Testimonials

Artoo

'Artoo was welcomed into my family at three months old and has been a bundle of energy and joy ever since! We took him to the Puppy & Beginner Life Skills Class and Intermediate & Puppy Grad Life Skills Class run by Anna at Canine Behaviour Guernsey. We also had some one-on-one sessions with Anna. The skills learnt on those courses were invaluable to Artoo and I in his formative years and I couldn't be more grateful for Anna's classes.

At around 12 months old I began to notice that Artoo had a real problem when it came to being groomed. He was fine when he had first started his grooming sessions, but potentially he had a bad experience at his groomers and he was suddenly afraid of scissors and clippers, to the point where the old groomers he was at couldn't do anything with him. He was attempting to snap at them and they recommended I take him to the vets to sedate him when he needed to be groomed.

I knew that wasn't sustainable and as such, I reached out to Anna to ask for her assistance in this matter. I found her previous courses and experiences to be very helpful and trusted her to be able to help navigate this issue. Together we worked on cooperative care options for Artoo. She gave me clear and calm guidance in person and gave me links to videos so that I could refer to them to practice the techniques with Artoo on my own. We desensitised him to the clippers and scissors with treats and helped him be comfortable wearing a muzzle if required. Also, most importantly, we taught him the 'bucket game'. This allows him to show us when he is stressed and needs a break.

Altogether, this has resulted in Artoo being much more confident at the groomers and he is now being groomed on a regular basis with a new great groomer. Additionally, as a result of all the work Anna did with us, we don't even need the muzzle for the grooming sessions, even if occasionally he is still unsure in some elements of the grooming, which I am sure will continue to get better with time. This just shows that Anna is a total marvel when it comes to helping owners with their dogs.

I couldn't recommend Anna more, she has helped my dog and I find a new confidence in both him at the groomers and giving me new ways to handle and care for him to manage his stress. I have learnt a lot from Anna and continue to do so.'

Maisie Woodgate, owner

Tillie

'Tillie, arrived in our home at eight weeks old and settled quickly, mastering puppy class and basic training with ease. When Tillie was around 14 months old, we started experiencing issues with her
when out walking - she appeared nervous of people she didn’t know and reacted negatively, backing off and barking. This was despite the fact we had taken great care to socialise her properly in her
formative months.

I was worried her reactive behaviour might escalate if not addressed and was determined to avoid this happening. I decided to ask for professional help and had noticed Anna out and about working with owners and their dogs who always looked like they were enjoying their training. So, one day I approached Anna in Saumarez Park to ask for her help and Tillie immediately showed Anna her issue by backing off and barking at her.

The first session we attended with Anna involved a sit down and in-depth chat about everything to do with Tillie – she wanted to best understand us before we started our training journey. Then we
commenced a series of really useful one-to-one training sessions and very quickly Tillie began to improve.

Anna calmly and reassuringly taught me how to distract Tillie in situations which she found difficult when out walking, in crowded areas, trips to the vets and dealing with visitors at home. It was really important to maintain correct handling between sessions and to practice the new skills we were being taught. The fact that I had learnt how to handle the various situations properly and confidently helped me enormously and this in turn helped Tillie.

Tillie’s confidence grew, and we completed Canine Behaviour Guernsey’s Intermediate Life Skills Course and basic agility. Then Anna suggested we join the scentwork and detection beginners’
course which proved to be amazing. Tillie is from a working line and loves the mental challenge of learning new skills – she loves to be doing and achieving!

She has gone from strength to strength and has successfully sniffed her way through the various levels. Tillie has attained the National Nosework Association’s entry level awards for odour recognition, and we will soon be taking part in detection trials being introduced on-island by Canine Behaviour Guernsey.

I also find the scentwork and detection training invaluable at home, regularly setting up hides for Tillie to find in both the house and garden. A few minutes of searching satisfies her love of working
for reward, in turn leaving her happy to resettle. The dogs that attend the scentwork class all seem to absolutely love the sessions as searching for odour speaks to their natural instincts. From an
owner’s perspective I find it is great fun, a really rewarding challenge and fantastic at enhancing that special bond between handler and dog.

Tillie is happy and much more confident, she copes with different situations far better than before and if she has a slight wobble, I am better equipped to handle the situation to assist her. I have
learnt so much already and continue to do so.

If you are a concerned owner and reading the testimonials, please contact Anna for help as I really can’t recommend her enough.
Thank you, Anna!'

Suzanne Le Ray, owner

Tyson

'We have a 4-year-old German Shepard rescue dog called Tyson. Tyson can be reactive around other dogs so I didn’t feel we could attend any training classes. I’d heard that Anna does one to one
sessions and so I booked a consultation. Anna came to our home and we talked at length about what we wanted to achieve, we booked our first block of 8 sessions there and then.

It was going to be a while before we could start our sessions so Anna suggested we try a Perfect Fit harness in the meantime. We ordered one straight away and from day one Tyson’s walks were so much better and a lot less stressful. We had been using a Canny Collar which is similar to a halti - what we hadn’t realised was how much this was restricting him, I felt so guilty. Obviously, Tyson is a big dog and if he decided to chase something there’s not much I could do to stop him but I do feel a lot more in control of him with the harness.

So far, we have done two blocks of one to one sessions and one class, which I never thought we would be able to do and I’m looking forward to booking the next one - it’s great socialisation for the
dogs and it’s good to meet other owners who may be having the same issues with their dog.

Working with Anna has been really worth while for us and for Tyson and I would not hesitate to recommend her or the Perfect Fit harness!'
Louise & Stuart Domaille, owners

WInnie

'Winnie is our first family dog and we’ve had the pleasure of owning her since she was nine weeks old. We approached Anna to help us train Winnie from an early age with a particular emphasis on recall, staying ‘down’ and living harmoniously with our eight-year-old cat. We signed up to a block of six sessions which meant we could meet Anna at home as well as out and about. It was important to us to include the children in Winnie’s training too!

Anna was brilliant! Her calm approach seemed to have a hypnotic effect on Winnie from the first time they met, and training became easier from then on. Winnie now roams happily off the lead (in safe environments) and her recall is excellent and her enthusiasm to ‘play’ with the cat improves daily.

Anna didn’t only train Winnie, but she trained us as owners too! Winnie is truly one of the family and her training makes her even more lovable! Having finished the course of six sessions, we will continue to meet up with Anna on an ad-hoc basis to reinforce and build on Winnie’s learned behaviours, as there’s always room for improvement! I cannot recommend Anna highly enough! Thank you Anna.'
Alice Digard, owner

Jake

'Jake is a rehoused rescue dog whose behaviour had improved in the few years I have had him. He was guarding and I had triggered this by challenging him in June. He has also been unpredictable around some dogs when out.
Anna’s positive reinforcement has worked wonders. He has loved the mental challenges and is a changed boy, much calmer and relaxed both at home and out on lead.
My children and I have loved training Jake in between lessons and it’s so rewarding to see Jake happy, relaxed and mentally exhausted. I can’t thank Anna enough and would highly recommend her to anyone who has a dog who is anxious or has some bad habits.'
Alasdair Milroy, owner

Patch

'We contacted Anna as our dog Patch isn’t great with other dogs and it was getting stressful walking him. We arranged six sessions with Anna and quickly learned how to distract Patch when there were other dogs around and started to notice a big improvement when meeting dogs on walks. We worked at places we would never have imagined being able to take Patch and, although he can sometimes still react around other dogs, we now know what to do and feel so much more confident, which in turn has had a positive effect on Patch.'
Alexandra and Bryan Allez, owners

Barney

'We can’t thank Anna enough for her help with our beagle. Barney was a resource guarder and we were struggling at home to control his behaviour. We did four sessions with Anna and she gave us great advice to follow. She explained why our beagle behaves the way he does and with her training he hasn’t guarded since. Along with our efforts at home and her training, I feel Barney has completely changed and we know how to control his behaviour a lot better. I would highly recommend!'
Emily Huxster, owner

Oscar

'Oscar is three years old and was nervous and anxious when meeting new people and seeing strangers either walking past the car or in his home environment. His reaction was to bark excessively to warn people away. Anna was very patient when meeting Oscar, she gave him plenty of time and space so that he felt comfortable with her. She helped by introducing a desensitisation and counter-conditioning programme, which we then developed in the areas where he gets nervous. She also helped to teach Oscar new tricks to build his confidence. Now, Oscar can tolerate other people in his vicinity.'
Claire le Noury, owner

Bobby

'We adopted Bobby last year, a lovely 3 1/2 year old Border Collie cross with a tendency to run off on his own, to chase and pester other dogs, to ignore us when something more exciting distracted him and to dance around crazily nipping us when over excited. Clearly we needed help and therefore engaged with Anna.

For us the most valuable aspects of Anna’s Behaviour course were:
1. Learning to focus a lot more on Bobby’s mental development e.g. getting him to use his brain to work out what he needed to do to get the outcome that made good things happen (like treats and us saying “clever boy”).
2.. Keeping disciplined with the process and not getting lazy about doing the “homework” i.e. practising in our own time the variety of things Anna taught us e.g. ”targeting”, tidying up his toys into his basket, keeping him focused on us when other dogs were around etc
3. Significantly strengthening of our relationship with Bobby, which has led to him being much calmer, even more lovely than before and not getting over excited like he used to.
4. Getting him to realise that we are not as boring as he thought we were and that he can actually have more fun with us than from the myriad of distractions that used to grip his attention.

As well as helping us achieve the results we were aiming for, Anna, through her bright and cheerful personality made the whole process great fun for Bobby and for both of us, many thanks Anna!'
John Morris & Fiona Drape

Rafferty

"Raff is a two-year-old rescue dog from Spain. Although he has a lovely nature and is great around the house, he is understandably nervous. Since the day he arrived in Guernsey several months ago, walking him on the lead in the lanes close to home has been extremely challenging and often very stressful, particularly when faced with other dogs, cats and horses.
Following some valuable basic training at the GSPCA, we then sought Anna’s help to tackle Raff’s excessive barking and pulling as walking him was never an enjoyable experience.
Thanks to Anna's support and enthusiasm over a number of weeks we feel we have now turned the corner. She gave us a number of useful tips and helped boost our confidence to the point we now let him off the lead at selected locations where he loves socialising with other dogs. We can also walk him closer to home on the lead, distracting him when necessary with his beloved tennis ball !
Whilst we still have much work to do, Anna’s input has been invaluable. We have no hesitation in recommending her to other dog owners facing difficult behaviour."
Andy & Sonia Phillips, owners

Wilfred

"If you’re looking for a dog trainer who is patient, kind and intuitive, then Anna is the one for you.
She has a practical approach to puppy training that really helps them to become one of the family, so that your new dog is able to fit in with their new family and become confident, happy, well behaved pets.
The advice that she gave us when we adopted our dachshund puppy Wilfred was invaluable. Cute and adorable he certainly was, but he was also prone to nipping and chewing. Anna helped us to see things from Wilfred’s perspective and gave us a number of strategies to stop the undesirable behaviours. We now know what to do and how to divert him and stop the unwelcome chewing and nipping. After eight weeks of patience, persistence and consistency, Wilfred now knows what is expected of him and we are delighted to have him as a member of our family. Of course, he is still a baby and, much like raising a child, his training will continue for months to come. But having seen the results, we all feel confident that by the time he is an adult, Wilfred will have grown to his full potential and that’s very much down to the advice that Anna gave us."
Rosie Allsopp , owner

Kiwi

“Anna gave us some invaluable tips and advice when we got our golden Labrador puppy Kiwi. Anna’s guidance on how to help with Kiwi’s fear of the car helped enormously as did her suggestions on how to toilet train and use the lead to walk. Her guidance was so fantastic that Kiwi was pretty much toilet trained by 10 weeks old. Kiwi now does sit, paw, down, come and stay commands all thanks to Anna’s help. Anna is incredibly thorough with her advice. She goes the extra mile to help your puppy/dog feel rewarded and ensure you stay determined in the training process. Her passion for animals - in particular dogs - is evident and it shows through her work. I’d recommend Anna’s services to anyone and everyone.”
Jessamy Baldwin, owner