Personal Sessions

Problem Solving

 Personal Sessions and the Behaviour Package

We can support you with any aspect of your life with your puppy or dog. Sometimes this is a fairly simple communication or teaching issue, other times we deal with complex and embedded problems.

Personal sessions are a great way for us to get to know dogs and their families. Their relationships, experience, needs, issues and so on will all impact on how we can help and its important that we have quiet time to explore and build an understanding with the family as a basis for moving forward.

Our many years of experience, and our knowledge of a wide range of methodologies, help us adapt to the needs of individual dogs and families. Everything we do is calm, kind, considered.

There are various reasons why we use 121 personal sessions:

  • Before putting an older pup or dog onto a course, to ensure we put them in the best environment for their ongoing learning.

  • To show the family how to increase the connection and bond with the pup or dog, so that teaching skills such as recall, relaxed lead walking etc becomes instinctive and relaxed, rather than a hard work task!

  • Personal sessions may form part of an ongoing programme where perhaps the dog isn’t ready to join a course or needs to practice in different settings. 

  • The Behavioural Package is for more difficult or embedded unwanted behaviours.

  • To introduce an activity such as retrieving.

Personal sessions are followed by emailed notes & follow up ideas.

And, although we would always encourage people to join a course when their dog is ready (as it is so useful to have a managed environment in which to develop and practice), group work isn’t for everybody, and we can do personal sessions instead for people who wouldn’t enjoy a group setting.

Contact us if you’d like to explore how we could help you.

Here's a list of common problems we deal with, but it is by no means exhaustive; if you don't find your problem here, still contact us!

  • Difficult behaviour towards dogs and/or humans

  • Excessively boisterous behaviour

  • Stealing / scavenging

  • Noise sensitivity (fireworks, thunder as well as more general)

  • Poor recall

  • Jumping up

  • Mouthing

  • Chasing (e.g. cats, joggers, horses, cars etc)

  • Pulling on the lead

  • Upsetting visitors!

  • Anxiety around other dogs or people

  • Anxiety on separation

  • Eating the house!

  • Fears and phobias in dogs and human worries about other dogs

  • Relationships with family members

  • Toileting problems

  • Barking

  • Problems with other pets and/or livestock

  • Grooming/handling issues

  • Geriatric issues

  • Recovery from operations requiring long rest periods

  • Health issues, chronic problems, lameness, upset tummies and allergies may be helped and/or supported and we can work alongside your vet or other professional as required.

The Starting Point

Please feel free to email us to explore how we can help. Tell us about your dog, about any problems or training issues, and about what you want to achieve.

Once we have that info, we will advise on the best option(s) for you. We may suggest the multi-session Behavioural Package or maybe a one-off meeting, and we will also advise which of our courses might be suitable.

What we suggest will depend on what’s needed for you individually and we will explain clearly why we feel that option will suit you and detail the pricing.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us. It won’t commit you to anything but may be the start of more joyful and fulfilled life with your dog!

Things to think about with problem solving & behavioural issues:

We encourage everyone to understand that, while we can make inroads into problem areas, there is no magic wand or instant cures. 

Dogs learn new behaviours by experience, not by explanations. Once you are shown what needs to be done, you have to be prepared to give the dog plenty of learning experiences to reinforce the new, wanted behaviours, and time for old habits to fade out. 

Although you may see changes and improvements arise quickly from the initial meeting, it will take a few weeks before the new behaviours become reliably embedded, even months if the problems are deep rooted/severe. Progress is most often gradual and achieve with small stops, not big strides!

We will guide you through, but the family are the main inputters of time, thought and understanding and its sensible to be realistic about time scales at the start.