A bit about me…

When my first rescue dog, Dan, started showing aggression towards other dogs, I was anxious, frustrated because I didn’t know what to do to help him, and upset because of how stressful it all was. The trouble was, the instructor’s solution was to shout, yank really hard on the lead, and get him onto the floor. It was awful. Although I didn’t know what to do, I knew that wasn’t right. The “solution” shouldn’t be as stressful as the problem! We got there in the end though with much better help.

After losing Dan, I discovered Crumpet on a local rescue page. The initial meet was hugeley stressful – for him because it was in a busy marketplace – and for me because of how it made him behave – but there was just something about him. My family all thought I was bonkers, but after a few more meetings we decided to go ahead.

I did a lot more research this time into how to help him, and had support from the fabulous rescue he came from. I discovered how much of a difference training can make, and how much I loved being able to help him develop and settle into the loving (and occasionally still challenging!) boy I have today. I also discovered different ways of giving him mental as well as physical exercise that helped keep him calm while still using his boundless energy, and I’ve found this incredibly helpful with all the other dogs I’ve worked with too.

Seeing the difference to Crumpet made me realise how rewarding working with him had been. I spoke to the behaviourist from the rescue about what courses she’d recommend, and ended up enrolling with the Victoria Stilwell Academy. I’d watched her programs for years (and still do!) so it was such an opportunity, and the course gave a really good foundation for both the theory and practical side of working as a dog trainer and walker.

During the course, I got lots of hands-on experience working with a mentor, Rachel, who just happened to be the behaviourist from the rescue, so I was very lucky. I graduated with distinction, established Waggy Dogs in 2017 and have been helping the dog guardians of Stoke-on-Trent ever since.

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