Bristol Dog School

12/02/2025

🌟Meet the team 🌟
Sarah – Certified Dog Trainer and Canine Enthusiast

Sarah’s love for dogs began at the age of 11 when she received a four-month-old Bearded Collie from a rescue center as a birthday gift. He was full of personality, confidence, and a mischievous streak that kept Sarah on her toes. Training him became her responsibility, and although she faced many challenges, those early experiences shaped her understanding of the complexities of dog ownership.

Fast forward to 2020, Sarah welcomed Berty, her current dog, during the first lockdown. Despite Berty’s confidence issues, Sarah dedicated herself to helping her grow, building trust and strengthening their bond through reward-based training. Inspired by her journey with Berty, Sarah made the life-changing decision to follow her dream of working with animals and becoming a certified dog trainer.

In addition to working with her own dogs, Sarah has spent many years volunteering at rescue centers, where she helps train some of the more challenging dogs. This work brings her immense joy, allowing her to give back and apply the knowledge and skills she has gained over the years.

Sarah is passionate about supporting dog owners who may be struggling with their pets. She empathises deeply, drawing from her own experiences and challenges. Her mission is to help owners build strong, positive relationships with their dogs using ethical, reward-based methods. By providing the tools and knowledge needed to create a happy and fulfilling partnership, Sarah is committed to helping others enjoy the incredible journey of life with their furry companions.

10/02/2025

🌟Meet the team 🌟

Jamie Watkinson-Harvey – Certified Dog Trainer & Behaviour Specialist

Jamie is a passionate and experienced dog trainer who brings a unique blend of professional expertise and personal experience to every training session. As a certified trainer and behaviour specialist, Jamie is dedicated to using positive reinforcement techniques to help dogs and their owners thrive together. His approach is built on kindness, science, and an unwavering commitment to force-free methods that create lasting change.

When he’s not helping dogs overcome challenges like separation anxiety or guiding owners through tailored training plans, Jamie enjoys immersing himself in all things canine – whether that's producing his Paws and Pawsitivity podcast, staying up to date with the latest research, or simply bonding with his own beloved dogs, Reggie, Onyx, and Penny.

Away from dog training, Jamie finds joy in travelling the UK in his campervan, seeking out scenic locations with peaceful walks and enclosed play areas where his dogs can explore safely. Whether parked by a serene lake, nestled in the woods, or enjoying a quiet beachside retreat, these getaways provide the perfect opportunity to unwind, read a good thriller, or capture stunning memories through his love of photography.

Jamie also enjoys a variety of hobbies that allow him to switch off from his busy schedule, from flying drones and writing poetry to playing his Nintendo Switch. He’s a big fan of the Jack Reacher series and counts 1984 by George Orwell as his all-time favourite book. When it's time to recharge, nothing beats a cuddle with his dogs or escaping into music—whether it’s the latest UK Top 40, the calming sounds of Ludovico Einaudi, or immersive 8D music.

Despite his busy life, Jamie remains deeply committed to his charity work, supporting rescue dogs through his role as a trusted trainer and behaviourist. Seeing once-anxious dogs grow in confidence and happiness is one of the most rewarding parts of his work, and knowing they’ll continue to be cared for using force-free methods is what drives his passion every day.

Above all, Jamie’s mission is simple: to help owners understand their dogs better, foster strong relationships, and create positive, lasting changes—all while having fun along the way.

06/01/2025

Have you recently got a new puppy?
Why don’t you join our puppy classes to teach your puppy life skills.

We have two sets of puppy classes starting:
Monday 24th February
Monday 24th March

You can book on the website : https://www.bristoldogschool.co.uk/puppyschool.html

Any questions feel free to get in touch

29/10/2024

Are you looking for a local puppy class?

We teach basic puppy life skills from loose lead walking to settle with distractions and even recall games.

Our next course is being held Monday 18th November in Brislington at 7pm

https://www.bristoldogschool.co.uk/puppyschool.html

07/09/2024

Week 1 of Puppy Class.
We covered food preference test and a settle which they all did amazing with.
Puppies from 8 weeks to 20 weeks can book onto the class.
Classes are very important part of a puppies development as they socialise and learn puppy skills.

27/07/2024

Week 2 of puppy class ⭐️
We went through settle duration, leave its, loose lead walking, recall and how to correctly use a long line.

Are you getting a puppy and want to know all the puppy basics? We have a puppy course starting 6th September.

You can book through the link: https://www.bristoldogschool.co.uk/puppyschool.html

12/07/2024

A little introduction from Amy.
Looking forward to taking over Bristol dog school

02/07/2024

We have a puppy course in Brislington starting Friday 26th July
For puppies between 8-20 weeks old.
You will learn training tips from settling with distractions to Loose lead walking.
If you would like to grab a spot click the link to book your space

Reward based puppy training class in Bristol

26/06/2024

Dearest Gentle Reader,

We are halfway through the year and I feel I am able to add a handful of new dogs to the Cut & Cuddle fold.

So, if you know of anyone who is looking for a regular groomer (I am not taking one off appointments) or has a puppy who might benefit from joining the Puppy Grooming Programme then please do send them my way.

Recommendations are so appreciated, and you lovely lot always send me the best customers and dogs.

Much love
Clare 🐶🐾❤️

25/06/2024

Last night I taught my last puppy class… These 4 beautiful, playful intelligent puppies with their devoted and caring owners came to me to learn about social life skills and they were all amazing!
So whats going on I hear you ask?
After many years as a dog trainer/Behaviourist I am moving on to teach animal sciences. I have very fond memories of all the clients and pups that I have worked with over the years and I will miss you. Thank you to my wonderful clients and to all the glamorous assistants I have had over the years you are all so wonderful.

Do not worry the story of Bristol dog school does not end here... The lovely Amy and Sarah are taking over and will put their own fun spin on things.

Keep loving your dogs

Clair. Xx

16/05/2024

We have a puppy course in Brislington starting on Monday with two spaces left.
If you have a puppy 8-20 weeks old and would like to join this course please click on the link to book one of the spaces.

This is the last puppy course that we will be running for now due to some changes so grab your spot now!

Reward based puppy training class in Bristol

11/04/2024

What does reactive mean and why you may not see your dog trainer or behaviourist use this word to describe your dog.

We don’t tend to like the term “reactive” all that much because this word alone doesn’t really tell us much.

Reactive essentially means to respond to a stimulus.
Many stimulus start out as a neutral thing that then becomes conditioned through experience.
This stimulus can illicit a positive or negative conditioned emotional response (CER) in the dog. You will see either fear responses where we could see calming or avoidance behaviours such as ears down/pinned back, head turns, low body posture, maybe overt barking to create space. We may see the opposite forward posture pulling towards something excited barking high tails and ears.

So reactive from your dog trainer of behaviourist point of view is very different as it could simply mean your dog responds well to cues all the way up to very overt emotional responses.

If you have a dog that shows overt emotional responses to a stimulus we may refer to these dogs as socially challenged rather than reactive. We will then gather information to learn if the stimulus is creating a positive emotional response with extremely elevated arousal and possible frustration if they can’t get close.
or
Negative emotional response with fear and the need to create space or even making themselves smaller and quietly hiding away.

Once we have this information we can move forward with a plan to change how extreme the emotional response is by building confidence and/or self calming behaviours with gentle exposure.

So instead of saying reactive I prefer to say socially challenged and then explain the signals seen.

30/03/2024

Easter has become synonymous with chocolate and chocolate eggs but chocolate is not good for our dogs.
Chocolate contains Theobromine which effects a dogs central nervous system, heart and lungs,
They will become sick and struggle to breath and have an increased heart rate this can lead to death.

So keep you chocolate out of your dogs reach and please call a vet for help if you think your dog has consumed any.

28/03/2024

Put some oomph in your play with 15% off my favourite toys.

Tug-E-Nuff toys are my absolute go-tos for play, training and maximum FUN. 🙌

Their toys are certified oomph-tastic and I’m not the only one who thinks so! They’re recommended by thousands of trainers worldwide and given a big paws of approval from dogs everywhere. 🐾

Just hit the link below to snap up 15% off any two toys and tell your dog good things are coming!

Let the spring play commence!

https://offer.tug-e-nuff.co.uk?ref=BRISTOL

06/03/2024

Its Cruftsmas eve! My brain is a tad addled by Crufts prep. Heka and I will be there on Friday we’ll be popping fun images of our day in the stories so keep an eye out ☺️