Ruff Diamond Dog Training

07/07/2025

Proud to be a member of the APDT - Association of Pet Dog Trainers

Member Spotlight: Cristen Brown – Ruff Diamond Dog Training
Based in Tyne and Wear | www.ruffdiamonddogtraining.co.uk

With over 20 years of experience, Cristen Brown offers pet dog classes, 1-1 training, and online support — all rooted in creating a calm, focused environment for both dogs and their people. Her classes are capped at just four dogs, making them ideal for learning without overwhelm.

Cristen runs a wide range of courses, including:
Puppy foundations
Adolescent and rescue dog support
Fun and mentally stimulating classes
Weekly Talking Dogs Rally sessions (she’s a qualified judge!)

Outside the training space, Cristen volunteers as an assessor for Wag & Company, a North East charity connecting elderly individuals with canine companionship through volunteer visits.

Whether you're starting with a new pup or looking to enrich your older dog’s life, Cristen’s compassionate and experienced approach has you covered.

Fun fact: Cristen once appeared in a Boney M music video!

04/07/2025

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY DREYA 🎉🎉

So far she’s celebrated with a hand strip at My Dog Barber (perhaps not her choice for a birthday celebration!) - they did a great job. We’ve picked up her birthday cake from Doggy Delish and she’s done her usual playing chase with Aldo.

02/07/2025

LOOSE LEAD WALKING WORKSHOP

🗓️Saturday 2nd August, 9am
📍Monkchester Community Centre

Have your walks become a chore?
Are you fed up of being dragged down the street by your dog?

- Learn lots of tips and exercises to teach your dog to walk nicely on the lead
- Including exercises for preparing for the walk
- 1.5 hour workshop
- Maximum of 4 dogs to ensure lots of individual attention
- Only £50
- Access to our online course for 2 weeks after the workshop
* Easy to follow video demonstrations

Book via the link below so you can start to enjoy walks with your dog(s) ⬇️

https://www.ruffdiamonddogtraining.co.uk/loose-lead-workshop

01/07/2025

🐾 PUPPY TRAINING COURSE 🐾

🗓️ Starts Friday 11th July at 1.30pm – NOW FULLY BOOKED
🗓️ Starts Friday 15th August at 4pm
🗓️ Starts Friday 29th August at 1.30pm

📍 Walkerville Community Centre

💡 A 6-week course designed to give your puppy the best start

✅ Maximum of 4 puppies for plenty of individual attention

🎓 Includes the Kennel Club Puppy Foundation Assessment

🐶 Suitable for pups up to 20 weeks old at the start of the course

👩‍🏫 Run by an experienced trainer with over 20 years in dog training

💷 Just £139 for the full course

🔗 Book here: https://www.ruffdiamonddogtraining.co.uk/puppy-socialisation-and-training1.html

📩 Got questions? Pop me a message, happy to help

23/06/2025

🚨 NEW DOG TRAINING COURSES – JULY, AUGUST & SEPTEMBER 🚨

Looking to train your dog in a friendly, supportive environment?

🐾 Small group classes – max 4 dogs
✅ Plenty of 1:1 attention
✅ Relaxed, welcoming atmosphere
✅ Reward-based, real-life training

📍 Locations
🦴 Fridays – Walkerville Community Centre
🦴 Saturdays – Monkchester Community Centre
(Saturday courses run every other week – please check dates)

📆 Course Length
6-week courses
💷 £139 total

👩‍🏫 Trainer:
Over 20 years of experience
Proud member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (00897)

💬 Not sure which class is right for you and your dog?
Just drop me a message – I’m happy to help!

www.ruffdiamonddogtraining.co.uk

17/06/2025

Too hot for a walk this afternoon, so we stayed home instead.
A bit of shade, a bit of training, and lots of chill time. 🐾

☀️ Hot weather can be dangerous for dogs – even in the evening, pavements can burn paws and dogs can overheat fast.

Instead of a walk, try some indoor games, sniffing in the garden, or frozen treats to keep them cool and content.

What do you and your dog do on hot days?

06/06/2025

One of the many things I love about Talking Dogs Rally is that judges are able to work their dogs (providing there is another judge of course!).

Hosting and judging a trial keeps me very busy and the dogs spend quite a bit of time chilling in the car. Massive thanks to judge Jayne for setting up courses so I was able to do two rounds each with Dreya and Aldo.

Dreya works Level 1 and enjoyed 2 flowing courses scoring 207 and 203 (scores out of 210).
This was Aldo’s first trial and he’s at puppy level. He was super excited and bouncy when we came in as he thought we were there for agility! I managed to get his focus and he scored 201 and 210, so got a special rosette for his second round.

05/06/2025

CONGRATULATIONS

You can’t have a trial with excellent results without sharing rosette photos :)

Congratulations to the following teams who all did brilliantly.

Sarah & Ted (Level 2)
Sarah & Reo (Pre Level 2)
Sarah & Inca. [Yes, Sarah does work all 3 of her dogs] (Level 1)
Linda & Hattie (Level 1)
Moira & Annie (Level 1)
Claire & Hattie (Level 1)

One very proud trainer here. Everyone handled the challenges of being in an equestrian centre very well

02/06/2025

Another great day hosting and judging a Talking Dogs Rally Trial at Kirkley Hall Equestrian Centre in Northumberland.

Firstly a massive thanks to Jayne for coming up and judging for us - it is massively appreciated.

Also a big thanks to Sarah and Linda for bringing cake (Delicious - I tried a piece of each just to check!!) as well as helping with setting up, course changes and clear down. Thanks also to Emma and Moira for your help with set up, course changes and clear down. Without you all I couldn’t run the trials.

Kirkley Hall is a fabulous venue allowing us to have two very large rings, perfect for flowing courses. It is though also a challenging environment for many dogs as it is of course used by horses as well as agility classes and competitions being run there and some very vocal birds flying round! I think that a few of the dogs actually thought the surface was similar to the beach!

All teams did really well (rosette photos to follow) and we had a great day. Talking Dogs Rally is a fun sport open to all and you don’t need any equipment to practice it.

Thanks to Nathan from The Dog Log for the photos

25/05/2025

UPCOMING COURSES

Places are booking up fast, so don’t delay.

🐾 Max of 4 dogs per class
🐾 Calm & welcoming atmosphere, perfect for learning
🐾 Over 20 years of experience
🐾 Classes in Walkerville

PUPPY COURSE

For puppies under 20 weeks of age at the start of the course

Friday 13th June, 4pm

Friday 11th July, 6pm

https://www.ruffdiamonddogtraining.co.uk/puppy-socialisation-and-training1.html

STARTERS COURSE

Perfect for adolescent dogs, rescue dogs and those that haven’t done group training before.

Friday 11th July, 2.30pm

https://www.ruffdiamonddogtraining.co.uk/starters-dog-training-course.html

JUNIOR COURSE

Follows on from puppy & starters or the equivalent else where. Builds on the exercises applying them to real life situations. Plus introduces Kennel Club Good Citizen Bronze exercises and fun tricks.

Friday 11th July, 8pm

https://www.ruffdiamonddogtraining.co.uk/junior-dog-training-course.html

Drop me a message if you have any questions