Lothian Dog Training

We had our first introduction to mantrailing. I was nervous and excited. Sandra is just brilliant at supporting you and your dog to get the hang of it. We will be doing more. I think it has lots of potential to build my labs confidence, and it was a joy for me to watch my dog work, use his brain and have so much fun. It tired him out, he has endless energy and was so settled well into the next day after our introduction workshop. Met lots of like minded dog lovers too. Totally recommend it!

I would highly recommend Sandra. As someone who has been to the dark depths of having a reactive pup, tried everything, lost all hope, feeling like a failure and living life in constant fear and anxiety of having to walk my pup, boy am I glad to have found Sandra!I have tried many other trainers and different training methods - none of which gave me the results I was looking for and I always ended up coming away feeling worse about myself. I was very aware that in addressing my training needs with my dog, I also needed to address training myself. With Sandra, her approach was very much directed at both me and my dog working together rather than the training being purely focused on the dog. I loved how Sandra made me feel like we were tackling this together and it wasn’t just me on my own.By no means would I say my problems are a thing of the past but they have improved massively and I can see that we are on the right path to get to the life I want to have with my dog. My confidence is growing with every walk and my dog's behaviour is like night and day to what it was. I have no doubt there will be hiccups along the way but I know Sandra will be a phone call away to help me work through them in a way that doesn’t send me back to square one.

I’ve done the Zooming Recall course with Sandra, which improved my dogs recall and his engagement with me, to the point that I trust him to be off the leash again.Sandra has also helped us out with some of Data’s behaviour problems at home. She’s very knowledgeable and responsive. I don’t know where we’d be without her.Last but not least Sandra has introduced us to Mantrailing - this is now something that both Data and I love and can’t live without!Highly recommended!

Our training with Sandra was a big success, with the end result being a pup transformed from a reactive, pully dog to a calm & engaged one.Sandra was super helpful every step of the way, with detailed instructional videos, one to one guidance and a swift answer to any questions we had thoughout the 6 weeks.Whilst there is still plenty to keep building on with our dog and ourselves, the notes and advice from Sandra for the future allows us to keep at it. We know that if we needed any further guidance we would absolutely get in touch with Sandra again.100% recommend Sandra to any dog owners looking for help and assistance with any issues.

Sandra was recommended by a trusted friend, who has worked with her before, after I had a very difficult experience when my 18 month Collie X had an overreaction outburst on a walk. It properly shook my confidence in being able to take my dog out for fear she would get into another similar situation. I did not know what to do but I knew I needed help.From the very first phone call, I was encouraged to share as much detail about what had happened, what had changed and what our experiences were around my dog's triggers. After our first in person meeting, Sandra tailored our training plan to suit me and the dog to ensure I was able maintain consistency and give us both opportunities to rebuild our confidence on walks again. While other training often focuses solely on what the dog is doing, Sandra takes a coaching approach with owners to make sure they succeed with their dog.Sandra has given me an entirely different perspective on my dog, on my relationship with my dog and how to continue to strengthen our bond. The reassurance and support Sandra offered has helped me through one of the trickiest patches I've experienced. I'm looking forward to continuing to work with her as we progress into new challenges.

The charity we adopted our staffy lurcher mix from recommended Sandra. She is incredibly knowledgeable, not only about breeds but dogs individual personalities.3 year old Nini has come along amazingly, Sandra has taught us how to work together with her. Nini pulled all the time in walks and tried to engage every dog she saw, she walks well on a loose lead and her focus is on us instead of distractions now. These changes have built trust, positivly impacting Nini settling with us in her new home. Teaching us as much as our dog. We've had a reactive dog in the past, Sandra helped us unlearn our habits and how to recognise Ninis body language and behaviours.I highly recommend Sandra, she is contactable at anytime throughout the training period and really understands the individual dogs needs.

I have been attending mantrailing and scent classes with my Belgian Shepherd Laekenois for well over a year. Over this time my dogs confidence has soared and reactivity towards people has, as a result, practically disappeared. Her (fear) reactivity to dogs she didn't know has also reduced and is continuing to do so. This is mainly due to intensive training to a plan and set of strategies agreed with and under the direction of Sandra. This has had a huge impact on the quality of life for both me and my dog. My dog is doing great!

I have just completed a Zoom Recall Training course, which took place one evening a week for 3 consecutive weeks. Despite being online the course was fantastic and being at home is the best place to start training with your dog, away from distractions. We made great progress, none of which would have happened without the course. It was interactive, engaging for the dogs and fun. The accompanying course notes and videos are great too. I cannot recommend Sandra enough - she is really knowledgeable and incredibly helpful, tailoring things during the training sessions to meet the needs of the individual dogs and guiding the owners on how best to approach things.

We have a one year old miniature schnauzer that was restless, would not settle unless on someone, had become petrified of her crate and would constantly bark for attention. She had started to become reactive towards other kids, babies and strangers who would come in the house.We had an initial phone chat with Sandra to explain the situation and we were delighted when she said she would help us out (we had to be committed to the cause and I can assure you we were/still are!!)Sandra came to the house to observe Juno’s behaviour and could instantly recognise what we needed to get Juno to become more content in her own home, we got some quick wins and some tools which would require continuous work and patience but we are already seeing the hard work pay off.We now have a dog who no longer barks for attention, sleeps in her crate voluntarily and can settle and be calm while our 5 year old son is not!Such a positive experience with Sandra from being reassuring on the phone, non judgmental for the errors we had made previously, ensuring we understood her techniques and making us accountable on our part of the training.We really appreciate the time, effort and dedication Sandra gives to her clients. We are now focused on her reactivity to strangers and with Sandra’s tools/techniques we are confident this can also be overcome by repetition and consistency. We cannot recommend Lothian Dog training highly enough!

Sandra is clear and supportive. She has made us much more confident with our dog. Very skilled at what she does!