Me and My Dogs

I'm Anna, and while I love working with dogs, the real reason I train is because I love coaching owners to get the best out of their relationship with their dogs. There's nothing better than seeing the moment something clicks, and the owner just 'gets it.'

Like many people, it was my first dog Poppy, a typical Springer Spaniel, that led to my interest in training. At 3 years old she was that cliche problem dog, no recall, pulled on a lead, barked for attention and launched herself at everyone for fuss. I needed to do something, but was worried we'd be kicked out of an obedience class! We tried agility instead, Poppy's behaviour quickly improved and I was hooked on training.

Like most people with the agility bug, dogs 2 and 3 followed shortly after. Fly was a Collie cross rescue, and my intro to the world of behaviour problems, with high anxiety levels and a bite first, ask questions later attitude to most things! I worked through dog and people aggression, and she became the easiest dog to live with, able to go anywhere with me. Finn was a Springer cross, who taught me about working with the dog in front of me. He had health issues and was a sensitive boy, shutting down and running off if I upset or confused him, which made me far more patient. He reached novice in hoopers and level 5 in Scentwork UK.

Florrie my current dog is a 5 year old Border Collie. I love training and competing with her, not because she's easy, but because she loves to work and challenges me so much. She thinks and moves far quicker than I do, and loses her mind quickly so our training is very much about me getting my timing right, while working on her arousal levels. I've also been working through severe noise phobia and hormonal issues with her which have affected her ability to train and even to enjoy walks at times. But even when we go through long spells with no results to shout about she is still so much fun to work with. Florrie is one win from Grade 6 in agility, she's novice in CHUK hoopers, K4 in BK9 hoopers, and is working at Level 8 in Scentwork UK. 

Thanks to Poppy and Finn both having physical issues I discovered Canine Massage to help control their pain. I trained with The Canine Massage Therapy Centre in 2016, and treated a huge variety of dogs over a 6 year period. I'm currently concentrating on training rather than massage, but this knowledge is really helpful in spotting signs of pain in the dogs I train. You can be sure I won't ever ask your dog to do anything inappropriate for their age or condition and all physical activities are introduced safely.

I worked in animal rescue for several years, as a rescue centre manager for two different charities, and that's given me great insight into the problems that people can face both when settling in a new dog, and also the problems that lead to people needing to rehome their dogs. It also gave me a huge amount of hands on experience with different dogs, and helped me to work on solving issues quickly but kindly.

What Do I Do?

I love working with 'naughty' dogs. The spaniels who are ruled by their nose, the collies who obsessively stalk, the lab who thinks the world is their friend, the terrier who barks all day. I want to make training accessible and simple for owners who would like to change their dogs behaviour and make them a little easier to live with, but without having to become hugely skilled themselves and without resorting to punishment to do it.

My favourite owners to work with are those that enjoy a laugh, don't take everything too seriously and help to create a supportive atmosphere in a group. Age, ability and background are unimportant as long as you are kind to your dog and want to learn. As my enthusiasm and knowledge are higher than my natural skill levels, and coordination is not something that comes naturally to me, I can appreciate the challenges that owners face when learning something new, and will always tailor my training to help the team in front of me.

I teach hoopers and scentwork because that's what I'm passionate about, and people learn best when the trainer loves what they are doing. I also love working through training and behaviour problems, and will work with you at home or out and about to offer training solutions that suit you and your dog and make them easier to live with!