Atta-Dog!

My dog journey started when I was around 5 and became enamoured by our family dog Compo, a collie cross. Although we’d always had family dogs, I considered Compo my own and would sneak him a cup of water and biscuit every afternoon whilst he slept on my sister’s bed and inevitably spill the water over it (sorry Jess!)

The more serious integration into the dog world happened when I was 8 and my mum started a rescue centre for Staffordshire Bull Terriers. By 12 I knew I wanted to be a dog trainer and would spend my free time teaching the rescues new skills and tricks that would help them when they went to their new homes. It felt rewarding to see staffies of all backgrounds show off their skills and capabilities, especially at a time when the stigma against them in the media was high. However, I became frustrated with some of the more challenging behaviours that I didn’t have the knowledge or experience to change. Walks could become a huge cause of stress for both my family and the dogs themselves, due to their reactions towards other dogs. It was disheartening to face confrontation from members of the public over this, when simply trying to meet our dog’s needs. I spent years putting all the knowledge and skills I had at the time towards trying to change these behaviours but only saw minimal results and instead had to use means to manage it, leading to walks feeling more like a military operation than an enriching activity.

After graduating college with a diploma in Animal Management I went on to uni, studying Animal Behaviour and Welfare. During these courses I put my industry experience hours towards all the dog industries I could, from groomers, walkers, rescue centres, kennels, puppy classes, dog day-care, gundog classes and clinical behaviourists right through to Surrey Police’s dog school. I worked with incredible people, incredible dogs and learned more than I could’ve dreamed of.

The skills and knowledge I gained meant I was finally able to tackle those elusive behaviours that had challenged me for so long with my own dogs, something that had, at points, felt impossible.

Following my degree, I began working in the behaviour team at one of the leading UK rescue centres. This was a great opportunity to put everything I knew into practice- working with an array of dogs and behaviours, often with varying goals and timeframes. Whilst challenging at times, this work has also been extremely rewarding, seeing dogs overcome behavioural challenges and going on to thrive in their forever homes.

I started Atta-Dog to help owners struggling with their dog’s behavioural challenges, as I know how debilitating these can feel, especially with societal expectations on how ‘good dogs’ should behave. Taking a kind and proactive approach to all my client’s behaviour goals, I’ve already been lucky enough to see newly empowered owners have huge breakthroughs with their pets. So if you want to see similar results with your own dog then don’t hesitate- get in touch today!