Little Orchard Trainers

Alex

I began helping Sarah with classes in 2005, I really enjoy meeting the new puppies and dogs and assisting owners in their training and giving them advice that I have learnt through training my own dogs and working with Sarah. It is nice to see relationships and understandings develop and watch progression through the courses.
I have attended seminars on Behaviour, Nutrition, Puppy Socialisation, Working with Rescue dogs and a competition obedience workshop. In 2007 I qualified as an examiner for bronze and silver Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme and I am currently applying to become a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.

Charlie is my Westie who I rescued in 2003, he had numerous homes before mine and was only a year old. I instantly enrolled him on bronze training with Sarah and we slowly learnt together, building up a strong trust and bond.

In 2005 we passed our gold good citizen award, this was brilliant, as when we'd first enrolled onto bronze Charlie didn't know anything, including sit, he often cowered under the chair scared to come out.

Since achieving gold we have progressed on to train Heelwork to Music, including being a member of the demonstration team and attending competition obedience classes and workshops. This has led us into attending kennel club obedience shows.

In July 2005, Pimms arrived she was a 7 week old Jack Russell, as I had never owned a puppy before this was a different challenge! We enrolled onto training and have so far achieved bronze and silver awards and are working towards gold level.

On Saturdays we attend social club, Charlie has been a tutor dog for many years and Pimms has now followed in his footsteps helping to teach other dogs canine etiquette.

Michelle

I’m Michelle and this is my Labrador, Bailey. We began training with Sarah earlier this year when he was just 15 weeks old. Starting with puppy classes we quickly built up a bond and learnt lots about each other. In this 6 week period I was amazed how much there was to learn and found that Bailey loved to work and please me. Because we both enjoyed puppy classes so much and I wanted to continue building the bond we already had I enrolled on to the Bronze level Good Citizens. We have since passed Bronze (Aug 06) and Silver (Sept 06) levels and will be joining the next Gold group in the New Year. We have also just started Heelwork to Music lessons, which are great fun. Bailey is also learning to be a tutor dog at social club, where he helps dogs with various problems learn how to live happily with other dogs and us humans.

After passing Bronze I decided I would like to learn more on the teaching side so I joined Little Orchard. I began by helping out with Puppy Classes and then went on to Bronze and Silver sessions to. I really enjoy helping owners understand their dogs and to get the best out of them. I have learnt a huge amount from Sarah and Bailey in just a few months and am still amazed with how much there is still to understand. Working for Sarah has made me realise how little you can know when getting a puppy/dog and how working together using positive, fun training methods can make your time together great.

Zoe

Hello my name is Zoe and this is my dog Milo, he is a 3 ½ year old Jack Russell Terrier.

I started helping Sarah with puppy training classes at the end of 2003 where I helped during my work at Green Pastures Veterinary centre where I completed my training as a Veterinary Nurse. I started by filling out the puppy diaries for Sarah and gradually in time increased my knowledge and skills to help out with the classes and help owners learn how to train their puppies in a kind and rewarding manner. I also help with the advanced classes such as the bronze and silver and sometimes cover puppy classes for Sarah if she is away. I find the dog training very rewarding when I see how far the owners and puppies have come.

Since I have done this training I have used it on Milo and have seen remarkable results, unfortunately I did not do any training with Milo as a pup because I didn’t realise how important it was to socialise and train your dog, but this goes to show it is never too late to start. Milo and I have gained a much greater bond since starting the training and have had lots of fun learning new commands and tricks which we can show off to family and friends. Milo has now made me very proud by achieving his Bronze and Silver Good Citizen awards and now we are working towards the gold. We are looking forward to lots more fun and new tricks to learn.

Pat

Firstly, let me say that Competitive Obedience is not entirely about having an obedient dog. It is about having FUN and motivating our canine friends to perform a series of exercises that they enjoy too. If you can teach your dogs to do tricks, then obedience competitions may be for you. At the end of the day if your dog doesn't qualify as an Obedience Champion, you will at least have forged a more rewarding partnership and have a well trained dog!

Animals, in particular dogs and horses, have been my passion ever since I was born. I have owned a succession of pet dogs, some trained in other disciplines but in 1993 I adopted a Collie Cross called Sadie and joined a Kennel Club Registered Club. I became hooked on obedience training and competition work, soon becoming a committee member.

Shortly after that I bought a puppy, Kodie my first Sheltie, who is now 12 and who took me from Pre Beginners to Test C. He found it very difficult to work against the bigger dogs in Test C (the grass was taller than him sometimes!) so I retired him two years ago. My second Sheltie Dusky, 7, I am thrilled to say, is now working Championship Test C and at the present time, the only Sheltie in the UK working at this top level.

My baby Tanni is a size up from the Shelties and is a Rough Collie. She has already won her Novice tests and is now working towards Test A. I feel she is an incredibly promising competitive dog... but all remains to be seen as they often have a different agenda to us!

This sport is dominated by Border Collies and Working Sheepdogs but as I have proved it is also possible to compete at the highest level with 'other breeds' and I am keen to encourage other people into the sport with their pet dogs, using reward based training techniques and having FUN!

My qualifications include being a KC Obedience Judge and gained a Distinction to become a Charter Member of the Institute for Animal Care Education. I am also a Member of the English Shetland Sheepdog Club, a Committee Member of the Rough and Smooth Collie Training Association, and an Affiliate Member of the Kennel Club.