Choosing and settling a new dog

Bringing a new canine companion into your life is a really exciting and special time! What you do in those first few weeks and months sets you up for the rest of your life together and we love helping our clients navigate this really important stage. There is no denying that it can be hard work, but focusing this on the right areas early on will help you avoid a host of issues further down the line. Prevention is always better than having to sort it out after it has become difficult!

Which breed? Dogs come in all shapes and sizes, and with all sorts of innate characteristics (which are hard-wired and therefore can be very difficult to change if you find they aren't what you want). We can help you find a balance between what you would ideally like, your lifestyle and the needs of the breed types you are considering. and we see so many problems that

early on! Some clients come to us with no idea where to start, other than maybe wanting a dog of a particular size and we can help you work out which traits are going to be most important to you, match these to breed types and help you understand

So which do I need?

Training and behaviour work is definitely a continuum, rather than two distinct services, but behaviour work typically tends to be much more in depth and focuses on complex issues with an underlying emotional or mood state disorder, such as phobias, anxiety, fear and aggression.

Training is more about the mechanics of teaching a particular action, like a sit, walking nicely on the lead, coming when called, or doing tricks for fun. Emotions are really important in training too (teaching with happy emotions gets much better results!) but the focus is more on learning methods.

The most important thing for us is that you don't have to worry about whether you need a training or behaviour focused approach, we simply help you work out what support will get you the best results and tailor this to your individual circumstances.

Choosing and settling a new dog

So which do I need?

Some examples....

Puppies

Reactivity to dogs or people

Off lead recall

Separation distress

Additional services to help our clients

session notes

vet liaison

phone email support

welcome pack

Activity Toy Library

Discounted treats, toys