Doherty Dog Services

12/11/2025

One space left on my Ultimate Puppy Training Programme for 2025! After that books are closed until January so if you are looking for help with your puppy, shoot me a message and let's chat! 🐶♥️

10/11/2025

When we first brought home our spaniel puppy, Duke, I did what we all do and got us booked into our local puppy class. It was a fiver per class, a steal I thought.

Every week for 6 weeks we got ourselves to the village hall (except for the couple we missed because we couldn’t make that time). We stood around with Duke bouncing around at the end of the lead, desperate to meet every other pup.

The hall was massive and split into three sections by curtains, so there were two other classes happening at the same time. There were around 30 dogs and owners in this hall- you can imagine the noise!

At the end of the course, Duke ‘graduated’ and we had our little certificate. We’d learnt a few useful bits and some fun stuff. But we spent most of the time trying to get Duke to stop desperately pulling towards other dogs and chewing the lead like mad because he was so hyped up.

The class wasn’t bad, but it didn’t help the problems we were really having with Duke at home.

It didn’t stop the biting. It didn’t stop him destroying my shoes and eating the legs of our kitchen table. It didn’t stop the relentless jumping up.

It didn’t help me understand when he was over-stimulated and needed help regulating his emotions, versus when he was bored and restless.

Yes, we could walk through a gate. We could walk up and down a hall. But those aren’t the skills I really needed to enjoy life with my puppy. I was just as overwhelmed by his behaviour and unclear on how to calm him down as I was at the beginning of the course.

Years later, I would run my own puppy classes. After three blocks, I stopped running them. Because despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to help my puppy owners with the problems they were actually experiencing with their puppies at home. When I created my Ultimate Puppy Training Programme, I knew that each programme would be completely based around the needs and lifestyle of the individual families I worked with.

Because a Daschund puppy living in a central town flat needs a very different training plan from a Labrador puppy living in a rural village. One size just does not fit all when it comes to puppy training.

07/11/2025

Ive got space for just one more puppy for my 3 month training programme before the end of 2025! DM me to book in a call and give your puppy the best first start 🐶♥️

05/11/2025

Do not let your puppy approach every single dog they see. It's bad manners and it'll make your recall training much harder in the long term.

03/11/2025

There's no way around it- getting a puppy will be a lot of work. There's going to be constant supervision of your pup in the early days if you want them toilet trained, redirecting them to toys & chews over and over again when they're bitey and making sure they get enough sleep so they're not a wild little beastie.

But will it be worth it? Abso-frickin-lotely. And it's so, so much easier when you get the right help and support. 🐶♥️

02/11/2025

My top picks for new puppy owners from Not For Humans

1 and 2- Bully puzzles and cows ears are great options for bitey pups. Suitable for 12 weeks +, long lasting chews like this are ideal for giving your pup an appropriate thing to chew on (rather than your shoes) and helping them to relax.
3 - Not for Humans stock a great range of training treats- ideal for keeping by the back door to reward your pip every time they toilet outside instead on the carpet!
4- You want to have a good stock of puppy safe toys in easy access so you can redirect your pup to them when needed. There's lots of great options in store - I treated Duke to their stick toy and he's loving it!

One of my favourite things about is that not only is there a great selection of great toys, treats and chews available, but the wonderful Debbie refuses to sell any aversive or punishment based training tools. Pop in and support local next time you need to top up your puppy supplies 🐶♥️

01/11/2025

For my Canterbury based dog folks- I just wanted to give a shout out to Greendogs decompression walks. The fantastic Laura Green runs these out in nature, lots of space and in quite low traffic areas . Great for all dogs , but especially nervous dogs who need time away from the pressures of the human world !
I've worked with Laura for years with our Duke and across a number of shared cases and can highly recommend getting in touch with her if you're looking for help with your dog in the Canterbury area.
Contact Greendogs through the website greendogs.co.uk
Or call on 07702601900

01/11/2025

Happening today! See you later ☺️

30/10/2025

Have you grabbed our Ultimate Puppy Socialisation Guide yet? Just sign up to our email list and it'll land in your inbox automatically!

Start your puppy off on the right path through positive socialisation- build your confidence, prevent behaviour problems before they start and have the best possible relationship with your puppy. Join our email list and our guide will and straight in your inbox! You'll also get our weekly email with...

30/10/2025

Can you spot the moments where Alfons politely but gently tells Bonnie he's not giving up the toy?!
Arranging playdates for your puppy with dogs like this is so important for them to learn how to be a polite adult dog themselves.

Not all dogs have this kind of 'puppy license' - our Duke certainly wouldn't tolerate this! But Alfons is a working assistance dog who also joins Team DDS daily for walks and he is a very socially savvy dog. 🐶♥️

28/10/2025

Pop in to Not for Humans this Saturday to chat all things puppy! Looking forward to chatting to you all then 🐶♥️ Not For Humans