This testimonial was regarding a gorgeous 8 month old English Bull terrier x Lurcher rescue who was VERY mouthy/bitey and leaving his lovely owners (and me LOL) covered in bruises. Completely friendly chap but had lacked education on how to use his mouth appropriately. "Hello Denise. You came and saw myself and Mumford last Wednesday for a 1-2-1 session. Just thought i'd let you know how it's going. Basically after you left us it was like having a completely different dog, I don't know what you did but it worked wonders! We have hardly had to do 'time out' to him at all, just once or twice for his biting which is great. He is so much calmer day & night, he seems happy to just sit or lay down which he didn't do before. It's been so nice to see him more settled with us, I really hope when we pick him back up after our holiday that he doesn't misbehave too much!
Although quite typically as I am writing this today he is playing up at home and being put into 'time out' again. Maybe he is just trying his luck again after being so good for a whole week!
Thank you so much for your help so far. Fingers crossed to continues to improve. Kind regards, Claire Goater."
Our pup suffered with a very nervous personality which has made it very difficult to socialize her with other dogs - we often felt the situation could not be resolved and we were very upset as we felt our puppy wouldn't be able to live a happy and free life away from the safety of her home. Denise and Jo at Paws in Hand training turned it all around. They approach all dogs as the individuals they are and create solutions and offer advice tailored to your dogs needs, this isn't a cookie cutter process, this is professional help from people who care enough to invest in your dogs happiness - when we were at our lowest, they persevered and had they not, our puppy wouldn't know the freedom and quality of life she has today.I cannot recommend them enough. Exceptional service. True case History for this testimonial including video
I first met Denise at a fun dog show at Three Cross Vets back in the summer. We had been having some problems integrating our new puppy with our resident dog, despite the fact he was a puppy too. Denise was more than happy to try to help us out as much as she could at that point. Time passed and the dogs developed a more friendly relationship. Louie, our lab/shepherd cross, who is now 14 months old, was attacked while out on a walk by a dog and the dogs owner joined in too. Louie became very fearful after that event and began showing fear aggression towards others dogs and men he didn't know. Honnie, our Alaskan Shepherd who is now 11 months old, developed separation anxiety as a result of not being left alone during her initial time with us as she had diabetes insipidus that was uncontrolled. We decided to have a consultation with Denise in August of this year as we had two young puppies with fairly complex issues. Denise came for a few hours and observed our pups, showed us some techniques on how to deal with unwanted behaviours and how to combat Louie's fear aggression. We also received a written plan and lots of helpful information as well.We have attended Grumpy Growlers, which gave us the opportunity to work with Louie in a controlled environment around other dogs. Grumpy Growlers is fantastic. It not only helps to build your dogs confidence, but also yours and helps to prepare you for training outside of the controlled situations. Since having the consultation with Denise and attending Grumpy Growlers, there have been times where I have questioned, felt disheartened and had successes. Denise is very approachable and is always on hand to share her wealth of knowledge to help you as much as she possibly can. We have made lots of progress with both pups since August and are continuing with Denise's support to build a happy future for the dogs. Denise will help you to understand your dogs behaviours as well as tailor a plan to you individual dog to help you overcome you issues. All of her methods use positive reinforcement which helps to establish trust with your dog. I would definitely advise anyone having issues wth their dog to contact Denise as she has helped us so much. She is fully qualified and accredited. This was important to us, not only because we wanted someone who knew what they were doing, but she was covered under our insurance too. I will say though, getting a behaviorist isn't a miracle cure. Denise can give you all of the tools, help and guidance in the world, but you, as an owner, have to commit to putting in to practice the techniques you are taught. Denise provides a fantastic service at a very reasonable price and I would thoroughly recommend her to anyone!
Hi Denise. Just to give you an update on Ellie.We have been walking Ellie without her muzzle for a couple of weeks now.Her reactions to any dogs she meets is friendly. We do of course watch for any sign that we need to call her away,but so far so good. The progress we have achived is very much down to Grumpy Growlers and cant thank you enough.A few dog owners who "experienced" Ellie a year ago, have commented on the change in her which is so nice to hear.On our part we really enjoy taking her out as we enjoy both her and the walk as we are no longer anxious about suddenly meeting other dogs, it really is brilliant.Ellie is now such a lovely dog and is getting well known by other dogs and their owners who make a fuss of her as she seems to love people. Thank you again Denise.
I would like to say a huge thank you to Denise and Jo. I was made to feel that my 17 week old puppy was an aggressive puppy after he was flipped and tossed by a much bigger puppy and he tried to defend himself. He has had a very happy time at Paws in Hand puppy class and I am again a happy dog owner. Jane Mearns.
Emmie the 6 year old dobermann struggled to cope with two new kittens and wanted to chase them constantly. Her mum was worried that she may predate them which was a big risk. After some advice her very consistent owner was able to teach Emmie not to chase the kittens and here is the proof after only a ferw weeks.
I thought you may like an update with regards to Nero. I wanted to express my sincere gratitude to the tools that your course gave us to enable us to train Nero.Nero is now an absolute and total pleasure to walk (off the lead). He is now almost totally comfortable with people and dogs. The change from the dog I got from Rescue is absolutely amazing and your training has helped us to create such a bond. I'm not saying he is perfect - there are still elements of selective hearing but he is almost there.I even had an unforseen situation when throwing his ball on the field that about 20 children started running towards him. I instructed him to sit and wait where he was (at a distance), so he didn't trip any up and they swamped around him and ran past! He just sat there patiently and completely undeterred! Thank you so very very much. Jenny B.
Although training was going well in class, my puppy was jumping and play biting badly at home. My toddler was being nipped and I really needed the home visit. After you came round things improved a lot and we are now happy with our Toby!
We have been working with Denise ever since the cute brown bundle of fur called Charlie that we brought home from the breeder turned into a stroppy, chewing, biting monster!We found Denise through the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and her support has been invaluable. Not just the training classes, which have given our dog an excellent grounding in the basics; nor the one-to-ones, which helped us to set ground rules for him at home; but the support of knowing there is someone we can talk to who understands what we're going through. Some of the problems have turned out to be behavioural rather than simply training issues and without her support we would certainly not have made it this far with Charlie.Several months down the line, although we haven't got there yet, we are hopeful that we will end up with a well trained dog whose company we can enjoy for years to come.Penny, Bill and Charlie. Please see the photo gallery, Charlie has gone on to win prizes and is now inthe Advanced training group and generally rather a nice lad! Denise
My border collie was a rescue dog from Waggy Tails. She wouldn't let us walk around the house without biting our feet and it was impossible to walk her by the road as she tried chasing the cars and biting at them. Denise demonstrated and explained the techniques to use and after using these with a little time and patience things really improved. Meg is now a year old and has been on three courses. Everyone comments out on walks how well trained she is. When she was spayed the vet was amazed as when she went onto the table to have her stitches out I pointed my fingers at her and said "Bang", she dropped down on her side and laid perfectly still whilst the vet took out the stitches. He was very impressed. I never realised this trick could be so useful, I thought it was just a bit of fun!
Thank you Denise for everything you taught us over the six weeks. Fi is now able to perform all the basics, sit, down, stay, leave the biscuit. I have watched her confidence grow as a result of your course and I can't thank you enough for your informative and friendly classes. I was also taken by the way you seem to genuinely care and show interest in every dog in the class as well as remember all their names. Fi has learned so much that I may not have otherwise know how to teach her. So a big thank you for your kindness and patience. Fi and Jess.
Denise, thank you for your support, we couldn't have done it without you.
We couldn't have managed without you. Thank you for giving us hope and showing us we could have a nice dog! Hopefully we can buy some new clothes now and they won't get ripped to bits!
Denise, you were Max's last hope! He was so hyper were all covered in scratches and bruises. If you couldn't have helped he would've gone to rescue again. Thank you for all your help.
I have recommended you to my friend as you have been so helpful and our dog is so much better behaved now. Thanks.
I never thought we could stop our dog being afraid of fireworks but we are amazed at how quick ly she has got so much better. Now she can have a more normal life again. Thanks so much
I was so upset that my puppy trashed our house when we went out. I never thought it was because she was stressed, I just thought she was paying me back for going out. Who would have thought that a change of diet and a few small changes would have had such an impact. Now I can start to re-decorate with confidence. Thanks so much, I would recommend you to anyone.
Thanks to your advice I took Dan to the vet and they found he had a gut infection. Since he's been on the antibitoics his anxiety has gone away.
Thank you for helping us to get Cassie in the car. After a year of painful lifting and another trainer who couldn't get her in I couldn't believe it when after ten minutes with you she jumped in the back on her own! Wow! If I hadn't seen it I wouldn't have beleived it. Now we can get rid of the ramp.
I never thought it would be so quick. When I realised we needed help I thought I was in it for the long run. But after a couple of weeks things are so much better. We really didn't want to re-home Ben but we were thinking about it.
We just wanted to say a big massive thank you for all your help and advice in the puppy classes. We've seen a huge improvement in Ted and have really enjoyed taking part. We would definitely be interested in the intermediate training.
I was referred to Grumpy Growlers and Denise by my local vet when my bitch Roxy started to show increasing levels of aggression to other dogs following a bite by another dog. The initial evening talk by Denise was very enlightening for me and made me realise that Roxy had been exhibiting signs of nervous aggression far longer than I had been aware and we had only just reached an extreme point in her behaviour. The outdoor classes were a great help to me. Roxy, although nervous, was able to interact at a safe distance and be around other dogs in a very calm and controlled setting and gradually I was able to put the techniques and lessons we were both learning into practice outside the class. By the end of the course Roxy was able to be in the company of other dogs without showing much nervousness let alone aggression. We moved onto the general social class that Denise holds where she can meet other dogs in a far less controlled setting. It has been some months now since Grumpy Growlers finished and Roxy is now back to full integration with other dogs. She is still wary of some and dislikes close contact with most dogs but I have learned to read her warning signs and am able to extract her from situations when she becomes too overwhelmed. She has become a much happier dog and thus has much happier owners since doing the course.Catherine and Roxy (3 year old Border Collie/Whippet cross)
Six weeks ago I had an over excited, aggressive little terrier , who had to be separated from the other dogs for most of the time in the first 2 classes. However due to your excellent training methods "Olive" is now a sociable puppy , who is pleased to interact with all other dogs. We are now attending the Novice course as I am so pleased with Olive"s progress. Cannot thank you enough for accepting her, whereas other trainers would almost definitely have said she was too troublesome . Highly recommend you to others. Margaret Dixon.
Hi Denise. Just to give you an update on Ellie. We have been walking Ellie without her muzzle for a couple of weeks now.Her reactions to any dogs she meets is friendly. We do of course watch for any sign that we need to call her away,but so far so good. The progress we have achieved is very much down to Grumpy Growlers and can't thank you enough. A few dog owners who "experienced" Ellie a year ago, have commented on the change in her which is so nice to hear. On our part we really enjoy taking her out as we enjoy both her and the walk as we are no longer anxious about suddenly meeting other dogs, it really is brilliant. Ellie is now such a lovely dog and is getting well known by other dogs and their owners who make a fuss of her as she seems to love people. Thank you again Denise.
I first met Denise a fun dog show at Three Cross Vets back in the summer. We had been having some problems integrating our new puppy with our resident dog, despite the fact he was a puppy too. Denise was more than happy to try to help us out as much as she could at that point. Time passed and the dogs developed a more friendly relationship. Louie, our lab/shepherd cross, who is now 14 months old, was attacked while out on a walk by a dog and the dogs owner join in too. Louie became very fearful afetr that evnt and began showing fear aggression towards others dogs and men he didn't know. Honnie, our Alaskan Shepherd who is now 11 months old, developed separation anxiety as a result of not being left alone during her initial time with us as she had diabetes that was uncontrolled. We decided to have a consultation with Denise in August of this year as we had to young puppies with fairly complex issues. Denise came for a few hours and observed our pups, showed us some techniques on how to deal with unwanted behaviors and how to combat Louie's fear aggression. We also received a written plan and lots of helpful information as well.We have attended Grumpy Growlers, which gave us the opportunity to work with Louie in a controlled environment around other dogs. Grumpy Growlers is fantastic. It not only helps to build you dogs confidence, but also yours and helps to prepare you for training outside of the controlled situations. Since having the consultation with Denise and attending Grumpy Growlers, there have been times where I have had questioned, felt disheartened and had successes. Denise is very approachable and is always on hand to share her wealth of knowledge to help you as much as she possibly can. We have made lots of progress with both pups since August and are continuing with Denise's support to build a happy future for the dogs. Denise will help you to understand you dogs behaviors as well as tailor a plan to you individual dog to help you overcome you issues. All of her methods use positive reinforcement which helps to establish trust with your dog. I would definitely advise anyone having issues wth their dog to contact Denise as she has helped us so much. She is fully qualified and accredited. This was important to us, not only because we wanted someone who knew what they were doing, but she was covered under our insurance too. I will say though, getting a behaviorist isn't not a miracle cure. Denise can give you all of the tools, help a guidance in the world, but you, as an owner, have to commit to putting in to practice the techniques you are taught. Denise provides a fantastic service at a very reasonable price and I would thoroughly recommend her to anyone!
Our pup suffered with a very nervous personality which has made it very difficult to socialize her with other dogs - we often felt the situation could not be resolved and we were very upset as we felt our puppy wouldn't be able to live a happy and free life away from the safety of her home. Denise and Jo at Paws in Hand training turned it all around. They approach all dogs as the individuals they are and create solutions and offer advice tailored to your dogs needs, this isn't a cookie cutter process, this is professional help from people who care enough to invest in your dogs happiness - when we were at our lowest, they persevered and had they not, our puppy wouldn't know the freedom and quality of life she has today.I cannot recommend them enough
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Our pup suffered with a very nervous personality which has made it very difficult to socialize her with other dogs - we often felt the situation could not be resolved and we were very upset as we felt our puppy wouldn't be able to live a happy and free life away from the safety of her home.
Denise and Jo at Paws in Hand training turned it all around. They approach all dogs as the individuals they are and create solutions and offer advice tailored to your dog’s needs, this isn't a cookie cutter process, this is professional help from people who care enough to invest in your dog’s happiness - when we were at our lowest, they persevered and had they not, our puppy wouldn't know the freedom and quality of life she has today. I cannot recommend them enough.
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At 6 months old my dog Fable a Working Cocker Spaniel was causing disruption in our household with our two other dogs. A friend recommended me to Denise. Having owned dogs all my adult life I had never encountered a manic pocket rocket like Fable. The positive reinforcement training method used by Denise has taught me how to handle this specific breed. Fable was a challenge but the investment and engagement at the classes of all the trainers means that I now can train Fable specifically for her breed. I would recommend Denise to anyone who wants their puppy to grow in to a sociable and happy dog.
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Friendly, compassionate and knowledgeable, no one was put under any pressure, dogs were allowed to make choices that, alongside the calm atmosphere, supports the learning that is taking place. Owners and dogs are supported and aided to build a relationship with each other, which further enhances the learning.
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Having 45 years of dog owning, showing and working, I am very particular as to the type of trainer I go to for pet obedience training for me and a new puppy. This training set up is the best I found in the area, nice calm classes with an empathic trainer whose knowledge and humility are fantastic.
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