THE WAY OF THE DOG LTD

When I first contacted Shaun I had a young rescue who, despite my efforts and adoration, I didn't have a strong bond with. She was found as a stray and still held many characteristics and survival instincts from her time on the streets which as she relaxed into home life presented challenges to overcome. We embarked on a behaviour modification programme to begin sculpting her reaction to dogs when out walking as she had started perceiving them as threats, lunging and growling if getting too close. Drew is a mixed breed with GSD and Rottweiler looks, and her size meant that this kind of behaviour could easily become dangerous if not controlled. Shaun explained he specialises in guardian breeds such as those in my dog's heritage which meant he could work totally in tune with her innate traits. This offered my partner and I great reassurance that he was the person to help us to better understand and train our dog. Shaun helped me first to build a better connection with Drew, building engagement and making me more interesting than her surroundings. Prior to our sessions, I would have never believed it possible to get this dog to look up at me and connect the way Shaun demonstrated he could with his dogs - but now it's a reality. From there, the rest of the programme was made easier as we tackled increasingly challenging scenarios - but Drew had a clear understanding of what I wanted from her, taking out the guesswork from my previous attempts at training. Since the end of the first behaviour modification programme, our work has not stopped. I kept regular journal updates on our progress and Shaun was still there offering his support. Every day is now a training opportunity and although we may not yet be perfect, it's monumentally better than where we began with methods to manage Drew's behaviour and we're still seeing improvements day by day. I can't recommend Shaun and The Way Of The Dog highly enough.

Me and Diesel have been training with Shaun for over two years now. Initially for behaviour modification and then ongoing training. We love and thoroughly enjoy every single session. I have learnt the utmost from Shaun as to dog behaviour, training and specifically so much more about the Rottweiler guardian breed; and I’m still learning from him. His fountain of knowledge in this realm is unlimited. In every single session I learn something new.Shaun is an immense support and will suit his teaching style to the individual he is teaching. Even helping outside of training sessions if I have any questions or require his advice; I know I could call on him.I don’t know where Diesel and I would be had we not had Shaun’s help, advice and teaching. To begin with it is fair to say we were heading in the wrong direction but now we are an incredible dog and handler team! All thanks to Shaun at The Way of The Dog!

From picking up my 13 week old GSD I thought how hard could this be…forward 5 months and I don’t think I could have kept this pup without the support of Shaun. He’s honest and open with how you are improving (or not) and helps you with any problems you’re facing. The bond I have now with my dog is all down to his guidance and advice. My only downside to meeting Shaun is I can’t see him enough! If he could physically fit me in I’d see him every day as my dog loves him as much as me! I don’t have experience with dog trainers but I’d say he’s probably the best you could find and you would be lucky to get a slot!

We had Oskar from an 8 week old puppy and it quickly became obvious we had a larger than normal GSD. He has come from a working back ground and both his parents are still working farm dogs. I was doing really well with bonding and building a solid relationship with Oskar when I unfortunately contracted COVID and was ill for a couple of months so my training and bonding came to a sudden stop. With being such a large GSD I now needed help with the training and bonding that Oskar and myself needed. I searched the internet for a local trainer when I came across Shaun, his Military background along with his time served as a Service Police Dog Handler, I knew I needed to have a conversation with him. After speaking with him and getting to know more about him and his expertise with GSD I knew he was the trainer for Oskar. He is very direct and tells you exactly what he requires from firstly you then your dog I had to wait for a number of weeks before I could get a training slot with Shaun, but I knew from the conversation I’d had with him I was prepared to wait. After the first training session I knew the waiting for Shaun had been the right thing to do. His depth of knowledge and experience is so impressive, watching him work Oskar and work with his own dog set the bench mark of what can be achieved. I am in to my 10th week of working with Shaun and looking forward to continue with training. Both myself and Oskar get so much from the training sessions, once you’ve finished your already looking forward to the next week with anticipation of what’s to come. Looking forward to many more weeks of training Oskar and continue to build trust and understand my GSD with the help an expertise of the GSD. Thanks Shaun.

Hi Shaun it’s Aaron here! I wanted to post this review and it may not appear typical. I worked with Shaun with my working line German Shepherd for several months in 2022 after having very severe issues with Apollo which included reactivity, biting me as his handler and a very severe attachment which resulted in him not being able to be left by my on a walk etc. After extensive work with Shaun it was deemed in his professional opinion that he was a dangerous dog as he had already bitten me and my partner multiple times and it was getting more and more severe and his risk to the general public was increasing and it got to the point where he needed to be constantly muzzled even in the house. I took the decision on my own accord to return Apollo to his breeder to find him a more suitable home as he needed a proper working role such as on a farm. He now lives with his brother on a working farm as an outside guard/farm dog and this was a lot better than the alternative, which ultimately would of been euthanasia would I have worked with any other trainer or behaviourist. The real joy we have received from Shaun is in our new puppy Conall who is an amazing Pyrenean Mountain dog. Thanks to the extensive knowledge/training tips I learned from Shaun during my time with him I have implemented this with Conall and he is an absolute dream. I have stopped him puppy biting. He walks well on heel and has an amazing grasp on training and manners, for the breed this is typically very difficult due to their natural tendency. I thoroughly have learned how to truly understand my dog now thanks to Shaun and he has greatly improved mine and Lauren’s quality of life and we now live together in harmony with our not so small Pyrenean Mountain Dog. Shaun is not only an amazing behaviourist and expert in his field and helps you train your dog, he also helps with you understanding both of your relationships together which ultimately is the most important thing. Thanks for everything Shaun, from Aaron, Lauren, Conall and of course the cats :)

We’d been thinking about a new trainer for our GSD, Echo, for quite a while. The standard puppy training classes were just not enough for her intelligence. She behaved perfectly in the class but the moment we left we didn’t know how to deal with her pulling on the lead, chasing leaves and vehicles, cats, squirrels, lunging at other dogs etc. We were aware that she was developing bad habits that we had no idea how to stop.Echo was around a year old when Shaun started working with us-how we wish we’d been with him when she was a small puppy! He has shown us how to train her and she is, quite simply, a different dog from our starting point. This could not have been achieved by going to a standard puppy class.As first-time dog owners we were feeling out of our depth from the start, I think it’s fair to say. Despite our best intentions we did a lot of things wrong and we are now being trained by Shaun in the correct ways to train Echo. We are learning as much as she is, and this has highlighted some comical co-ordination issues in the humans! It’s always a fun hour and Echo loves her time on the private field.You only have to look at Shaun’s dogs to know this man is a fantastic trainer, and he will do his utmost to help you, without judgement. It’s still early days for us and Echo will need more work around other animals but, with Shaun’s help, we are now confident we are well on the way to getting the family dog we always wanted.

We were having Nightmare's with our Working line German Shepherd and with previous failed trainers who gave poor advice and were not experienced with the breed we were so close to getting rid of hunter.With shaun's help and guidance we are on the way of having an amazing dog who is completely different from when we started only 3 and a half months ago. ( may 2020)You can expect Shaun to be Straight and honest with you, which allows you all to crack on with the job at hand training your dog/puppy and with his vast experience/knowledge i cant highly recommend Shaun enough.

Australian Kelpie Puppy TrainingFollowing the death of our rescued Kelpie (who was perfection) … On January 4th 2020, aged 8-weeks we brought Spencer to share our home with our 7-year old extremely confident Yorkie, who had been very distressed following the death of her companion.We had worked with Shaun (TWOD) a number of years previously, to support the management of our Yorkie, with our previous Kelpie. Shaun was really positive about Spencer but very realistic and honest too saying “ Kelpie’s are not for the faint hearted” and how true these words were to become. Our Yorkie stayed upstairs or yapped at him permanently. He grew so quickly, we could not “baby” or “cuddle” him as he mouthed and bit all the time. Family members did not have the confidence to support us and we could not leave him with the grand-children for fear of him hurting them accidently. He was very people centred, attention seeking, had selective hearing but was not aggressive. We had not prepared ourselves for life with a handsome, loving, very inquisitive, environmentally alert, active, cheeky, destructive, vocal Kelpie who loved to totally ignore us and was to grow to twice the size of our previous Kelpie … and all this happening during the COVID lockdown too…We initially had two training sessions before COVID hit, another 12 when the lockdown was relaxed and plan to have more in the future. The sessions have all been amazing, relevant, and incremental in building up the training according to both ours and Spencer’s development progression. There have been times when we felt getting Spencer was just “the biggest mistake ever.” However, the opportunity for discussion with Shaun at every session gave us the confidence, allayed anxieties, stopped us overthinking or over-egging his behaviour and enabled us to move forward positively. Spencer is not a typical Kelpie in that he is not always up for working and prefers to “clown around” or “do his own thing”…. We have learnt so much about the Kelpie as a working breed, how to engage him, keep his interest, and not give in to his extraordinarily strong will whilst still having fun.Shaun is passionate, incredibly knowledgeable and his practical expertise in working with dogs is just so evident. He talks such sense and his enquiring, logical, flexible approach works so well. Spencer would always work with Shaun as we looked on amazed and are so proud he does that with us now. Shaun has always been patient, flexible and adaptable in his approach when working with us, especially when we do not get the sequencing quite right, the commands wrong or the walking lines not quite straight. The access to the online journal has provided the opportunity for focus and reflection and the environment the training takes place in is exceptional and so very well kept.I have owned a range of dogs, some puppies and others rescued, since childhood but none have tested us as Spencer has. He is now 10-months old, huge weighing more than 30kg, so not a medium sized dog as we expected but very handsome (we think). Thanks to Shaun the future of our relationship with Spencer is solid, he is here to stay. We are now extremely attached and “love him to bits”. He no longer controls family life but fits into it and even our Yorkie is beginning to play with him now she has put him in his place.Thanks to Shaun we now understand the breed. The training has given us confidence and assurance to work positively with Spencer and know that positive reinforcement is the right approach. Working with your dog in this way is essential to prevent problems . I have in the past been to other types of dog training classes but now I would always highly recommend Shaun @ TWOD as the most and perhaps only effective mode of training. It is just excellent.

I have had the pleasure of sharing my life with Belgian Shepherds for many years, and can most often be found at an agility show where my dogs and I thoroughly love to work the courses.One of my young Belgian boys, Mojo, showed he had great drive to learn and do anything I would ask and his early potential in agility was exciting to see. However, for health reasons, I made to decision to suspend his agility training but I needed an alternative as Mojo would not have been happy to be doing nothing at all.As I had not trained in anything other than agility, for a very long time, I began to research local trainers. I did not want to join a group where the focus would be primarily on simple 'pet obedience' as that would offer Mojo no real stimulus or enjoyment. I found the link to The Way Of The Dog and after reading Shaun's bio, and the reviews, I contacted Shaun to see if he could work with Mojo and me, to develop a training schedule that will suit Mojo's needs. I am very happy to say that the answer was 'Yes'.Mojo and I have been training with Shaun for a short time, but Shaun's years of experience of training dogs, coupled with his ability to teach the handler to better understand their dog means that you gain so much value from your 1-2-1 session and become better equipped to build your relationship with your dog outside of the training sessions.Whilst Mojo may never be the agility star I had first hoped, I am still excited at his potential as we channel his energy in a new direction, with the guidance of Shaun.

I initially contacted Shaun with regards to my rescue staffordshire bull terrier who had become increasingly difficult to walk if there were any other dogs. As he was a rescue I had limited information to his background and history but this didn't cause much issue as Shaun was very understanding and reassuring. He is very knowledgeable and gives you the tools and confidence needed to feel in control. Not only did my dog get training but I did too and infact I feel for me, that was even more valuable. Each session was tailored to our needs and progress. Shaun made me feel very comfortable and I wasn't afraid to ask further questions should there be something I didn't quite understand. I was given honest, clear information and although the training received has helped significantly I also understood that this wasn't a quick fix and hard work was needed on my part continuously. My dogs behaviour has much improved on walks, he isn't 100% all of the time however the training I received with Shaun has given me the confidence to know what to do in a situation and how to handle my dog better. It has made being out on walks so much easier and more enjoyable. I would definitely recommend.