Linnea came to assess my SBT Zero as he is a rescue and I wanted some advice on focus before I let him off lead.

Prior to Linneas session, I wasn't aware of the power and importance of eye contact between dog and owner in establishing a bond and ensuring the dog maintains a focus on the owner and not what's going on around.

We only needed a couple of sessions to obtain the focus I was after from Zero. He always looks to me now when we stop off lead or if I change direction for him to distract him from other dogs or situations using the techniques Linnea showed us.

I found Linnea to be a very concise trainer, who has a lovely manner and an obvious love of dogs. I have and will continue to recommend her teaching and training methods to other dog owners.

- Kim

How Walk and Train made my life easier.

I have two dogs, Molly a 12 year old Collie cross and Sammy a 6 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier who were well behaved, until I started fostering Staffordshire Bull Terrier Sparky. He had a few issues, e.g. nipping/biting me when I said the word ‘No’ and he kept bullying my 12 year old dog. The two males (my Sammy and foster dog Sparky) didn't always get on, so I contacted the rescue who got in touch with Walk and Train on my behalf.

When I took Sparky out for a walk for the first time he took me for a jog. I use a stroller/walker as I have MS so it helps with my balance and stops me falling. I then had someone out with me to make sure I was safe, it was a nightmare as I had the two staffies at the front, Molly at the back of me. I didn't enjoy walking them at all until Walk and Train came out to help me.

I thought I was quite good at reading a dogs’ body language, ha I learned at lot more in the first day with Linnea than I imagined I would! I thought Sparky was calm but he wasn't so Linnea showed me how to get him calm, also have him calm when getting ready to go out a walk. Linnea made a figure 8 with the lead and wrapped the lead around the handles, then off we went. The first walk was with Sparky and we had to keep him focused we went back to the house and got Sammy out, he knew straight away how to walk at the side of stroller/walker, but Sparky still had to be corrected. Linnea asked how I felt with the walk, I was confident and really happy to be able to walk them without them pulling. I went out with them myself the next few days until Walk and Train came back out to see how I was doing. On the second meeting Sparky was a lot better even more so on the walk. Sammy had been picking up on some of Sparky's bad manners so I started using some of the tools Linnea gave me on him. The walk was much more enjoyable and I was praising when needed.

My life has changed dramatically now that I can get them calm, the household isn't as unruly. Walk and Train really helped me gain confidence and made my daily walks a much more confident and pleasant experience. Can't thank them enough. I really liked that they show you how to do things and explain why they are doing everything in a way that’s easy to understand. Now that I have the right tools I'm a lot more confident and assured and I would highly recommend Walk and Train to anybody and will :-). Thank you Walk and Train you have made Sparky ready for his new forever home.

- Toni

I have a staffie cross named Stella. Stella is a very friendly and happy dog, however only really to people. Our problem with Stella is her behaviour to other dogs. She has always had this issue, just on a much smaller scale, as she only gets aggressive towards certain dogs and only occasionally. She then started getting progressively worse with other dogs after a certain incident, leaving her much worse off than the other dog. She then got a lot more anxious during walks, and reacted badly more often to dogs that approached her. Walks then turned from being enjoyable to pretty stressful with me worrying about meeting other dogs, as well as keeping Stella on a lead at all time, which wasn't fun for either of us. This is when we decided that we needed help from someone who actually knows what they are doing and how to properly address these issues.

What Linnea taught us was easy to understand and made a lot of sense. She even showed me how to walk Stella properly and different ways to divert her attention from other dogs by using her own dog as a distraction.

Linnea even covered feeding and play time and how they can also help with her behaviour towards other dogs, giving me a huge amount of information to think about.

I ended up buying one of the leads Linnea sells and uses, instead of the retractable long lead I usually use. After a few walks she stopped pulling and was more responsive when we were out. I definitely have more control over Stella now, especially when she sees another dog. She was always very interested in other dogs and would get exited to see them, then occasionally she would react badly. It was hard to tell why or when she would, however now, she doesn't get as interested any more, and when she does I am able to divert her attention from other dogs, so she doesn't feel the need to meet them. It makes our walks more enjoyable and a lot less stressed. I have definitely seen an improvement in Stella, her recall has also improved, and she is able to sit outside and relax, even if dogs and people are around her.

After the training with Linnea I know understand that it's not necessarily Stella's fault, but also the way I am with her. I get her excited about walks, I don't give her clear enough instructions, there is little consistency when it comes to training and I get stressed out when I see other dogs (because of how Stella might react) which can't be good for her either. Linnea made me aware of this which I think has helped a great deal.

I want to thank Linnea and Gregor. I feel they have really helped, and done so in a simple easy way to remember and understand. We're still improving and we are no where done yet, but I have seen a definite improvement.

Thank you guys!!

- Katie

I first met Linnea and Gregor at the start of 2015 after adopting a rescue Staffie, Esme. Although I had had dogs for over 16 years previously, I had little experience of the SBT breed and Esme presented behaviours I was not prepared for or able to handle initially. Esme is actually quite chilled and relaxed indoors and lives in harmony with cats. She is super sweet, sooky, affectionate and cuddly; an absolute diamond with my friends and visitors to the house. However, she is reactive when meeting new dogs which can be problematic, alarming and even physically challenging for me as her handler!

Linnea took us back to basics. Basic commands, basic obedience. Getting Ez to focus on me and not external distractions. We had a few sessions working on this, moving on to taking Esme outside to meet Gregor with a very calm, passive greyhound. As I was very nervous, I found this 'set-up' encounter great for building my confidence handling Esme and after a couple of sessions, we were able to pass Gregor and his dog quite closely! What I feel I gained from working with Walk and Train was (a) a better understanding of doggy behaviour/body language (b) more confidence, by using proven successful strategies in certain situations (c) useful after-session notes/homework that Linnea sends out. On that note, it is very important to do Linnea's homework and be consistent to make true progress. I would recommend Walk and Train to anyone needing any behavioural support at all with their furry friends!

- Sarah