TESTIMONIALS

We adopted Gigi, an English Setter, from Italy just a few short weeks ago he is over 9 years old and had been institutionalised for a number of years. 
Even though Gigi has a very friendly nature it soon became very obvious that his formative years had left him with numerous problems around trust and confidence and to get him to do anything that suited the life we wanted to create for him was going to be very difficult.
Donna came into our life not to soon and worked with Gigi and my wife and I in a way that inspired the three of us to believe that a better way forward did exist and from minute one things began to improve he is still very nervous particularly around traffic but improves daily the difference that Donna made after just a few hours is astounding
“You can teach an old dog new tricks”

Donna has literally changed our lives!

We tried puppy classes when Teddy was only 3-4 months old, but he was easily distracted by other dogs and was more interested in hoovering the crumbs up off the floor. I didn’t go back to the training center after the initial 6-week block, a couple of months went by, and things started to become more stressful. Teddy started to become a little more demanding with attention, still on the nibbly side, didn’t understand time out because we left the crate door open for him to come and go, car journeys became unbearable due to the barking, and being the breed he is, Teddy never tired from physical exercise. I kept telling myself that it was the puppy stage, and he would grow out of it but after speaking to numerous people, I knew I needed some help. I needed someone who was mobile and could make home visits over a weekend due to my work, that’s when a friend highly recommended Donna. It took me a few weeks to pluck up the courage to message Donna, but the moment Donna walked in, I knew it was the best decision I had made. In our first session together, we went back to basics and back to the beginning if you like; we worked on various training and behavioural tasks, one of which was a game changer for us. Donna stressed the importance of consistency and patience, both which I was previously lacking. After two weeks of training homework, I decided it was time to move on and asked Donna for further help with Teddy, focusing on the car. Donna showed us new things to teach Teddy to further his training and make him think, which we’ve learnt is very important for Teddy. We then put Teddy in the car; after 35 minutes of Donna working with Teddy in the car, we finally made it off and drove round our area, in complete silence! Donna was extremely encouraging towards Teddy, praising him throughout the journey and again, very patient! We’ve continued to make short regular trips around our area and things are massively improving. We’re straight off the driveway with only a few stops around the block. This is a massive improvement to what we’re used to, and the more we do this, the more he will settle and the further distance we can start to travel. We can’t thank Donna enough for the peace, joy and fun she has brought to our home, Teddy loves her. Donna is not only there for the session, but Donna has also helped us with any questions along the way, we’ve sent her videos to show her how things are going, and the progress Teddy is making. Donna has been amazing, and we would highly recommend her.

Teddy is excited to see Donna again… very soon.

Luna is our 3-year-old Portuguese Water Dog who we adore but had developed some very bad habits verging on aggression around unknown house guests (especially males), delivery people, and workmen. She was also very territorial around other dogs coming into the garden never mind the house and would also sometimes lunge towards lone males whilst we were out and about.   These issues had been exacerbated by Covid and a house move but had always been present and we knew we had to do something about it.  It was becoming very stressful for all involved including Luna.  However, we wanted to find the right person and we definitely wanted a behaviourist rather than just a trainer.

I am so delighted that we were recommended Donna, the change in Luna over such a short period of time is nothing short of amazing.

Donna really understands dogs and what it is that is driving their behaviour.  She then works with you, and yes there is homework!  to make the changes.  

From the initial visit to the subsequent sessions, Donna has been fantastic.  From giving us a plan, tips, and tweaking were necessary.  In addition, it is not that you have a session and that is it until the next time.  Donna is there at the end of the phone to chat through any issues, give encouragement and just checking in to see how it is going because let's face it, not every day is going to go perfectly!  She really took the time to observe Luna, seeing straight away what the issues were and how to resolve them, resetting boundaries and giving us a plan.  Luna also immediately realised she was someone that was to be respected!

We have had various people in the house since Donna has been working with us and it just isn't a problem anymore. I am very confident and much more relaxed now when strangers come to the house as I know what to do, as does Luna.  People who have returned to the house have commented on what a different dog Luna now is and that she is much calmer and relaxed

Donna also brought her own dog for a couple of sessions so that we could work on the issue around other dogs and again we now have a plan in place which will create success and means we can have family members with their dogs come to stay.

I can't believe what has been achieved in such a short period of time.  I cannot recommend Donna highly enough; she really does understand dogs and has actually transformed our lives!

Whilst running through a field to catch our 7 month old black Labrador Mila, I decided that we needed help as quite obviously there was a big re-call problem.

Mila is already very strong and we were struggling hugely to even go for walks without being pulled everywhere.

By pure chance Donna was recommended through a friend and she is awesome. She has definitely got a special way with dogs and her no-nonsense approach makes total sense.

Mila being our first dog has had a few one-to-one lessons as well as some puppy classes after having had all the necessary jabs. Donna’s training methods and practical advice are on another level though. She immediately figured Mila out and was able to point out what we had done wrong so far and is now helping us with (I believe) common problems such as greeting people and other dogs, re-call, lead work, retrieving, digging and over all becoming a sociable well behaved dog.

The whole family is involved in Mila’s training and with Donna’s training methods Mila is definitely keen to learn. With Donna’s help we are looking forward to helping Mila grow into a confident, friendly and well-behaved dog and family member.

Thank you Donna, what a great experience!

Karin, Jon, Luc and Alec

with Mila

We have a ten year old border collie called Molly and her behaviour changed for the worse when we bought a puppy. Molly is used to spending lots of time with me and getting lots of attention. She is a lovely natured, gentle dog and had previously not displayed any signs of aggression.

I’ve always given her toys to play with and she particularly loved the stuffed toys that I would get her from charity shops. 

Dixie, an eight week old black Labrador puppy, joined the family last March. Molly was not very keen on the new addition but tolerated her. The real problems started over toys. Molly was very possessive about them, even the ones that were Dixie’s that I kept in the puppy playpen. She was aggressive towards Dixie every time she picked a played with a toy. Dixie became nervous and timid. It was stressful for us and for Molly who was being scolded frequently.

At this point we went to Donna for help. She immediately knew the cause of Molly’s behaviour and advised us what to do and how to go about it. She recommended a multi step programme and then Donna monitored our progress via videos and phone calls as visits were not possible at the time due to Covid. After a few weeks of following Donna’s instructions things were much better. We are now at a point where the dogs have a shared toy box with a few toys in it that get changed regularly. They will also play together with the same toy without Molly being aggressive. It’s much more relaxing for us and Dixie is a lot more confident.

I would wholeheartedly recommend Donna. She has an extensive understanding of dogs and their behaviour and a practical, down to earth approach. She is very encouraging and positive. We wouldn’t hesitate to contact Donna again if we needed any further help with our dogs.

Christine 

Marley is our 14-month-old Yorkie who we love dearly. However, what we were not prepared for was his dominant and possessive behaviour, particularly around possessions (both his and ours) and food. Having had a previous yorkie that didn’t display such dominance,  it was behaviour we were not used to. On one occasion he actually bit his dad and we couldn’t let that happen again. To be frank, on these occasions, he scared us as his whole demeanour changed.  What scared us more was the thought of losing him, if we didn’t seek help. 

Thank goodness we were introduced to Donna. She really understood Marley and the reasons for his behaviour.  After devising a training plan, Donna gave us homework explaining that this would reinforce, what she had taught in order to make the necessary changes. 

After only one session we saw a marked improvement,  with regards to some of his behaviour. However, we realised a few weeks later,  that Marley still had dominant tendencies. So, we contacted Donna via the telephone initially and Donna was there giving us advice and further guidance, giving assurance she would visit if required. We did eventually arrange another visit and Donna came without hesitation and gave us another plan to follow through.  We continue to work with this plan. 

We were so impressed with Donna; her advice was second to none and she gave us confidence in our ability to manage Marley.  I’m sure with the continued support from Donna, Marley will get there and we will become confident parents, happy in the knowledge that Marley’s behaviour, will deem him safe around his mum and dad and people who he is yet to meet throughout his life. 

Donna truly has an affinity with dogs and we have no hesitation in recommending her and her wonderful talent to anyone else seeking help in managing their doggy's (unmanageable) behaviour. 

I can’t recommend Donna highly enough, she has made a huge contribution to the happiness and wellness of both mine and Buddy’s relationship by helping buddy work through his extreme fear of grooming.   Buddy is a 7 year old Bedlington Terrier who is normally a wonderfully natured, fun loving dog… until you take him to be groomed! Over the past 2-3 years Buddy’s fear and stress reaction to being taken to the groomers had increasingly gotten worse even though our groomer had been with Buddy from a pup and myself/husband was present at every groom to keep him calm it still continued to deteriorate. The last straw was Buddy now had to wear a cone while on the grooming table, was becoming more and more aggressive, shaking and stressed  and it was getting worse not better.  The purpose of the groom for me was to keep buddy clean and I also needed him to be comfortable for me to clean and shower him at home but Buddy’s behaviour was becoming aggressive with me in that situation too.   It couldn’t continue as I wanted Buddy to feel comfortable when being showered and cleaned for his health and for me to feel like I could do this safety with him and without him being scared.  I had had other trainers for Buddy in the past that hadn’t worked and Donna was recommended to me through a friend on a dog walk when I had explained I was looking for a behaviourist versus a trainer.  I really had hit a wall with it and I was getting really worried about how I was going to manage if I couldn’t shower Buddy, never did I ever think I would be giving him a hair cut too!!!!   After seeing Donna for sessions every week for two months I still can’t quite believe the journey that we have been on – I can now sit with Buddy calmly and I can groom and cut his coat without any shaking, over stressed drooling and nipping which has taken all the stress away for Buddy.  It has also taken the anxiety away for me as now I know I can shower him after those long lovely muddy walks.  Through Donna’s behavioural sessions and also her work time spent teaching me what to look out for in Buddy its allowed groom time to become a time that I look forward to v dread and for Buddy it now feels so relaxed and something that he enjoys.   A huge huge thank you from Tash and Buddy 

I heard about Donna through a friend. They had already had really good results with their dog so much so that I had commented on the change in him. I have a 3 year old Cavapoo. He had major health issues when he was 1 leading to him being highly medicated for a whole year. When he came off the medication he was extremely nervous while out on walks, of other dogs especially and even of birds in the sky. He would bark all the way down the street at birds flying over us! He barked and snapped at other dogs even if they weren’t near him. I was embarrassed every time we went on a walk. I was also too scared to let him off his lead at all anywhere because we had an incident of him running off once. I didn’t feel like we would ever be able to enjoy our walks together and thought it would always be stressful. I had tried another trainer about a year ago but it wasn’t successful at all. Donna came and worked with us over a few sessions. She took lots of time and patience getting to know Ozzie and me and put a plan of action together. Almost immediately I could see improvement. We’ve all worked hard to make walks more enjoyable and less stressful for Ozzie and I’m thrilled to say he is a million times better than he was and getting better every day. I have the confidence now to let him off his lead so he can chase his ball and he even made a friend on his walk yesterday!!!! I would definitely recommend Donna to anyone that needed help with their dogs problems. She was extremely professional as well as being understanding and kind. She also brings the bestest treats.🐶🐾 

I can’t recommend Donna enough, she came out to see my 15 week old Beagle puppy, who has previously been let down by 2 dog trainers because he’s “too much” and we should just accept his behaviour as ‘that’s what Beagles are like’.  Our main issues with Beau were his constant biting (fear of this continuing into adulthood) and him not listening to any of our instructions (we thought we’d never be able to let him off the lead).  Donna has worked with Beau for 2 sessions so far and we have already covered sitting, staying, laying down, retrieving, lead training, crate training etc.   Beau is now getting more and more obedient by the day and the biting has almost completely subsided (he only mouths us occasionally when over excited).   We now feel so positive for our future with Beau, as we can only see him progressing further as he continues with Donnas lessons.  Donna is knowledgeable on all breeds of dog and tailors the learning experience to suit them all. 

We inherited Raff as a four month old puppy who had not had the best start in life. He is a typical working cocker with all the energy and intelligence of the breed. We knew that we would need help with him from the beginning and called on Donna who had helped us before. She has worked with us all patiently and consistently over the last year to tackle all of the difficulties we have encountered including: his spaniel lead walking (i.e. pulling like a train!); his hit and miss recall, his unpredictable toilet habits; and his specific fear barking whenever the hoover was switched on (after one session with Donna he now LOVES the hoover!).
Donna has provided a number of face to face training sessions over the year but has also crucially been on the end of a phone for calls and texts to encourage, advise and tweak the training. She has made me feel empowered and confident and has reassured me that I am doing a good job when I felt like I was failing. I feel proud of what we’ve achieved together and Raff is now officially a superstar. Thank you so much.

Donna is a dog magician! Our Springer Spaniel Blue was 4 months old and we were at the end of our tether when we called on Donna to help. We have had Springer Spaniels before and thought we were pretty clued up but we could not find a way of stopping Blue from jumping up to the kitchen worktop when we were trying to prepare food or in fact whenever he thought there might be something to steal. The first trainer we consulted made some suggestions which did not work at all. Our home is open plan so we were having to shut Blue in his cage whenever we were trying to make our meals. We contacted Donna and she said she could fix the problem. We also mentioned a habit that Blue had of jumping up to bite and hold onto any scarves or loose clothing we were wearing. Donna came to our home and within a single visit she had solved both problems. Blue is now 3 years old and he has never jumped up at the worktop from that day to this. And our scarves and clothes have remained safe ever since. It was nothing short of miraculous and made us realise that early intervention by someone as talented as Donna can lead to a stress free future with our beloved pets!