How to achieve a calmer, more predictable dog without throwing more treats or using more force.
We'll connect recall, lead pulling, reactivity and adolescence to the three overlooked foundations that make training work in real life.
Reserve your free place
The next scheduled viewing starts:
A recording of our best live workshop, including questions answered throughout the event, a full hour of Q&A and a limited-time replay. Scheduled viewing at 7pm local time.
Free to attend. No card required.
A quick question you may have
Why is this scheduled if it's recorded?
This is the recording of the best live workshop we've ever done, and the feedback was phenomenal.
I schedule the viewing because it makes sure we attract only committed dog owners, and "I'll watch it later" usually turns into never. This prevents that from happening.
I taught the full material, answered questions throughout the event and finished with a full hour of Q&A.
Why not just send me the recording immediately?
If you miss the viewing, you'll get a few days to watch the replay, then it comes down. It stays limited for the same reason the viewing is scheduled: if there's always an option to watch it later, the dog never gets the help.
The behaviour you see is often only the surface
Pulling, barking, poor recall and adolescent chaos are visible problems. Underneath them may be frustration, stress, poor rest, high arousal and unmet needs.
What everyone sees
What it feels like down here
And until you identify which foundation is missing, even technically perfect training can feel like constant management.
What we work on
In the workshop, we'll dig into your dog's Mental Stimulation, Outlets and Arousal
Three of the biggest forces behind the behaviours above.
💡 Mental Stimulation
There's a difference between a busy brain and a worked one. Kongs, Lickimats and long walks usually feed the wrong one. In the workshop, you'll learn the quick test that shows which one your dog is getting.
🎾 Outlets
"Stubborn" usually means a breed need with nowhere to go. But so can impulsivity, and unpredictability. A lack of outlets can manifest in many ugly ways. You'll find your dog's real outlet, whatever the breed.
🔥 Arousal
The dial that decides whether today is a calm day or a chaos day. You'll see what spikes it and what genuinely lowers it, without adding a minute to your routine.
🤫 The rest stays secret
We will also discuss topics like sleep, planning our dog's days, and more on understanding behaviour. The rest? Can I keep it a secret until then?
These topics do not all need to be addressed in the same way, or in the same order. That's when most owners get stuck in a loop.
Inside this workshop…
Also perfect if you don't have behavioural issues, and just want to get your puppy on the right track.
See what you'll learn inside
A quick story from Max…
The real reason I stopped trying to control behaviour and started helping dogs instead
At the start, I did what every trainer is taught to do: I trained the problem. Pulling? Train the walk. Barking? Train the quiet.
Read my story ↓
But the same thing kept happening. The problem I was booked for was never the thing we fixed first. Half these dogs were too wired to get through a session, so we'd fix what was underneath instead: their sleep, their outlets, the pressure they were quietly living with. And the problem I'd been booked for started dissolving before we'd "trained" it at all.
Behaviour is the tip of the iceberg. Needs are the mass underneath. Nobody taught you that. So no, it's not your fault, and your dog isn't being difficult.
Max
I built this workshop to help get you on the right track and help you understand what sits underneath your dog's behaviour, so you can stop fighting symptoms and start meeting the needs that drive them.
Meet the needs… then look out for these 3 changes
These are the changes members report after starting with this free workshop.
More sleep. 18 to 20 hours a day
Sleep is the reset dogs need every single day. Once your dog rests consistently, you'll stop having to calm them down at all.
Predictable, normal behaviour
No more huge daily emotions fuelling random spikes. No frustration = no frustration-fuelled behaviours. That's how behaviour works.
Built-in prevention
A rested, stable dog is your best hands-free defence against new problems developing, or old ones coming back.
Included with your place
These are the questions answered in the Q&A
The workshop also includes a full hour of real questions from dog owners dealing with these exact problems. Some of them reveal why common advice works in the garden, but falls apart outside in the real world.
Here is what actually got asked and answered, so you can see whether your problem is in there.
Reactivity: dogs, people, bicycles
- How do you build neutrality around other dogs?
- How can you tell the difference between a reactive dog and an aggressive dog?
- I have a German Shepherd who is people reactive. Would bite work or protection work reinforce that behaviour or help it?
- I have a German Shepherd who is reactive and pulls on the lead. What breed-specific activities can I give him?
- I have a dog off-lead who wants to go to every person and every bicycle. How do I stop that?
- What can I do for a dog that's reactive to other dogs, freaks out when people come over, and is trained on an e-collar but still goes nuts at foxes? And how do you feel about e-collars?
Breed-specific outlets and jobs
- What are good outlets for hunting dogs?
- What's a good job for an Australian Shepherd?
- What breed-specific activities does a poodle need?
- Is there a breed-specific outlet for a pug?
- What outlets does a Basenji need? I can't find much about that breed.
- What's the best way to deal with a lurcher?
- What kind of jobs are there on the platform?
- What can I do if my dog's outlet is chasing?
- How do I stop my Australian Shepherd from eating rocks on walks?
Anxiety and fearful dogs
- How do you help an anxious dog?
- How do I manage anxiety, and at what point is medication a good idea?
- What can I do if my dog is terrified of being outside?
- What if my dog has a habit of freezing when she sees something in the distance (dog, person or object), but is fine walking past a barking dog?
Puppy training
- How do I start training a puppy?
- How do I encourage my 7-month-old hunting mix to sleep more in an apartment without a crate, when he has bad FOMO?
Recall and off-lead
- How do I encourage my dog to come back to me instead of chasing other dogs? His recall is fine when no other dogs are around.
- I have my dog off-lead. How do I stop him wanting to run to every person and bicycle?
Arousal, sleep and bringing dogs back down
- What can I do to bring my dog back to earth when they're over-aroused, but rest and sleep aren't an option?
- How do I encourage my 7-month-old hunting mix to sleep more in an apartment?
- I adopted a 2.5-year-old Whippet 5 weeks ago. How do I know when I'm seeing his actual behaviour baseline, and not a reaction to the environment change?
Separation anxiety and distress
- I have a 3-year-old mix with separation anxiety, who's scared of strangers, most dogs and children, and can't be left alone. She sleeps enough and is trainable by me. Help.
- How do I deal with separation anxiety?
Jumping up on people
- How do I stop my dog jumping up on kids?
- How do I stop my Whippet from jumping up at anyone who comes in the house?
More topics from the hour
Aggression, tools and e-collars
- How can I tell if my dog is reactive or actually aggressive?
- How do you feel about e-collars? My dog was trained on one but still goes nuts around foxes.
Loose lead and pulling
- What do you do with a dog that takes the reward for heeling and focus, then immediately shoots forward again?
Multi-dog household
- Two of my dogs have been fighting. What do I do?
- With multiple dogs, do you use a separate marker word for each dog or the same one?
Day structure and routine
- Our schedule changes constantly, so our dog spends 2 to 3 days a week in daycare or with my parents for 9 to 10 hours. She doesn't have a structured schedule every day. How do we handle that?
Rescue dog adjustment
- I adopted a 2.5-year-old Whippet 5 weeks ago. How do I know when the behaviour I'm seeing is his baseline, and not just a reaction to the environment change?
Refusing to move
- What do you do if your dog stops dead in the middle of the park and won't move, no matter what you try?
Calming supplements and medication
- Do calming treats like NutriPaw actually work?
- At what point is anti-anxiety medication a good idea?
Mindset
- Is it ever too late for a dog?
Who's Max?
- Active trainer since 2018. Hands-on with 1,000+ dogs through training, behavioural rehab and socialisation, with talks and classes across the UK.
- IMDT qualified. The largest and most recognised dog trainer organisation in the world, active in 7 countries.
- OCN-accredited training and qualification (organisation overseen by the Department for Education).
- 800k+ followers since 2022, and over 10,000 dog parents inside MK9Plus.com since 2021.
"You wouldn't fix a leaking pipe by shouting at the water. You'd fix the source. My members aren't stuck living by weird rules or micromanaging, because they resolved the underlying problem instead of redirecting it."
Meet the MK9Plus members, who all started with this free workshop
Meet the MK9Plus Members, who all started from this free workshop.
And what people say about the workshop itself
Real reviews of this exact workshop, with photos of the dogs people sent in.
Most of these dog parents started right where you are: with this free workshop.
And the Trustpilot reviews
▾ Tap the widget to read reviews, they open right here
Quick questions
Ready when you are
Find the underlying issues running the show in your house
Understand what is driving your dog's behaviour, then learn how to start helping them properly.
Everything is in the recording, including the full hour of Q&A. The 7pm viewing just gives you a set time to finally sit down and do this properly.
No card required. Registration takes about 20 seconds.
PS: bring the behaviour that bugs you most. That's the first one we'll teach you to read. See you there.