I have a very successful and busy dog training clinic covering Morecambe, Lancaster,
Carnforth and all surrounding villages in Lancashire. I also attend
home visits in the South Cumbria regions such as Kendal, Windermere
and Ambleside Locations. As well as my behaviour clinic and home
visits I also runs three dog training classes, which focus on dog
socialisation, training, obedience and fun for all types of dogs. These take place in Carnforth, Morecambe and Slyne with Hest.
For
the dog that wants to progress beyond the initial training classes I
offer advanced training and fun agility and flyball classes.
Children’s classes are available, which encourage children to interact with their family pet. Please see the training
class page for more information.
I have worked with dogs for over half of my life, 21 years to be
exact; however I have grown up around dogs. We had up to 4 dogs of all
sizes, ranging from Chihuahua’s to Collies. My mum also
fostered dogs for the RSPCA and was a home visit inspector. She is
also a dog groomer and has had her own shop for 15 years. It
therefore was inevitable that I would choose a career working with
dogs.
Upon
leaving school I started work at a local RSPCA centre as an animal
care assistant. During this time I obtained various qualifications from Animal handling, first aid and nutrition.
My role there was very hands on, which was challenging but extremely
rewarding, I fostered many dogs and other animals, bringing
them into my own home to care and rehabilitate them and eventual
rehome them or release them in to their natural habitat.
It
was whilst working at the RSPCA that my fascination grew in relation to how a dogs
mind worked. At that time there wasn’t many dog behaviourists
around and what would now seem like obvious behavioural problems
would go undiagnosed with dogs being rehomed to inappropriate houses
and people simply living with difficult situations, instead of using simple technique’s to correct the problems.
After
leaving the RSPCA I went to work in the French Alps to train Siberian
Husky dogs. This was one of the most fascinating and rewarding jobs I
have had. It is not often that you get to watch and then train a dog
in its natural setting. This experience reinforced my
desire to become a behaviourist.
After
leaving France I went to work for another RSPCA centre and following
this I managed a Kennels and Cattery, whilst obtaining my formal qualifications in Canine Behaviour and Training and my Merisha massage therapy qualification.
I then decided to set up my own business and became the behaviourist
for 2 RSPCA centres and the Wolfwood Animal Rescue Centre in
Lancaster.
My
key focus is to use modern training to help both people and their
dogs to interact better with one another, in the family unit and
whilst out walking or in a public environment.
During my time as a behaviourist I have developed a training
programme for the Youth Offending Team in Lancaster, which involved children training rescue dogs, which they found extremely
rewarding. I have also been involved in training dogs with children
who have either confidence issues, behavioural problems and
disabilities and it is amazing to see how the children respond to
working with the dogs. I can also help you get your dog ready for the pact dog training test.
I
have also had referrals from various other rescue centres, veterinary
practices and prepared reports in relation to Social Services cases.
As
a behaviourist you are not only assessing the dogs behaviour but also that of the owner, as clearly these are intrinsically linked. With this in
mind I obtained a level 3 Skills in the Counselling of Humans. This
has enabled me to have a greater understanding of the relationships
between owners and their pet.
I
have been a behaviourist for 14 years and I am extremely passionate
and enthusiastic about what I do. I have 3 children and always find
it important for children to be involved in the training, as far as
possible. We have had three rescue dogs over the years, one of which
is a lurcher called ‘Boo’, she is very well behaved and is well desensitised to livestock. She even lived with a house
rabbit for a period of time when she was very young. This shows that
contrary to some beliefs that all types of dogs are capable of being
trained with the right knowledge and techniques. One of my other
rescue dogs was an Australian Cattle dog. He had been rescued from
appalling conditions and had been treated extremely cruelly. He had
never been on a lead, never been in a house and was very nervous around people. With a lot of patience and hard work he became an
amazing dog, well behaved, loving and loyal.
My
third rescue dog was a beautiful French Bull dog, called Pepe, who
had been rescued by Wolfwood. She had been used for breeding and then
abandoned. With nurturing and lots of love she too fitted in
extremely well in to our house alongside the other two dogs and
although an odd mix of breeds they became very close (see picture below).
I'm highly experienced with all breeds of dogs, including smaller dogs, who can have very different behavioural problems compared to larger breeds. People often don't take them seriously and simply laugh at them and think of them as yappy. I
can emphasise with the struggles that people have. No two dogs are
the same and every situation has to be tailored and adapted to each
owner and to each dog. This requires the ability to sometimes think
outside the box and also to a have a genuine understanding and
empathy to each person’s situation. Owning a dog can at times be
challenging but with the right training it can be extremely
rewarding.
I am a very patient person and I use modern training techniques with
positive reinforcement. Unfortunately there is still a lot of old fashioned training around, using extremely negative techniques including choke chains, shouting and sprays.
I am always realistic with my clients and
will help diagnose the specific problems that are occurring and come
up with an easy to follow training plan that will fit in with a
person’s day to day life.
My
prices reflect the need to help people and therefore makes training
available to everyone. Having come from a rescue background my goal
is to always prevent a dog from being rehomed and give people the
help that they need.
