every reliable recall, every calm decision around another dog, every moment your dog chooses to check back in with you instead of chasing a distraction… they’re all steps towards giving your dog a bigger, richer life.

I don’t train dogs because I want them to be robots.

I train them because I want them to have more opportunities.

For me, that’s what good dog training has always been about.

06/08/2026

🐾 One of the most valuable things you can teach your dog is how to simply be.

Our Slow Sundays Settle Club is dedicated to helping dogs learn to relax in public, settle around everyday distractions and realise that they don’t need to investigate every dog, person or squirrel they see.

A few tips to get started:

✔️ Don’t head straight into a busy café. For many dogs, that’s like asking someone who’s just started learning to swim to jump into the deep end.

🌳 Instead, find a quiet outdoor space with somewhere to sit. Let your dog observe the world at a distance where they can stay calm and make good decisions.

🙌🏼 Reward the behaviours you want to see - choosing to lie down, relaxing, disengaging from distractions or checking in with you.

📈 As your dog becomes more comfortable, gradually increase the level of distraction. Move to busier parks, then perhaps outside a café, before eventually expecting them to settle inside one. Progress should be built, not rushed.

⏳ Keep sessions short and successful. A calm five-minute settle is far more valuable than thirty minutes of your dog becoming overwhelmed.

Calmness isn’t something dogs just know how to do in every environment - it’s a skill that develops through practice, repetition and the right level of challenge.

Sometimes the best training session is the one where it looks like nothing is happening at all 🐾

05/08/2026

I think some dogs are missing out because their owners have already decided what they won’t use before they’ve ever taken the time to understand it.

You’ll often see (especially online) comments like “I’d never use an e-collar,” only to admit they’ve never actually seen one used properly, don’t know how they’re conditioned, or have only ever based their opinion on social media videos.

The funny thing is, we don’t tend to do that with anything else.

If your plumber, physio or mechanic recommended something, you’d probably ask them why. You’d want to understand it before making your mind up.

But when it comes to dog training, people often make a decision before they’ve even had the conversation.

I’m not saying everyone should use an e-collar. - Absolutely not.

What I am saying is that closing yourself off to learning because of something you’ve read online could mean your dog never gets the chance to benefit from a tool or training approach that might genuinely change their life.

I’ve watched dogs gain freedom, confidence and reliability because their owners were willing to put their opinions aside and learn first.

Whether you agree with balanced training or not, I think we should all be a bit more curious and a bit less judgemental.

I’d much rather someone asked me 100 questions than wrote something off without understanding it.

What do you think? Is the dog training world too quick to judge things it doesn’t fully understand?

04/08/2026

One of the biggest red flags in any industry is when someone repeatedly tells you something is “science-backed”… but won’t provide the specific evidence when you ask.

If a trainer claims that a behaviour causes another behaviour, or that a particular method is scientifically proven, it’s perfectly reasonable to ask:

“Which study demonstrates that?”

Not a course.
Not a list of references.
Not “it’s all explained in our training.”

The actual study that supports the SPECIFIC claim.

There’s a huge difference between citing research and interpreting research.

❌ A study doesn’t say what we want it to say simply because it fits our narrative!

Good professionals shouldn’t feel threatened by questions about evidence. They should be able to point you to the research they’ve relied on, explain why they believe it supports their conclusions, and acknowledge where the evidence is limited or still evolving.

If straightforward questions about the evidence are met with deflection, appeals to authority, or “just buy the course,” I’d consider that a huge red flag.

Science isn’t about asking people to trust you.

It’s about showing them exactly why you reached your conclusions.

04/08/2026

☀️ Has your dog’s behaviour suddenly gone downhill now the summer holidays have started?

More barking.
More pulling.
Less focus.
Struggling to settle.
Feeling like all your hard work has disappeared overnight?

The good news is you’re probably not imagining it… and it’s not necessarily a training problem.

Changes in routine, extra people at home, busier parks, hotter weather and increased stimulation can all have a huge impact on your dog’s behaviour during the school holidays. Understanding why it happens is the first step to getting back on track!

I’ve put together a new blog explaining what’s really going on, and more importantly, what you can do to help.

📖 Read it here:
https://www.ascendk9.com/free-resources/why-does-my-dogs-behaviour-get-worse-during-the-summer-holidays