22/06/2025
MEET YOUR TRAINER
My name is Tracy and I rescued my very first Anatolian Shepherd Dog, Kara, in 2010. She was 4 years old when I adopted her and she was absolutely adorable. So full of love, she adored everyone she ever met and would stand for ages whilst total strangers fussed her & told her how beautiful she is. It all changed whenever she saw another dog in the street, though. She really didn’t like other dogs and would bark, lunge, do somersaults at the end of the lead. I wasn’t a Professional Dog Trainer back then and I needed help so, I signed her up for Dog Training Classes and sought advice from a One-2-One Dog Trainer.
I was horrified! Unfortunately, I didn’t know any better back then and so I listened to these so called “professionals” after all, they must know what they’re talking about …..
I was asked to fill an empty bottle with water and to spray Kara in the face every time she barked at another dog. I was told to put a Choke Chain around her neck and to walk her on the choker because “these large, powerful breeds need to learn who is in charge” That didn’t sound right to me. Kara was an absolute Love-Bug, she was the sweetest soul and I really wasn’t happy to treat her that way. “You need to raise your voice more, you’re too soft with her” I was told.
I’m disgusted with myself that I bought a can of Pet Corrector Spray and sprayed it at her when she growled at dogs …. My precious, beautiful girl being silenced every time she tried communicating. I should be listening to her worries NOT punishing her.
I decided to do my own research and found that there were other Dog Trainers out there who do not treat dogs like this in order to train them. I joined Forums, watched videos, signed up for Courses, attended Seminars and I never squirted Kara with water ever again. Before long, she was able to walk off-lead over the park and she learnt to just ignore other dogs & walk on by rather than snap & growl at them all.
Six years later, I decided to put all of my learning to the test and I became an Accredited Behaviour Consultant with the IMDTB who have the most amazing ethics with regards to dog training and met my ethos perfectly. Now, I have over 50 Certificates for various Courses I have completed & Seminars I have attended.
In amongst all of that, a short while after I’d adopted Kara and having seen the plight of so many Turkish Kangals & Anatolian Shepherd Dogs who were being abandoned in the UK I set up KARAS Rescue, which wasn’t named after Kara, it was just that, coincidentally, the letters KARAS stand for Kangal & Anatolian Rescue And Support. We are a small, independent Rescue which relies solely on public donations to operate and we have now, accidently (as in, not intentionally!) become the breed-specific Rescue which helps the “difficult” dogs - the ones that no one else would take. The ones who need help. The biters - a lot of our dogs have a bite-history and we are incredibly proud of our Rehabilitation Programme to help these dogs and go on to find them their Forever Homes.
The most severe, aggressive cases have remained with me and I have adopted some very stroppy Turkish Kangals & Anatolian Shepherds over the years - some with horrendous bite histories but one thing has always remained the same throughout - not one of them has ever been a “horrible dog” or “so naughty” but all of them have been misunderstood. All of them have been the most amazing & beautiful dogs that just needed someone to help them instead of punish them.
And that is what I do.
I help dogs - Mostly Livestock Guardian Dogs who are struggling with living in pet homes and I help their owners.
No squirting your dog with water or spraying with a can of Pet Corrector.
No shouting or trying to "be firm".
No choke collars, no slip leads, no prong collars.
Just actual training. ACTUAL Behaviour Modification to help your Livestock Guardian Dog to actually feel better about things because if he FEELS differently then he'll BEHAVE differently
https://www.kangaldogtraineruk.co.uk/booking