Trainers in Surrey

Hi all,

I'm after some advice please. Does anyone have a recommendation for a positive force free trainer or dog class in Surrey or Middlesex? Close to Staines would be perfect. We have had Misty for about two months and she is an absolute joy but she does have a way to go with some training. Her recall is ok, we have been teaching her Touch after seeing Victoria Stilwell do this. However she does have selective hearing and it only works sixty per cent of the time and never if she has something more interesting to see or sniff. We have never let her off lead yet as we are not confident with recall so she goes on a long lead while in the park. Another issue we would like help with is socialising her with other dogs. Before we got her she was not walked so didn't meet any dogs apart from the others in her house. Sadly the area around here has a lot of yappy, nippy little dogs that bark as soon as they see her which then makes her bark. Also people let their dogs of the lead a lot and have no control over them so the dogs she meets in the park bound up to her and again start to bark and she retaliates. I would love her to have some positive experiences with other dogs. Today hubby had been out for a walk with her, returned to our road and a Staffie was behind some cars and then came up to Misty. The staff had no lead and no owner anywhere to be seen but he came up very nicely, no running up to her unannounced or anything and they touched noses very gently then the staffs owner appeared at his window, apologised to my husband and said the staff had escaped. The staff was very obedient and as soon as the owner told him to go in the house he left Misty. As this was one of the very few meetings she had had with a dog without any barking or agression from either I'm slightly tempted to knock on the owners door and see if he would be happy for both dogs to go for a walk together. Do you think this would be an idea or would I be better to wait until I take her to a trainer or doggy class first?

Sorry I don't know of any trainers but I like your idea of walking with the other Staffy. As long as both are on lead and on the outside of both owners to begin with and then move them closer as the walk progresses. If all goes well Misty might have a playmate close to home

Thanks for the advice Ian. I wasnt sure if it was a good idea but after reading your reply I'll knock and ask tonight!

Oh yes if the other owner is willing which im sure he will have its all good socialisation and interaction

Hiya! I will put out a post on a training group i'm in and see if I can find somebody for you

Thanks so much Rachel, really appreciated! We haven't been able to speak to the staffy owners as they were out when i popped round. I left a note but not heard anything yet. We do have a meeting tonight with my friend and his lab. Just a small walk round the block with both on leads. Really desperate for her to get along with another dog. I'm quite convinced she only barks through fear or nervousness I really don't think she is DA. although if that were the case we would just work around it.

Hey! So, I'm not familiar with your area at all but I have found a few so you can take your pick at to which would be most convenient

Satah Hickmott - Surrey
http://petnecessities.co.uk/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=33

Sarah Whitehead - Windsor
http://cleverdogcompany.com/

Adolescent dogs - Guildford
https://www.adolescentdogs.com/home.html

Capable Canines - Ham (have a grumpy dogs class)
http://www.capablecanines2002.com/

Beverely Saucell (very experienced) - Twickenham
http://www.fetchpets.co.uk/




How did the walk with the lab go also? My girl is fear aggressive to unknown dogs, but once she knows a dog she very friendly and playful, and has lived with various dogs Though her own kind is her favourite Have faith! Hopefully you'll find a decent trainer to help you through.

Thanks very much for the links Rachel Ill def look into them. I did find one club very near to us and they run recall classes - I left them a voicemail so waiting to hear back from them.

Well Thursday was amazing! I was so proud of my girl. My friend turned up with his toddler in a push chair and his lab. Well when Misty saw them she started barking very loudly. She was so loud that the Lab actually gave her a bark back! So my friend crossed the road and a few seconds later we crossed behind him and started walking behind them. Misty stopped the barking as soon as they crossed the road- then slowly she started to become curious about the people and dog in front. So very slowly I started to catch up to him and she was more curious then anything else. They both had a sniff and decided that they could walk together, so we walked for about 40 mins. It was absolutely fantastic!! I was over the moon with her. She even let me feed the lab, as I was giving her treats constantly saying Good Girl etc when she waited at a kerb etc he was getting jealous and wanted some treats too. My mate said it was fine to give him some so I was feeding them both and they were complete stars. I did think Misty might not like me feeding him but no, she was great! I wouldn't say she loved him but she definitely tolerated/liked him. If he started sniffing something she would act like she didn't care, then as soon as he had finished she went to sniff the same spot! It went so well that we are meeting up again one night this week. I was so thankful to my friend! I feel she is just scared and as I have read on a previous post ( I cant remember who said this) maybe she barks at a dog because she knows that the barking means either the other dog or her will be removed. When that doesn't happen and both dogs remain then the barking soon turns into curiousity. She is slowly but surely getting better with dogs she meets on walks etc. She used to bark as soon as she saw another dog whether it was near her or on the other side of the road. Now 75% of the time we can meet another dog, they can touch noses but then she will always end up barking. I felt bad as this weekend she met a gorgeous little lab x and was straining to meet him ( we were crossing paths anyway) both dogs were desperate to meet, they had a sniff then she barked at him so I apologised to the owner who was VERY understanding and just said they have to learn don't worry about it! What a nice man!! Then later that walk we met a tiny dog (no idea what it was) who was going mad barking at her. Misty just looked shocked - as how dare another dog bark at ME???  We went out yesterday and there was a gorgeous boxer who we met as we turned the corner, they had a sniff and I was so happy thinking this is going great. Then she barked at him and he then barked back. Today she saw a wolf hound across the street and wouldn't stop barking at him. The poor thing looked so upset that she was barking I felt awful. Then up the road there was a whippet that wouldn't stop barking at her but she didn't reply and just wanted to go and meet him (obviously I didn't let her) Then on the way home we saw a man with three staffs. One was desperate to come to her, making all sorts of whiny noises and she didn't pull to go to them and she didn't bark but she wouldn't take her eyes off them. She was completely transfixed. I really hope that the more we take her out the more common place it will be to her to meet more dogs. We took her to the park Sat and yesterday and as both days we had the middle area to ourselves as all the other dogs were on the outside we thought we would try some recall work with her. We left her on the long line but didn't hold it ( we made SURE there were no dogs anywhere near us) and kept calling her to us using the Touch command. She was absolutely fantastic running like a whippet each time - she is so quick. Then we trusted her enough to walk a little way without holding the lead- she seemed to really respond well to the trust in her and never were far away and always kept an eye on us. Very positive progress. Everything was wonderful then we get to the car park and there was a car load of OAPS loading a dog into their boot. We stayed back for ages but they just were not doing anything so we decided to walk past the front of the car not to disrupt the dog they had in their boot (which they hadn't shut the boot door) so as we walk around to get to our car one of the OAP idiots decides that now is a great time to beat some rug to get the dirt out of it just as we are walking past. Yep thanks for that! so Misty starts barking as she is nervous, then their dog flys out of the car barking and growling. The owners think this is funny and are laughing until their dog sees Misty and then stops barking and runs back to them. Idiots-why did they think their dog flying out of their car to attack another is funny. I just started shouting control you dog, mine is in the lead yours is uncontrolled. Arrgghh rant over!

Ah Emma you'll find many times that Misty will make you the proudest owner ever and then others where you'll want the ground to open up beneath you because she's done something so flipping daft.

The barking at some dogs but not others will always bemuse me, my Flo can take a dislike to a dog at 100 metres away for no obvious reason. There must be some reason for it but I can never fathom it. We often walk with a friend of mine that has a dog that can only be described as a floor mop thing. They don't act like best mates but amble along together and there's never any issues except for one time when said floor mop was being bothered by a Doberman, Flo was straight over there telling the dobe off as if to say leave my mate alone

As for stupid owners that have no idea what dog ownership should be, well, get used to it for there are a lot of them out there

Oh Ian that floor mop comment has made me laugh so much