Suburban Dog Trainer

07/02/2025

Not quite a Great Review Friday post, but here is Rusby the black Lab looking for a new sofa with his owners at Bark-er and Stonehouse🤣. Rusby is a great example of a dog that has completed his Kennel Club Gold🥇Good Citizen Dog Scheme Award, which the aim of the scheme is to produce a great all-round dog that you can take anywhere.

03/01/2025

Happy New Year!!!! and it's the first Great Review Friday of 2025!!! 😀🎉
Just to let you know there are still a couple of spaces available for my Puppy Companion Class and The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme Classes starting on Wednesday 8th January at Scarcroft Village Hall, just go to the website to sign up!!

“We've known Richard for a few years now, from when we got in touch for our bulldog's behavioural issues, Richard was so supportive and reassuring during what was a very testing time! We'd also just got our first labrador puppy and were hoping to work her as a gundog. We asked Richard to help train her and us! Needless to say the training sessions paid off and we've ended up with the perfect family pet whilst also a very exciting dog to watch work. Training her has been a pure joy and this is down to Richard. We went on to breed from Murron, also following things Richard had said conversationally about choosing a dog you know and like for the qualities they can add to your own dog. We had 7 friends on the waiting list for puppies, all saying Murron was such a great dog. Again, she is but it is also down to the training Richard gave us. We kept a puppy back and joined Richard's 5 week puppy training programme. These were so helpful, insightful and enjoyable I can't recommend them enough. We're continuing to follow all his advice and the training is so rewarding!

One thing I really want to say is how infectious Richard's passion for dog training and canine behaviour is! You come out of every training session believing and wanting your dog to be the very best it can be.

Thanks for everything so far Richard! We will see you again soon!”

20/12/2024

Hi everyone, I am now going to enjoy my first week off all year and will be back on Friday 27th December. Instead of posting a Great Review Friday Picture, I thought I would post a picture of Sandy and Rusty next to our Christmas tree and me next to a pint!!!
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.
🍻🍾🥳

06/12/2024

I have been looking forward to sharing this review of Django the Retriever with you all as it shows the real joy of a dog that is trained properly. So happy Great Review Friday to everyone and I hope you all have a great weekend!!!😀
"We've done the Kennel Club Good Citizen awards with Richard and a couple of one-to-one sessions to focus on specific areas and I would definitely recommend him.
Richard is very experienced and knowledgeable. He has a great demeanour, very calm, with a good sense of humour. And most importantly, fantastic with every dog I've seen him work with, not only does he love dogs but you can tell that they love him too."

15/11/2024

Roll up! Roll up! for another Great Review Friday, this one is a short but sweet review of the work I did with Max, the GSD. I hope you all have a nice weekend 🥶😀
"I have attached a photo of Max - we are working hard on his training - his sit, stay, and recall are all coming on - he has also started to meet new people using the technique you showed us, and it’s going well. I use the kettle training when I can and find it’s fun and works well."

Thank you again

Michelle, Tim, Thomas
(Max and Flash)

07/11/2024

For those who know me well, I am seldom at a loss for words; however, last night was probably the most impressive GCDS test we have done for quite a while. We had Sue and Gordon the Working Retriever, and Elly and Angus the Retriever/Irish Setter, achieving their Bronze award. Followed by Juliette and Fig the GSD, Elizabeth and Django the Retriever and last but no means least, Amanda with Hector the Giant Schnauzer/Lab achieving their Gold Award. The impressive part of the test was seeing all the hard work done in between classes that came to fruition on the day of the test making me the proudest of all trainers to have had the honour to train such great people and their dogs 😀

28/10/2024

🎆💥Complimentary Firework Advice for You and Your Dog💥🎆

Although it is too late in the year to start desensitising your dog for the fireworks season (this should ideally be done around March), I think I have a couple of tips that may help those who have issues with their dogs around this time. There is a lot of information that is already available online, but I thought I would add some information that may not be so easily obtained.

1. I have found that most puppies and adolescent dogs seem to do okay for their first fireworks season, leading to the owner becoming a little complacent the following year. However, I have found that the second fireworks season can be the one that makes or breaks your dog, so be careful.

2. It goes without saying, and most owners do not take their dogs for a walk in the evening but sometimes forget to go out with their dogs in the garden when the dog needs to toilet. I go out with my dogs and in the garden from 3pm onwards and have a treat that they never get for anything else, such as chicken, cheese, sausage etc.. and I give them a small piece every time a rocket or banger goes off, making sure I do not flinch myself😀. I also play this “marking” game indoors every time one of my dogs notices a sound that has not been suppressed by the TV. This is similar to how we train Gundogs to desensitise to the gun, changing the dog’s original emotional response from one of being startled to one of hunger or play, as you can use a favourite toy if your dog prefers to play every time they hear a bang 💥

3. It is important to set up your home so that it is relaxing for your dog, with advice ranging from closing the curtains to using aromatherapy and everything in between. But the first thing you should do, which is sometimes forgotten, is to ensure you are relaxed as an owner. So, set up your home so you are relaxed and cannot hear the fireworks or at least to a lesser extent, you would be amazed how dogs can pick up on your behaviour (during the height of COVID I saw several dogs who would growl if someone coughed 😷😀).

4. Finally, there are a lot of great resources from Classic FM, YouTube, Dogs Trust and even Sky who are doing a pop-up channel on 310 playing sounds and music designed to reduce the stress in your dog. If you do not have access to these resources, my one bit of advice is to play two different radio stations placing the speakers at either end of the room, as studies have found that cross frequencies are an effective sound field and will be more effective at blocking external sounds.

Take care everyone and I will see you at the other end!!!!!!!!!!!

11/10/2024

This is Rosey the Mini Poodle and her Wirehaired Vizsla sisters ❤️

10/10/2024

It's always tricky to know where to start as we enter Firework season with our dogs, but here are some great management ideas from a great store!! 🎇🎆

27/09/2024

Something a bit different this Friday, and instead of a review, I thought I would post a few pictures of me and the dogs at Cayton Bay last week, what a brilliant day, it has been such a long time since we have been to the beach and the dogs absolutely loved it!! Hope you all have a great weekend!!!😀

06/09/2024

Yet another wonderfully sunny Friday😍 and yet another wonderful Great Review On Friday for you all to start your weekend!!!

Many thanks to Richard for a great 5 week training programme for our Cockerpoo Louie and us. We look forward to continuing all his valuable advice. Picture shows Louie practising his homework (and me). Would definitely recommend the course.

27/08/2024

About Time!!!

Legislation to make pet abduction a criminal offence received Royal Assent today (24 May).

Under the Pet Abduction Act 2024 – which was a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by Anna Firth MP and Lord Black of Brentwood and supported by the Government – anyone found guilty of stealing a pet in England or Northern Ireland will face up to five years in prison, a fine, or both.

The new law recognises that cats and dogs are not inanimate objects but sentient beings capable of experiencing distress and other emotional trauma when they are stolen from their owners or keepers.

Evidence from the Pet Theft Taskforce suggests around 2,000 dog and over 400 cat theft crimes were reported to police in 2020, causing considerable distress for owners and their pets alike. With an estimated 28% of UK adults owning a dog and 24% owning a cat, pet theft is a major concern to the public.

Support for the Act builds upon wider action to protect pets from theft, including making the microchipping of cats compulsory from 10 June 2024. This makes it easier for lost, stray or stolen pets to be reunited with their owners and returned home safely.

26/08/2024

Happy International Dog Day Everyone! Spent the day with these two and as always loved every minute 😀

23/08/2024

Here we are on a very gusty💨 Friday afternoon for another Great Review Friday!! Hope you all have a great Bank Holiday weekend😀

“Richard has helped us with our working cocker spaniel and some behavioural issues we had struggled to curb with other trainers. He was incredibly knowledgeable, calm and non-judgemental throughout and gave us really practical ideas. We have already felt an improved relationship with our dog and have a better understanding of how to manage his behaviour. We are feeling positive that we have the right tools going forward. Thanks Richard”. Isabelle

09/08/2024

Hey, Hey Hey, It's Great Review Friday!!!😀
"We took our cocker spaniel puppy Ted to the good citizens training as we were struggling with Ted pulling on the lead when on walks. We learnt a lot about how to try and manage this. Over the course of the training and in the following weeks, Ted has come on leaps and bounds and is now a pleasure to take out on a walk! Would definitely recommend". Pip.