1:1 puppy training and puppy behaviour support in York, Harrogate, Wetherby & North Yorkshire

I’m a Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB)

I have a Post Graduate Certificate and a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Animal Behaviour

I am an ABTC-Registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CAB)

I am a full member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC) and the Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians (FABC)

I have an MA (Hons) and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)

All dogs are wonderfully unique.

Your puppy’s personality and behaviour traits are influenced by genetics (breed, lineage, parents), their time before living with you (pre-natal factors, environment and life within the litter) and your own input (training, experiences and relationships).

In addition, every owner will have their own preferences and lifestyle to consider. Quite simply, what seems to work well for one puppy or owner might actually lead to problems with another!

With everything from which puppy to choose and how to settle them in to what skills to teach and how best to teach them, you and your pup will benefit from a bespoke approach that takes all of this into account, so that you can get the very best advice for you and your individual puppy.

Tailoring things to suit your individual puppy allows you to really focus your efforts where they matter most. It's all about personalising the learning to achieve the best outcomes for you and your puppy.

There is certainly some good stuff online (and in books) and I’m very happy to recommend such resources to you. In the same way, other puppy owners will be able to share their experiences with you and you may find this useful.

However, the problem with all of these sources of information is that it's hard to work out what is good advice and what is not!

Sadly, a lot of what you come across may be out-of-date, unsuitable for your specific puppy or lead to problems in the future because it's based on incorrect theories of canine behaviour. In fact, in the majority of my veterinary-referred behaviour cases, well-meaning owners had followed advice they had found online, in books or from friends and then realised that this was one of the key factors in the development of the issues with which their dog suffered. I've seen it happen far too many times and genuinely don't want it to happen to you and your puppy.

All of the strategies that I will recommend will be kind, ethical and effective, based on positive reinforcement.

Your dog’s emotional wellbeing will be at the forefront of what I advise: we should be aiming to nurture a confident, happy dog who is a joy to be with. The importance of building trust and a bond with your dog cannot be underestimated and there is absolutely no place for fear and intimidation.

This is a great question… and it’s brilliant that you’re aware of the need to provide socialisation opportunities for your puppy!

Most people think of puppy socialisation as being the chance to play with other pups and so opt for group classes for this reason. Sadly, many classes simply do not manage this very well: both research and experience tells us that this can cause more harm than good.

So, to answer your question, yes - you absolutely do need to socialise your puppy but no – you don’t necessarily need to go to group classes for this.

Instead, you’ll be given guidance (tailored to your individual puppy and situation), to support you in socialising your puppy brilliantly, within your normal life together. It certainly won’t include allowing your puppy to be overwhelmed or practise inappropriate behaviour in a free-for-all with a group of other pups!

I’m also happy to recommend suitably qualified and skilled trainers who run group classes so that you can sign up for those too, if you wish.

Quite honestly, it's simply not possible to make guarantees about the future behaviour any living thing: there are many influences which will determine the outcome of your puppy (not least your own input!).

However, by signing up to Puppy Match, you'll be taking a proactive approach to find a great fit for you. Even better, if you follow this up with 'Puppy's Perfect Start' and the ‘Well Brought Up Pup’ programme, you'll be doing all you can to have a great puppy!

If you’d like me help, I can support you with the process of finding a suitable breeder.

However, you will need to make contact with breeders yourself, with guidance from me about what questions to ask etc. Breeders tend to prefer this approach (and bear in mind that good breeders can be very picky about who they choose to allow their pups to go to so it's important to make the best first impression). It also allows you to start to build a relationship with them which, if you decide you do want one of their pups, will be absolutely essential.

It's not possible to make guarantees about the future behaviour of any animal due to individual variation and learning history, as well as the influence of your own behaviour, of course!

However, I’ve worked with hundreds of dogs over the years and seen a huge range of issues in that time so you’re in safe hands.