One of my clearest memories as a child was teaching our flat coated retriever to give me his paw in exchange for a biscuit!

Little did I know, at the age of 10 that this would be the start of my love of dogs. Later in life when it came to training my own dogs, I started out using more traditional methods, but I was often told ‘your hearts not in it’…. and do you know what, it really wasn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, I gave it a good go, but couldn’t help thinking there must be an alternative way. This coupled with my dogs behaviour not getting any better, led me down the path of learning about our canine companions.

Fast forward to now and having completed a number of certifications and qualifications, I can say that I genuinely love watching dogs learn. There is a real sense of achievement watching the penny drop into place and the resulting change that begins to take place.

Through my studies, what I have learnt is that dogs are complex emotional animals and whilst you can ‘make’ a dog ‘obey’ you, it very often has unintended consequences elsewhere. Training should be fun for both you and your dog, this isn’t to say the dog has free rein to do as it pleases in any situation, sensible boundaries are needed, which the dog needs to understand, but this can be achieved with methods that complement the way in which dogs learn best.

High Flying Dogs was created from a passion to help other people and their dogs to have great relationships.

With my own dogs I have a real passion for Gundog and Scent work, but like me, my 2 dogs love learning and will have a go at any dog discipline.

“When you stop learning, you stop growing” Blanchard, as such my training and learning will continue, which you’ll start to see implemented into courses and services we offer at High Flying Dogs.

Alison cert.TPTD

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