Pawsitive Paws

18/06/2026

Pop down for a brew and a chin wag 🐾
A group of local pet professionals in one place ready to meet you and your pooches.

🩷Come and have a cuppa and a chat, whether you’re a current client or just curious about our services, we’d love to see you 🩷

16/06/2026

There's a new member of the team.

Everyone meet Jinx 🤩.

She's a whirlwind of energy and has challenged me in ways no other puppy has but she's a quick learner and is starting to settle into our routine. Keep your eyes peeled for some puppy tips and advice. 🐾

20/05/2026

🐾 I may have been quiet on the page, but I've been busy behind the scenes 🤩. Pawsitive Paws is always growing and lots of exciting projects are in the pipeline 🙏.

I'll be forever grateful to you all for supporting me and I still have to pinch myself that my life consists of meeting new dogs on a daily basis 🥰. I'm excited for the future and look forward to meeting lots of new dogs (and their owners of course 🤣).🐾

30/03/2026

I just wanted to come on and thank you all so much for the kind messages, cards and gifts as well as your patience whilst i work through this rollercoaster of emotions. The 11th March was the hardest day of my life and I truely hope I dont ever have to go through such pain ever again. In the risk of getting slated by others in the industry; Drax was my baby. He was my biggest pain in the arse, but he was also my biggest fan. He was as loyal as they come and in case you hadn't noticed, he inspired my business logo. I have never not had a rotty, and I will have another one day, but not yet.

In my social media absence I have been busy behind the scenes with video and telephone consultations, writing 'plans of action' for new and existing clients and attending an online seminar on neutering. As a behaviourist I want to make sure I'm at the top of my game and studies are constantly discovering new information. Neutering is a common topic in behavioural work, and I want to make sure my knowledge is up to date to ensure I can advise clients adequately.

The seminar has revived me, and I'm excited to get back out to see all my current and new clients. 🐾

11/03/2026

Good evening everyone. I just wanted to apologise for the ignorance to those who have tried to contact me and for those who have had messages from me requesting to reschedule their bookings.

Unfortunately my beloved rotty has passed away at only 5 years of age. I am truely heartbroken and still in shock. I am a wreck and barely functioning. He was more than a dog to me, he was my world. He was with me all day everyday and i am struggling with his absence. I will not be returning to work until I know I can fulfil my role properly. It would be a waste of everyone's time and money if I was to go back to work too soon. I hope you all understand and respect my reasoning during this difficult time for me and my family 💔.

Hug your dogs extra tight for me and cherish every moment because the last few days have shown me how quick things can change.

RIP my gorgeous boy. I will forever adore you 🌈💙🐾😢

06/03/2026

CRUFTS 🐾

A taboo subject in the dog profession world. Professionals either love it or hate it. I personally LOVE IT ❤️. Yes, there are areas of concern that I think could do with improvement. But the kennel club is making good progress in the right direction in my opinion and the pros outweigh the cons.

It is a dog lovers dream and for those of us who work with dogs it's like Christmas! If you've never been to Crufts I advise you to go! It's not all about showing pedigree dogs 🐕. Mongrels are just as welcome!

The venue is massive and there are over 500 trade stalls to browse through. Everything from collars and leads to supplements and accessories. There is also a mass of professionals on hand to talk to and get advice from such as; behaviourists, vets, groomers etc.

Even for us 'professionals' Crufts is educational and it is great for people who want to learn about different breeds. The event has a 'discover dogs' area where experienced owners, breeders and rescues talk to the public to educate and answer questions as well as raising awareness for genetic health issues and rare breeds. It is my favourite area as there are plenty of dogs to fuss 🥰.

Whose been/going to Crufts this year, and whose enjoying it from their sofa? If you've been, share your experiences in the comments 🙏.

28/02/2026

I keep banging on about breed specific genetic traits and how important shaping your puppies behaviour to make an easy adult dog is. Here's a prime example 🐾.

In this short clip you can see my 2 dogs enjoying a visit to my local dog paddock. Their behaviour and traits couldn't be any more different. Why? Not just because they are different breeds, but I had completely different expectations of them as puppies, and their training was completely different.

You'll see in the video that my rotty is carrying a ball, and he never strays too far away from me (the field is 5 acres). He never lets me out of his sight. Whereas my cocker has her nose to the ground and is happy to wander off without giving my location a second thought.

When my cocker spaniel Storm joined our family 7 years ago we already had a rotty x and a staffy who had a history of being obsessive, possessive and on 1 occasion, fighting over a ball. Due to this, we only used balls when out for walks and we always carried 2 balls (1 for each dog). Therefore we never really used a ball for play time with her as a puppy. Storm's breed is not generally feared by people, and aren't genetically prone to 'guard' their owners or home so I didn't spend much time training her to be around strangers. My main focus was her recall and lead walking.

Drax, my rotty had a very different puppy training plan. As rottweilers are genetically prone to being reactive to strangers and unfamiliar dogs my aim was to avoid this. Unfortunately I made him a bit 'too sociable'. (Yes. Even us 'professionals' make mistakes), and at 8 months of age he became reactive on the lead due to frustration. When he was a little pup, people were more willing to let their dogs meet him, then when he started to look more like a 'rottweiler', people would avoid us. People would cross the road, change direction and sometimes even pick their dogs up! This made Drax very frustrated and he would bark, pull and bite his lead. So I had to go back to basics and teach him to be 'ignorant'. This was much harder as hormones were well and truely in full force and bad habits had been learned.

Drax has always been ball mad, so I used that to my advantage and would engage his attention with the use of his favourite ball. He is a very different character to Storm. He loves to 'work' and something as simple as carrying his favourite toy makes him feel like he's working, with the added bonus of me throwing it for him occasionally 👌. For a cocker spaniel Storm goes against the grain in many ways. She is lazy, hates water, she hates being outside if the sun isn't shining, and she hates it when I ask her to 'work'. She would much rather keep herself to herself and find her own entertainment (in this paddock it normally involves chasing the birds and rolling in pheasant or fox poo 🤢). Having said that I still make her 'work' to solidify her obedience and to exercise her brain, but unlike Drax she doesn't crave the mental stimulation.

Moral of the story is; set the expectations from the day your dog arrives and adapt to what the dog needs. Researching the breed is important, but not all dogs of the same breed exhibit the same behaviours. 🐾

27/02/2026

This week I have been to visit 'Robbie' a springer spaniel, who at 2 years old decided he wasn't going to let his owners put his harness on any more 🐾.

I am seeing a massive increase in the amount of dogs being walked in harnesses. A lot of trainers do not like harnesses. I on the other hand encourage anything that reassures the handler. You'll hear some trainers say a dog will pull more on a harness. This is true, but only because it is less painful to pull on a harness than it is on a lead attached to the dogs collar.

That being said, a lot of owners are unaware of the long term effects an ill fitting harness can have on a dog. Lots of harnesses are designed for owner convenience and not with the dogs freedom of movement in mind.

When choosing a harness for your dog, make sure it doesn’t restrict movement of the front shoulders and that its not going to rub and irritate the backs of the legs and armpit area 🚫 .

My visit to Robbie was short and sweet. We changed the harness to a completely different style, worked on some positive association with the harness (he had become resentful of the harness due to the pain the previous harness had caused), and started a training plan for lead walking to prevent pulling 🐕‍🦺.

23/02/2026

When it comes to choosing a dog to join your family, whether it be a puppy from a breeder or adopting a golden oldie from a rescue, how much consideration do you give to the dogs breed?

I reckon 90% of 'jobs' that come my way are due to genetic traits of the dog. Specific characteristics of a breed. Education is key. Please, please, please do your research before making any decisions.

Here are my top tips to helping you make the right choice about which dog to join your family;

▪️if buying from a breeder, make sure parents and pups are health tested. Each breed has different recommendations for tests so do your research. Make sure you meet at least the mum of the pups, ideally both parents. If the breeder is 'professional' then do a bit of digging. Google them, see what pops up. Trust your gut instincts. A good breeder will be very particular about who they sell their pups to, so be grateful that they are interrogating you! Expect to have to sign agreements.
▪️if going through a rescue for a puppy, research the rescue, Google them, see what other adopters are saying about them. Ask as many questions as you can. Ask what exposure the pups have had to 'home life'. Some rescues only use foster placements for litters, but some use kennels, which means the pups have never heard a washing machine before, a hairdryer, a vacuum cleaner, a door bell etc. Another thing to consider is the accuracy of the suspected breed. It is often pure guess work what breed the puppies are, so do not be surprised if your 'labrador' puppy grows to the size of a great dane!
▪️research the breed. Google the facts, check out the kennel club recommendations. Attend some dog shows to get first hand advice from fellow owners. Shows like crufts are a great way to get exposure to a variety of breeds and the opportunity to speak to knowledgeable people with vast experience of each breed.
▪️consider your lifestyle. I often hear 'i got a dog as i thought it would encourage me to be more active'. Choose a breed that fits into your current lifestyle, not the lifestyle you want.
▪️consider the age of the dog. A 10 week old puppy can be moulded and trained to your desire, but training takes up a lot of time and younger pups require a lot of work. A young dog or adolescent dog is (hopefully, but not always) house trained and used to leads and possibly trained, BUT the adolescent stage can be a tricky stage. A lot of dogs end up in rescue between the ages of 10 and 18 months because hormones wreak havoc and all the previous training goes straight of the window! An older dog may seem like the perfect option, but you must consider; vet bills and how easy it will be for the dog to adapt to a new way of life, let alone the inevitable fact that you are going to have less time with an older dog.

For first time dog owners it can seem like a minefield. My advice is to reach out to someone in the dog industry; the local kennels, a vet, a groomer, a trainer, a dog walker. Ask them their opinion. Anyone in the industry would be willing to help, as we all want what's best for the dogs. Don't be afraid to reach out.