I am a professional in training and rehabilitating dogs, and their owners, for over a decade. Originally based in Northamptonshire but relocating to the big city to face fresh challenges and help those that need us.
I have personally owned 2 dogs previously declared aggressive or “reactive”. The feelings of isolation, frustration and a walking style akin to a participant in a zombie apocalypse movie are all understood. The methods that I used to rehabilitate my dogs into great family pets and competitors in multiple dog sports has been used successfully to help my clients overcome their struggles.
The last 12 months have been spent training and socialising 2 dogs destined to become assistance dogs for a national charity.
Highly qualified professional with over 10 years experience in multiple disciplines.
A master trainer with the guild of dog trainers, Pet BC 101 diploma, CIDBT Higher certificates in Professional dog training and dog training instruction as well as qualifications through the CIDBT on dog – dog aggression and dog on person aggression.
Member of Professional Dog Businesses UK
Qualified through the agility club as an agility trainer, dog fit canicross qualified instructor, mantrailing instructor
Pro dog qualified trainer with Absolute dogs™
Continued professional development in canine conditioning and assistance dog training
Previously a police officer, I started to specialise in dog reactivity when I rehomed my English Shepherd Izzy.
She came to me with a bite history and with the use of games, dog sports, and my “none of your business training”; she, alongside a number of others, has been transformed into a different dog.
Whether you are struggling just to get out of the door with your dog, have guests to your home, or want to build a deep connection and learn a new sport, I can help you.
I currently work in both Northampton, and in East London. Send me a message for a free 15 minute zoom consultation.
Customer reviews
18 months ago I was giving serious thought to giving up on Molly, an extremely reactive GSD.
She frequently lunged at people, dogs, cycles… in fact at anything that moved. Walks were solitary and always with the constant fear she would pull me over.
Guests we’re impossible and the hope of a holiday or even a day out were something to be dreamt about. I had tried training classes, seen a behaviourist, read every book I could find with little success. Fresh Start was my last hope.
Right from the first consultation I started to feel more optimistic.
We started with some 1:1 sessions and graduated to working with a small group (something I thought would be impossible). Learning how to teach her a series of games helped her focus on me rather than her surrounding and we both started to relax. There was always plenty of time for feedback and questions.Any criticism was always constructive and didn’t make me feel a complete failure as a dog owner.
COVID 19 obviously made things difficult but Fresh Start Dog Training made a huge effort to stay in contact with all her classes. When I hit a crisis with Molly, I was able to contact her the same day for advice and support.
Nowadays I actually enjoy having a dog and taking her out! Molly is much calmer and responsive and I feel much more confident managing potential flashpoints. I can do normal things like walk with other dog owners and stop to talk to people.
Thank you Fresh Start. You are a miracle worker. I can’t wait to sign up for some more classes to keep up the good work.
Susan
Before we joined Fresh Start I was at my wits end!
I have two very beautiful, very affectionate, energetic boys — most of the time they are amazing! The one issue that we seemed to have was around dog reactivity. I had tried a few trainers previously who had either lost interest or could only give me the advise of not taking the dogs away with us in the camper. This was completely out of the question
When we found Fresh Start she wanted to know absolutely everything about the boys — she offered different approaches (i.e classes or 1:1) and really wanted to help. It wasn’t a “one size fits all” approach.
She has helped us all so much. My boys adore her and know that whatever we are doing with Fresh Start it will be fun (whilst secretly they are learning something!). We have been to games classes, agility and canicross and love everything about the teaching methods and the way Fresh Start approaches any issues. We definitely feel like we are listened to, there is always a wealth of solutions available from Fresh Start and the fact that she is helping my boys is amazing. Best decision we ever made! 🐾🐶❤
Karen
When we rescued our 2 year old Labrador just over a year ago, we soon realised we were out of our depth. He had no basic training, zero impulse control and was hugely reactive to other dogs and people. Fresh Start has worked with us over the past year to help address these issues, and the progress we have made is significant. He now knows how to behave around the house, can walk nicely on a lead, no longer barks and lunges at anything and everything that moves, and we’re making great progress in teaching him to ignore other dogs. Fresh Start is everything you need in a trainer – calm, confident, friendly, and really knows her stuff. Her ability to work out exactly what is going on with the dog and what needs to happen next means our 1-to-1s are always tailored to what we actually need, rather than a generic list of stuff we ought to do. Fresh Start has given us the confidence and skills (and the sense of humour) we needed to train our dog effectively, and we’re so very grateful to have found her!
Jen