After 20 odd years of training my own dogs and helping out with the dogs of friends and family members, I made the exciting decision at the end of 2021 to follow my passions and re-train as a professional dog trainer. I quit my job in Sales and Marketing, accepted a part-time role as a Veterinary Receptionist and started to study.
I chose to follow the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT) route as their methodology and principles align with mine and because it is one of the few organisations to require you to pass a rigorous assessment before you can become a member. In an unregulated industry, where anyone can call themselves a dog trainer or behaviourist, I feel it is important that the person you employ to help you with your dog can prove that they have the required, theoretical knowledge and practical experience to put together tailored training plans specific to you and your furry friend. Enough of me and my high horse 😉… Let’s talk about my dogs!
The one who started it all. He was my soulmate, from 8 weeks old to nearly 17 years he went nearly everywhere with me. If he wasn’t curled up on the front seat of my car next to me, the first thing people would say was “where’s Blue?” Known and loved by all who met him, many remarked on how he was more like a person than a dog. Not always the easiest, he was a thinker, aloof and had an uncanny ability to make the craziest puppy calm in his presence. We lost him in the autumn of 2019 and I still miss him every day.
The busy one, we always joked she was part spaniel. She came to us in February 2013 aged 4, her family had some sad changes in circumstances and a dog trainer friend had her sister and asked if we would take her on. Weirdly, we had almost gone to view her as a puppy but the timing was a bit off and we didn’t get her then, I think she had a job to do before she came to us. She was a typical collie with all the typical collie vices, she lunged at cars, chased deer and was terrified of bangs and loud noises. She was also the kindest most loving dog you could meet, when we got Skye as a puppy she was already 13, partially sighted and quite deaf but she was ecstatic that we had “bought her a puppy”, she adored him and he was so gentle with her. She would initiate the games with him right up until she passed away late last year (2022).
The new kid on the block. Probably the catalyst for the change of career, he is super clever, loves everyone and just wants to be doing stuff all the time. It took me a while to teach him that he could just switch off and relax at home but he is now great company and as he is just approaching two years old we hopefully have many more years of fun and learning ahead of us both.
Who’s next? We will get another one when the time is right… will it be another border collie? Watch this space…