Life with our XL Bully Lola had become stressful, it really was not the fairytale we had imagined our life was going to be with her.  She was running us ragged and quickly becoming the boss of our home with her antics; not listening to us, chewing everything, pulling excessively  on the lead - pulling me over in the process!!!. She was becoming a worry.

 

Then Darren entered our story - he really is our knight in shining armour ! After spending this morning with us we can already see the difference in Lola and are genuinely amazed.

We are honestly thrilled at what we have been able to achieve in 1 session and the difference he has made to all our lives. Lola is now responsive and so much calmer in the home, following instructions and no longer chewing everything she can get hold of. We know this is only the beginning and there is still work ahead but we now know with Darrens help we will overcome all the challenges ahead. 

 

Seriously, if you are experiencing problems with your beloved pet, look no further and contact Darren now!!! He is not only fantastic with dogs but is amazingly talented at training humans to speak and understand dog too. His friendly and apprroachable manner, as well as professionalism made our first session an enjoyable experience and we look forward to continuing working with him in helping Lola and ourselves to reach our 'Happy ever after'.

Thank you so much Darren

Margaret ,Joe, Nathan, Simone and Lola x​

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Hi Darren

 getting back to you with my glowing feedback!

 

This is just to say how greatly I appreciated the advice and time that you gave me for our beautiful Ridgeback/Choc Labrador X whom we rehomed recently.  Having had a few dogs over the years I had assumed that I knew what I was doing with these four legged friends, but after our consultation I could see that you filled in so many gaps in my knowledge and you have transformed my confidence and ability to communicate in particular with our new dog Sky.

 

Your techniques now mean that I can take Sky into any situation with other dogs without feeling apprehensive about how she is going to approach other dogs, especially the more aggressive ones.  Since putting your advice into action, I can honestly say within 2 weeks she now completely understands when I am telling her no and she no longer runs at any other dogs if I ask her not to.  We had problems with aggressive dogs next door and that now is also under control simply by using the techniques you gave me and she no longer reacts when asked not to.  We are practicing all the basic commands using the advice you gave and she is happily obedient and improving all the time.  

 

It is an absolute pleasure going out and about with Sky and I am very confident that she will handle herself well in any situation that she is confronted with and as a dog owner that is what you want!  Walks are a pleasure again, and round the house she is very obedient, understanding any boundaries that are necessary.  You gave so many other tips, all being put into practice and I really felt that you cared about our situation and would happily keep in touch with any ongoing bits of advice.  

 

So, in conclusion, the consultation was worth every penny and I would wholeheartedly recommend you.

 

Kind regards

Julie ​

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We found Darren online and was ringing behaviourists from around the area and seeing who we would choose from,after the phone call with darren,we straight away new that he was the right person , he’s charismatic, bubbly and extremely informative, he told us what we’d been doing wrong in a manner that didn’t feel like criticism or a telling off,it felt like help and this I what we needed.I commend Darren for how he interacted with our dog(a boisterous English bulldog who likes to lunge and bite with no warning)he was patient and gave him space and when he was ready he was feeding him treats and training with him.

For the last 6 months our lives have been so stressful and lots of tears have been shed due to our dog but with the plan that Darren has given us and a lot of change on our behalf,Duke is already thriving just two days on.I would recommend Darren if the prices were double,I can’t thank him enough

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​Can not recommend Darren enough. We have a Jack Russell - Shitzu cross and had a number of behavioural issues.

​ This included aggressiveness towards dogs and being an all round pain in the backside. After the first appointment we were taught basic and different skills and hand gestures (which I was sceptical my dog would even listen to or acknowledge)

After approximately two hours of Darren's time we could of probably managed to get our dog to juggle flaming knives he was that alert. With a lot of persistence we have seen no end of change in Milo (all positive). Darren is very personable, friendly and to be honest we are a little disappointed our two appointments have finished.

If you are looking for behaviour changes in your dog then Darren should be the first person you contact. All the best Darren and I hope many other people and dogs benefit from the skills you have established over many years; Sam & Emma.

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Hi Darren

I am absolutely thrilled with the change in Bertie’s behaviour – I honestly find it hard to believe just how effective your training has been! I implemented your plan after you left and just using the correct commands has worked amazingly well with so many of Bertie’s most naughty traits. I would say that as far as inside the house training goes, we are sorted, thank you so much.

 

​

I feel that I have a clear language I can use with Bertie, that he understands, which makes us both feel so much more at ease. Just the few commands you taught us, has literally changed the way we interact and they work in all situations – gone are the endless stream of stop that, no, let go, please stop, drop that  haha. We now know when something is good, carry on, and when a behaviour is not good and must stop. It is like a miracle! Bertie’s whole demeanour seems more relaxed as a result.

  

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Darren was professional, down to earth and extremely knowledgeable about both dog and human behaviour. He took the time to ask questions, observe Zazu (our 15 month old rescue dog) and get to know both of us before exploring methods of training with us and Zazu. Zazu responded brilliantly to Darren's effective methods of training. Fear not, after leaving us, Darren supplied us with the information guides we needed and a personalised training regime for Zazu, within a few hours, so we can continue the great work Darren started. Darren is a very respectful canine behaviourist who we thoroughly recommend. 

 

Best wishes and we'll speak to you soon. 

 

Many thanks 

Denise & Lloyd 

 

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 Hi Darren,

 

I just wanted to express our sincere gratitude with what you achieved introducing my dog to my sisters dog. 

 

For 10 (very long) years we have severely struggled with Reggies behaviour towards other animals in particular other dogs and within 3 hours you’ve given us the tools and set us on a path for his new life! 

 

As you saw yourself he almost changed instantly with the words and expressions you taught us!! Wish we had met you sooner! 

 

Externally grateful.

 

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Hello Darren

​

Before getting in contact with you, quite a few people had advised me that maybe I should re-home my Romanian rescue Alex. He had a few behavioural issues and after trying different things, the situation didn't seem to get any better, and I started believing that maybe this wasn't the right place, and I the wrong owner, for him.

You genuinely changed all that: you gave me the confidence to help Alex become the best dog that he could be. I now have a better understanding of Alex's behaviours and communication signs, as well as having learnt methods to correct some of the more unwanted behaviours. 

With the simple, yet effective, techniques that we’ve implemented, the progress has been almost unbelievable. And you’ve made me realise what a smart dog I have: I was the one that needed most of the training.

The assessment and the follow up sessions (on the phone and in person) were life-changing for Alex and I, and I couldn’t be more pleased and thankful. Alex and I now have the opportunity to continue and improve our partnership and I no longer have any doubts that he’s absolutely in the right place with me. 

 

 All the best,

 Robi & Alex

 

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Hi Darren

 

Thank you so much for your time today, we know it's early days but both Rich and I are amazed at the change in Gus already (we think you've actually switched Gus for another dog!).   

 

We bought a new lead and took him for a walk, and it was completely different. I definitely feel more confident with Gus and think it will only take a few more joint walks before I'd take him for a walk by myself.

 

We will read through the plan and will let you know of any questions, and I will also get back to you with some feedback.

Look forward to speaking with you next week (I'm sure Rich will be picking your brains about fishing the Trent too!)

Thanks again

Viki & Rich

 

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Our Romanian rescue puppy, Matilda was very nervous. Walks used to be very stressful for her and she didn't enjoy it at all. She had a few behavioural problems, such as refusing to let go/leave something, nipping and slight food aggression which was purely an error in our communication with her. Darren was so amazing with us all, Matilda took to him right away and the way he explained everything to us made everything so clear and also gave us so much confidence. We were starting to feel that we may have made the wrong decision and that we were not the right family for Matilda, but Darren showed us very effective ways to communicate with her and she is like a different dog now! My autistic 5 year old son was quite frightened of Matilda (she would be very rough with him) but now they are the best of friends because my son can see how to calm her down/ understands when it is not time to play etc but most importantly he can see that she will listen when told to stop, so the atmosphere is 1000 times better now. We still have little hiccups but that is to be expected with a puppy. We had contacted a few behaviourists before we found Darren, and they basically told us that we shouldn't keep Matilda and that she was beyond help. So I really mean it when I say how grateful we are to have had Darrens help 😊 thankyou for not brushing us off and for giving us that confidence we needed to give Matilda the best life we can!
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We have a 9 month old German Shepherd, who unfortunately does not like other dogs whilst she is on the lead. After trying ourselves to sort out this issue and others, we made the decision to contact Darren. We only wish we had made this decision much sooner! After our group family training and then putting in to practice what Darren explained to us and taught us, we have already ready seen an immense improvement in Lola's behaviour. We would have no hesitation in recommending Darren to any dog owner looking for expert training and professional advice. He is so knowledgeable and understanding, we cannot thank him enough and we look forward to updating him on our progress with Lola.

 

Simon, Julie and Jack

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Thanks Darren for an amazing experience with Bailey. Our consultation was an eye opener. Bailey is a hard case and I'm so pleased you took the time to see past his aggression. It was amazing to see that you were able to become friends with him as honestly we didn't think it was ever going to be a possibility. His attention and concentration on yourself was incredible. We cannot wait to implement your plan, which is extremely extensive and very clearly set out to exactly what you explained in our session. You are so easy going and explain everything so clearly. Your ability to explain dog behaviours with everyday human psychology made it so easy to follow.  Clearly you have a love for doggies to take on Bailey. Couldn't thank you enough!
 

Lucy and Callum

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We’ve had behavioural issues with our 3 yr old Cockerdor for the last 18 months or so. Having Darren explain the potential reasons why she was acting that way and how, as her owners, it was more to do with us than our dog, we were able to use simple commands and consistency to literally transform how she behaves on walks with dogs and other people. We can’t  recommend Darren more, finally a behaviourist who has made a difference!

 

Kind regards

 

WB

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Hi Darren

We cannot thank Darren enough for the help and advice he gave to us on his visit to our new puppy. Not being new to dog ownership, we knew that bringing up a new puppy is hard work and takes a lot of time and patience. But when it came to a point where nothing we did seemed to work, and puppy's bad behaviour started to escalate we decide to get expert help.

It is all too easy to blame a dog for the bad behaviour it shows when you think you know something about them, and because you cannot do anything about it, then the dog must be at fault. Wrong. It turned out that we knew a lot less than we thought and were incredibly lucky with our previous dogs.

Darren has given us the best opportunity to turn things around, and believe us when we say that transformation is almost instant. We have a very clever little dog that we just did not understand, and we are now moving forward following Darren’s plan which has made a happier household for all.

I would not hesitate to use Darren’s services again and would highly recommend him to anyone who is thinking of going down this route.

Many thanks

Kevin & Elaine

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Dear Darren

 

I would just like to send you a massive thank you for helping out and showing Sarah and myself how to make life at home with Lola a more calm and a more peaceful environment.

With your help we have now learned to keep Lola relaxed when people come round or when some one comes to the front door.

We do still have a way to go before she does completely as she is told ( for a bulldog lol )but I’m sure with us putting in the effort to train her we will see her improve even more.

I must mention she has made a massive improvement already Steve’s parents came over last Saturday and commented on how she seems a different dog already.

We will keep you posted in the coming months on how she is doing,

Many thanks again

 

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Darren came to do a puppy consultation with our 10 week old Basset Hound. We wanted to nip a few behavioural problems that our puppy was having in the bud and obtain some general knowledge and advise on puppy training. Darren went above and beyond our expectations! Not only did he give us a wealth of advise, he also sorted out our problems straight away with his outstanding knowledge and experience. We now feel so much more confident moving forward with our puppy training and we have a more content and chilled puppy! Lou & Ben.

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​

I just wanted to thank you darren!

it's like we have got a new dog I am so impressed with the improvements we have made in just a couple of days and feel confident that we have been taught all the tools we need to overcome all of our issues with bubba! 

 

 

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Hi Darren,

 

Thank you for the help and support you have provided for us and Remy our 18 month old Romanian rescue. On arrival Remy was very nervous and quiet while she found her feet. After a couple of weeks started she started to demonstrate behavioural traits, in particular towards our 16 year old son who could not walk around the house without Remy reacting and aggressively barking at him to the point we were fearful she may escalate to biting him. When walking we used a harness and this was always a battle with Remy straining against the lead. We also questioned whether we were the right fit both for Remy and for us.

 

Then we contacted Darren based on a number of recommendations from previous clients. On Darren’s first visit he explained most of the issues we were experiencing were down to inconsistent behaviour from us, confusing her and adding to her anxiety. Darren gave us some practical exercises which helped establish the platform for us to communicate and reduce her stress levels as she starts to understand what is expected of her, including resolving walking on a lead, this was a massive transformation from the walk before training to the walk afterwards.

 

We purchased the silver package and have just completed the 2nd visit virtually where Darren gave us some additional exercises to help stop the barking. It is early days but things are going well so far. Without the help of Darren I am sure we would still be struggling to cope today.

 

To us Darren isn’t so much a dog behaviourist, he is more of a people behaviourist to help us communicate better with Remy. Cannot recommend highly enough.

 

Geoff & Jen

 

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​

​Hi Darren,

 

I just wanted to express our thanks to you for the consultation and for helping to get Milo on the right tracks. We were both a bit sceptical at first of bringing in a dog behaviourist but it’s probably one of the best things we have ever done! It was really stressing us out having Milo the way he was and with lack of sleep with little one it really wasn’t a nice atmosphere in the house. We had looked it up on google and listened to other people but nothing had worked. It’s amazing how many people turn into professionals when you tell them the issues! 

 

Your approach towards the situation was fantastic and made me feel relaxed about it all, and able to just chat away to you like we’d been mates for years. (Obviously the fishing helps but we could probably sit there for weeks talking about that)! It was very interesting and beneficial to get an insight into dog behaviours and the why’s behind things first so that it is easier to understand and digest. If I understand why I am doing something then I tend to be more assertive with it and more interested myself. That’s what google and these so called experts never seem to explain and that’s what makes you stand out. 

 

I was also expecting to have to go through a few weeks of sessions (again after reading things online) but it was amazing how quickly things worked with Milo. I never thought I’d see the day where I didn’t have to have 14 rugs down in the hallway just so the dog could get from A to B! And I never thought I’d see the day that he would just jump into the boot of my car on command! 

 

As discussed we had a minor set back when I disappeared for a couple of days fishing (no dogs allowed venue) but as soon as I got back I redid the training with him and he’s back to skipping along the floor with no issues. Obviously we are still building the confidence but it’s just great that he does it himself. Taking him for a walk is such a more enjoyable experience now as well. It used to wind me up him dragging me all the time and I couldn’t let anyone else take him as he’s so strong. But now it’s an absolute pleasure and we have a much better bond overall. 

 

In short...thank you so much! 

 

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​

Darren was absolutely fantastic!!!! I would definitely recommend him to any dog owner looking for professional advice...he was so knowledgeable!!! 👍

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Lovely to meet you last week.

 

We needed advice as we recently got a 5 month old St. Bernard. We have been used to big dogs before we had a St. Bernard 12 years ago and recently lost our Leonberger but had them from 11 weeks so we have trained them from a young age.

 

Wish came to us and had no basic training as she was being used as a show dog. She was jumping up on people and things. Obviously being a very big dog already and will only grow bigger. We were concerned and needed to be able to control her and for her to understand what we wanted from her. Thats when we got in touch with Darren.

 

Since our meeting Wish has been much calmer.

We have been using your Modification Plan and doing training on a daily basis.

She will quite happily sit when asked now.

She is getting better when we stop her from getting up on the sofa. On the odd occasion she does get up we can get her off a lot easier.

We have had some visitors over (who came over when Wish was jumping up before) and they couldn't believe the improvement in her! She was calmer and didn't jump up.

We are all very grateful for your help and knowledge and putting your advice and tips into practice.

We wouldn't hesitate in recommending you. The consultation was definitely worth it.

 

Thank you so much

Kind regards

Clare O'Neill

 

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Hi Darren

 

I wanted to send you an update on Ivy as we are starting to see some actual progress 🙂 She's still got a long way to go, but over the last week or so I've seen a real reduction in barking and pacing. When alone she spends most of her time sitting on the sofa staring at the door, still barking but less so, with much longer breaks between barks (minutes at a time). I know we still have a long way to go, but it's great to see progress from the constant pacing, barking and scrambling at the front door we had a couple of months ago whenever she was alone. I certainly feel more confident than I did that she will get there eventually.

 

Thanks for your help 🙂

 

Milly

 

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Hi Darren,

 

Thank you so much for helping us with Thor. From the get go you took your time to discuss our worries and concerns, observe us with Thor and gave us great advice which we could implement straight away. 

 

Thor was anxious when you first met him, but you took your time and won him round which has given us confidence. We have noticed a huge difference within one week since implementing your ideas and techniques which has made home a much more relaxing atmosphere.

 

We feel that we are developing clear communication with Thor which is really helping with his behaviour. The basic skills you have taught us has changed the way we interact with Thor.  We know with time and effort we will have a happy and relaxed German Shepherd.

 

The report you sent was clear and informative and we have shared it with those interacting with Thor so they can implement the strategies in different environments and they have also reported a difference in his demeanour. 

 

Your knowledge and advice has been invaluable and we can not recommend you enough. Thank you.

 

Kind Regards

 

James & Jen

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​

Hi Darren

​

Do not hesitate in booking Darren if you have a problem with your dog. He is a font of knowledge which he shares and explains that helps you to understand why certain  things happen  and what you need to  achieve to make a sound relationship with your dog.

Rocco is the loveliest  dog to have around, until he meets another dog and becomes a snarling scary animal.  I really thought i would have to rehome him as I, and he, were totally out of control.

Darren gave me all the advice and tools to start putting things right. Everything that he told me made sense and thus I was able to apply it to myself and Rocco.

So there is a vast improvement in Roccos behaviour and hopefully mine. I am still working at it and my friends have noticed a big difference.

Darrens Psychology skills are brilliant. He managed to change my mindset in a good way by giving me confidence to manage Rocco and to see that other dog owners around me  were not perfect all the time. So i dont blame myself every time  for an incident that occurs. He Is  also calm  and professional Which for me worked.

Many Many thanks Darren.

 

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A year ago I took on a 2 year old Jack Russell with behaviour problems so bad i thought I would have to re home him, he had tried biting the children and had shown aggression towards other dogs and people. I desperately wanted to keep him but I was so stressed that someone was going to get bitten. I called Doggy behaviour and explained everything to to Darren. Darren first initial advice was to re-home him with owners without children. He came and met Rocket and said we could re train him but it would take a lot of work and commitment. Darren showed the children games that they children could play with Rocket that were safe and also helped Rocket gain trust in the children. He also showed us as a family how to make Rocket feel safe and secure and settle in with our family. I’m so happy to say Rocket has been with us nearly a year he adores the children loves cuddles with all of us on the sofa, he is still getting use to other dogs but once he gets to know them he can run off the lead with them and play. He comes back on recall and walks well on the lead he is confident in his home and had not shown any aggression in a long while. A massive thank you To Darren for all of his advice and help.

 

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Hi Darren,

 

I hope you are well,

 

I would like to say thank you for your training, its has made a huge positive change, especially off the lead (although we do have the odd day 😂). I have recommended you to 3 others that require professional assistance with there dogs and will continue to do so.

 

Also, after seeing the difference you have made with us and Benson, I am very interested in going down the path of becoming a qualified dog trainer and any guidance would be much appreciated.

 

Kind regards 

Daniel Doyle

 

 

Darren came for a Puppy consult for my 13 week old puppy - a Cotonoodle called Darcey.  She was doing quite well with some home training with just me -  but a consult with Darren gave me a core structure to stick to and work from, rather than me just floundering about - trying to learn from books and videos. Darcey was really receptive to Darren, his instructions were clear, and I learnt a lot too... and Darcey was exhausted after a fun 2 Hour Consult...it is important for young pups to learn early...as they are so receptive in the first 16 weeks of their lives...and Darren gave me a great foundation to work from...thanks Darren.

 

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Hi Darren,

 

Many thanks for all the details you have sent through from the time you spent with myself and Arthur today.

 

I cannot thank you enough for today, I now feel confident enough to tackle Arthur and now feel that I can do it!  I will make sure I do not give mixed messages, taking him out this afternoon I actually enjoyed it, Arthur had an amazing walk then a run with Roo who you met this morning, I kept my cool and the barking was not half as bad as before - still a way to go but I will use the tools you have put in place and will make sure my commands are clear and not long winded.  Thanks again, I definitely recommend your services to others who may be having issues with their dogs.

 

Will keep you posted and catch up next week to let you know how we are doing.

 

Enjoy your weekend,

 

Julia 

 

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Dear Darren

 

Thank you so much for your time and patience with our lovely Golden Retriever Queenie.

 

Queenie failed as a Guide Dog due to her very poor response to recall commands and easy distraction to other dogs and dog walkers and we re-homed her on 16th December 2019.

 

Your easy to enforce, simple visual and word commands were almost instantly in place and later on the same day, in a dog-friendly parkland.    Her response to re-call commands is much improved and getting better day-by-day, thanks to your training skills.

 

Best Regards

Isabel and John

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"Darren was very helpful and calm in his approach which worked well for us. He goes to great lengths to explain everything and understand the dynamics of your family and your dog which was appreciated.

We now have a clear plan to follow which you can use in every day, real life situations, and we feel better equipped to handle our puppy's more challenging behaviours. 

It's not a quick fix situation, but I am positive that if we stick to the plan and Darren's advice, we will get the results we hope for, and our dog will be more confident and understand what we are communicating better."

 

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Hi Darren

Thank you so much for yesterday and the information you have sent us. We found everything really helpful and appreciated learning the psychology and science behind everything you taught us. All your strategies are simple and easy to follow. During your visit, we could already see a difference in mindy’s behaviour and we will continue to practice all your strategies until we have cracked it with her! I have done 20 mins of just sit, stay and come today which she did perfectly and have managed 2 walks with no fuss on leaving the house at all. Just a couple of ‘ah ah’s’ did the trick! The best part is that I took   Mindy to Harpenden which is a 35 min drive and I only had to use the stop word on the way there and not at all on the return journey! On the way home she played a game of burying Kong in her blanket and even lay down and closed her eyes at one point! This is an amazing transformation in such a short space of time. We will keep this up until it becomes second nature.

Thank you again for everything 😊👍 we really appreciate your help.

🐶🐾🐾
 

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Hi Darren,

 

Feedback below for you to pass on.

 

We have had our rescue dog 8 months, he came over from Cyprus so was frightened, undernourished and had very little trust.

 

I contacted Darren as Hudson (dog) had taken a real dislike to a few people but notably my mum.  He was clearly frightened but it wasn’t a situation we could let continue. He also had an issue with stealing, chewing and barking for attention. 

 

I tried another person before Darren but found I wasn’t really given the tools to deal with his  negative behaviour only how to reward good. The treat rewards really build the trust but didn’t stop the negative behaviour. 

 

Darren spent a morning with me and I felt I had a good grasp on what I needed to do. The stealing and chewing is totally under control but I needed further help building the bond between mum and Hudson.    A point to note - you are told clearly to read and reread the plan and it’s very good advice as it’s easy to fall in to bad habits. 

 

The follow up appointment (silver package) involved Darren meeting us at mums and spending a lot of time showing me, mum and Hudson trust techniques. By the time he left Hudson was taking food from my mum, listening to commands and generally looked more comfortable. As did my mum!!   This is of course work in progress and it’s up to us to ensure we continue using the techniques and have patience but I am really happy with the service provided and the calm non judgemental way Darren helped us all.

 

I will, with out doubt call on Darren if I need further assistance. It’s money well spent. 

 

Thank you 😊 🐶

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Hi Darren

 

Thank you so much for your help and advice on Saturday.  Both Lulu and Rocket already seem to be behaving better.  We have done a couple of sessions of training with them and Rocket is getting really good at staying and seems to have lost interest in the dishwasher already! He's been better on the lead too.

 

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I called upon Darren to help with my 9 month old French bulldog with anxiety and nervousness around people and dogs. During and after the visit I really felt now with the right tools I can steer Frank along the right path and in turn he will be a happier dog and have a happier owner. I was so impressed with the way Frank behaved around Darren, it helps that someone with the knowledge and skills that he has kept Frank at ease. I strongly feel that the plan he has designed for Frank is going to be gold dust. I can already see in a short space of time that he feels more relaxed knowing what I expect of him. I can’t thank you enough and have already been spreading the word.

 

Once again Thank you and I would not hesitate to recommend yourself to anyone who may need your help.

 

Many thanks

 

Kelly and Frank the Frenchie

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Hi Darren

To say we have seen a change in Rustys behavement would be an understatement.

Since you left I have used our new word for NO just once near the moses basket. After doing so we were able to eat dinner and also sit in the lounge together and watch a film. 

 

The very best thing about all this is that he is not stressed. And as a consequence, neither are we! 

 

Thank you so much for helping our treasured little dog be happy again! 

 

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We are now just over one week since Darren visited us to give advice concerning our 2 and half year rescue Labrador cross, Leo.

Briefly, Leo had not had a very good start to life and as a result was displaying some challenging behaviours. In particular he was not listening to us and he had issues with other dogs. Since Darren’s visit Leo has already shown signs that he is listening to us, and on most occasions we are able to get him to do what we want him to do. This has required us to carry out short exercises with Leo each day, but has been well worth the effort. Further, it seems that as he is now listening to us, he becomes less agitated when meeting other dogs. Although we realise there is still a long way to go, Darren has put us and Leo on a road to success. Thank you.

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Darren came to see us Sunday after I contacted him to help us with our very fearful and anxious Cambodian street dog / ex slaughterhouse dog.  Hes had a traumatic past and has spent most of his life in fear. Since adopting Mikey last July we have had issues with him barking and growling at our eldest son along with some issues with our other dogs. The household has become very strained.  Darren came and gave us some background information along with some reasons why hes reacting the way he does.  We got to work with some useful tips and training strategies to teach Mikey some commands that would make life more bearable whilst we work with him.  I can honestly say that Darren made real progress straight away with Mikey and taught us and our son the way forward to desensitize and calm his anxiety in order to lower his stress and relax around our son. Our son also done really well as beforehand he kept away as Mikey caused such tension between them.  When Darren left we put his techniques into practice and we hope that by working daily with Mikey he will start to relax and accept our son and they can build a bond together. 

I can honestly say I would recommend Darren as he was friendly,  personable and really down to earth and easy to talk to.   We know that he is on the other end of the phone for advise and extra help if needed.  He also emailed us a plan to follow with step by step points to follow in order to maintain a consistent leaning tool for Mikey.

Thanks Darren, it was a pleasure to have you over to help us with our fearful street dog xx

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Just wanted to say thank you for coming to see us last Friday.   I received the reports this morning in the post.  Benny is responding really well to my instructions and is eager to please.  His new dog food arrived this morning but he didn’t think much to it so it was removed to try again tonight!  He is booked in for his op but they can’t see him   until 7th Jan.    He is now getting two walks a day (off lead again).   He put his muzzle on today for the first time done up.  I only left it for 30 seconds but he wasn’t at all stressed about it. I want to thank you so much for giving me the confidence to work with him again.  I’m still in training with him on our communications but together we are both much happier!  Belinda & Benny 😊
 

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 Darren came and helped us with our new puppy who was very anxious when left alone. The advice he gave us to solve this particular problem has seen massive improvements in just a couple of weeks. Darren also advises on the learning theory and basic techniques to use which has meant that our dog has started to feel much more secure in the home environment. Definitely recommend.

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​We would absolutely recommend Darren!, he’s a lovely guy and he totally turned our pup around, she is a totally changed dog thanks to Darren!

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Don’t even hesitate thinking about using him to sort out your doggies problems he performs miracles !!!

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​I am so sorry it has taken so long to write to you with a review on Daisy!

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​Thanks to you and the advice you gave us she has made really good progress. Although she is still a naturally nervous dog, we are using the language you taught us regularly which has made her much better when people come to the house.  You gave us confidence to be better dog owners and understand what she is telling us.  We just need to continue to do everything you suggested and hopefully she will continue to overcome her nerves in all environments.

Once again thank you for the time you gave us to help Daisy - you were super!

Best wishes

Julie

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Hi Darren, thanks for the behaviour plan for Rosie which I have studied and I am confident that I understand it.
I have been using a Halti lead and, although she does not like it much, I have persisted .Rosie has hardly jumped at any cars since and has started to ignore other dogs as well.
Many thanks for all your help,
Alan.

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We have had our dog for 4 years and he has always seemed happy and fitted in well in our household. However, I retired from work and he seemed to become more clinging to me, following me around the house and after my wife retired this seemed to be even more evident. Then he started to circle round us as we were going out and started barking as we left the house. Eventually he nipped the back of our legs as we were leaving. This was making us nervous every time we went out. We contacted Darren and he came round a few days later. Darren spent a couple of hours with us and taught us how we could manage the situation and gave us some exercises in some simple commands with hand signals. Now , after a couple of weeks, we no longer have any fear of going out, as we can always make him stop the circling and we are continuing the training, so we are hopeful for the future. We would like to thank Darren for his expert help in helping us manage the situation and would recommend him to anyone.

Chris and Penny White

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Ronnie and Reggie are doing really well. We noticed the difference in their behaviour almost immediately. The house has been a lot calmer now that we all are using the same words that the boys understand. We would highly recommend you to anyone needing help understanding their dogs and with their training

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Hi Darren, it was good to see you on Friday. I just thought you would like to know that Paul took the boys out and let them both off their leads

and they were really good, they kept looking back to check he and the girls were still there. The new leads went down well too, they didn't pull

at all and weren't trying to get them off the whole time.

 

Regards Andrea

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We would definitely recommend Darren, he was very personable and knowledgeable. Although there was a lot to take in he made it very interesting and I think Reggie enjoyed the experience too. Watch this space!

 

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Thank you so much for today, I feel so much better now. I know we have a long way to go, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. And it’s so nice to hear that Murphy isn’t an aggressive dog, just excited bless him. Again, thank you so much and we we will see you soon.

 

Theresa and Paul

 

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It was an absolute pleasure meeting Darren today after our lengthy conversations on the phone about our 2 year old, troubled Ridgeback, (one of 2).  Darren went back to basics, clearly explaining the psychology and learning behaviours of dogs. He used analogies that we could understand and put Kai,'s behaviour into perspective.

 

Darren explained how we could improve our relationship with Kai and Kito through clear simple communication that they could understand. He demonstrated the effectiveness of this  through demonstrations and getting us to practice with them.  Darren gave good feedback so we knew when we were getting it right and more importantly when we were getting it wrong. Armed with this we know what to avoid and can support each other to ensure we are being consistent. 

 

Darren gave us some practical tips to prevent escalation when they get excited, such as when we have visitors. We also learnt about a different way of feeding to provide mental stimulation and keep them occupied when we are out.

 

Darren clearly enjoys his work and quickly formed a relationship with Kai and Kito, though Kito was not to impressed with your dance moves Darren - must try harder.

 

Our work will now be ongoing, but I feel positive that we can use what Darren has taught us to improve our communication with both but specifically Kai, to address his aggression towards people and other dogs. 

 

We look forward to the next session and will provide a progress update.

Thank you for your support. 

 

Karen and Paul x

 

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Hi Darren. 

Just wanted to let you know how things are going.

Rusty is like a different dog. He now accepts baby as part of the family with absolutely no issues at all.

A huge thank you

 

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Dear Darren 

Just wanted to say how much we appreciated the time with you last Monday.

Our review is as follows:

From the initial telephone and email contact with Darren we felt that he was very professional and keen to help us gain  more understanding of our young puppy in order  to have a better relationship with her. 

We were very pleased that we were able to see Darren so promptly in our home environment as this enabled him to see some of the difficulties which may have been due to the open plan layout of our home. 

From the moment Darren arrived at our home he put both my husband and I at ease and seemed to make an immediate connection with our 13 week old puppy, Tilly. 

Darren spent time explaining and demonstrating ideas to help improve our communications with Tilly. Nothing was rushed and his calming yet persistent approach produced results literally before our eyes! Tilly’s response was very encouraging particularly in relation to sit, stay and ‘leave it ‘ commands. 

Later the same day Darren emailed a comprehensive report of what had been discussed/demonstrated and then sent a bound paper copy by post. This  has been invaluable as a recap as we try to implement changes to our interactions with Tilly. Already (within one week)  we have seen some positive benefits. A few aspects require more patience and persistence from us and we are working on them with Darren’s encouragement and reassurance. 

Kind regards

David and Jan Horbury 
 

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We got in touch with Darren as our Boxer used to get extremely excited when meeting new people and other dogs. As he got bigger this started to become a worry as he could, although harmlessly (he's the nicest natured dog you'll meet) hurt someone or get into an aggressive situation with other dogs, as they'd get annoyed and snap at him.

 

Darren saw this first hand when he came round and was even surprised at how excitable he was. However, what he did with Leo and how he taught us to do the same in just a few hours was genuinely amazing. We took Leo out with a neighbour's dog that day to practise the techniques with Darren and they worked! 

 

Very highly recommended.

 

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We are absolutely thrilled with the progress Ru has made following his behaviour modification programme after his consultation a week ago. Before the consultation I was quite anxious but we felt thoroughly reassured, educated and positive about ways we could move forward with Ru's behaviour. We couldn't be more pleased with the outcome and we are committed to continuing practicing the tools and methods we learnt at our consultation to make Ru the best dog he can be. We will certainly be recommending your services to all our friends. Thank you for your time, patience, knowledge and commitment, it's the best money we have ever spent on Ru's development.

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Hi Darren,

Thank you for coming over last Saturday. Ever since, things have been dramatically improved with Moo. We are continuing with the training and can't believe the improvement. We will put a comment on line, probably at tge weekend. 

Thanks again chris

 

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Hi Darren,

 

It was great meeting you yesterday, thank you for your time. 

 

We feel like even after just one evening of practicing what you have taught us, Bailey has been listening and understanding us so much more. We've managed to keep the 'barrier' to the kitchen whilst cooking dinner - he would usually be sat/walking around our feet the whole time. Overall he has seemed a lot calmer around the house and a simple 'word for No' stopped him from crying/tapping at the back door. Hopefully, this communication will eventually help us with his walks & recall too after following the plan. 

 

Thanks again, we will keep you updated with his progress.

 

Jodie & Alex

 

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Hi Darren

 

We can't thank you enough for what you have already done to set the wheels in motion in us understanding wilfs behaviour and, how we need to respond to bring out the best in him and to control the worst. The plan looks great and we feel confident that by  following it correctly, it will make our house a much happier environment for us all. 

 

We look forward to contacting you with an update on wilfs progress in a weeks time. 

 

Best regards 

 

Kevin & Elaine.

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Darren, 

 

thanks so much for yesterday, was a fantastic session with you. We learned a huge amount, and the advice you gave us has already made a difference, its now just focusing and sticking with it. 

 

I would absolutely recommend you to anyone in need of your services, the approach is easy to understand, and has ensured that its done in such a way that the dogs understand what is wanted, but I don't feel that i am being mean to them, which is key for us!

 

Will stay in touch, and keep you updated on how we are doing! 

 

Kind regards, 

Anthony

 

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Thank you Darren

 

Yes i found your session with us extremely helpful and will definitely recommend to anyone that needs a dog behaviour expert.

 

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Hi Daren,

 

Thank you for your visit last Sunday. 

We all found it very informative and helpful regarding our baby Hungarian Vizsla Luna!

 

She is still sleeping through the night, let’s hope it carried on!

We are now walking Luna and she absolutely loves the school morning run and the park etc. 

When the house is busy she is happy to take herself off to the crate for a sleep. 

 

A question, would it be worth me getting a julius k9 power harness? We do feel like we need more control near the busy roads. Luna is very good on the lead but one distraction and slip of the lead could be dangerous. She has such a slender neck. 

 

Luna doesn’t like her dinner in the kongs but does like them as a treat stuffed with ham or cream cheese! She is eating all of her meals now (although still off of the wooded chopping board!)

 

Thank you again for your visit, we feel like we can manage now!

 

 

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Review for Darren at Doggy Behaviour:

Darren was brilliant with our ESS 6-month-old puppy. He agreed to see us with very little notice and squeezed us into his diary so that we could get his help before we went on holiday with our dog. There has been a massive improvement with Charlie after the consultation. He is responding much better to our commands and he seems to be so much happier. We are just beginning the process of having a better relationship with our beloved boy but so far, would highly recommend Darren’s services. We have a much better understanding of Charlie and his behaviour has improved so much just after a few hours with Darren. Thank you very much!!! Sarah and Justin

 

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Darren visited us on Mon 28th May and spent a long time helping us to understand why our dog has the problems that he has, and giving us lots of ideas and training techniques on how to try to correct and improve his behaviour.  I have been working on these over the last week and have seen improvement already and Darren has been in contact to check everything is going ok.

I am not particularly a people person but found Darren to be friendly, polite and likeable which put me at ease, and have no worries in contacting him should I have any questions.

 

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Darren, Macey and I would like to thank you for all your hard work and patience.

Your knowledge, skills and experience were obvious from the start which straight away put us at ease and willing to trust you.

 

Before the session it was easy to contact you and replies were prompt and professional.  We still talk about how it was fate that we ran into you in the car park on the very weekend that we were talking about getting help for Macey. 

The questionnaire we filled in, although long, served to prove to us that Macey was in safe hands.

It was easy to book an appropriate time with you and we were grateful for a Sunday booking. 

 

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Darren came to our house for a 4 hour session just over a week ago to help us with what we thought was a very stubborn DDB. Our Ted had been through a bit of a tough time in his first year and this was going to be his last chance. After Darren showed us some basic training techniques and to understand what Teddy was trying to tell us it all made sense. My children returned home 2 days later to say “we have a new dog” the change in his behaviours that were quite concerning are remarkable! Xmas eve he bit my husband when he touched the food bowl now we have a routine that with out any commands Teddy now knows. We can go near him and his bowl without being scared this is huge!!!! I would recommend Darren all the way as we now have a dog that is happier more obedient and wanting to please and learn. He is a smart loving dog and I’m glad we gave him the chance

 

 

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Big thank you to Darren who helped our nervous Labrador with his eating and aggression towards food. He is now a very tired pup after using his brain! Lots of learning to continue with and couldn’t have done it without you, thanks again 🐶🐾❤️

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Can’t recommend Darren enough. Can’t believe in just one morning how much Eddie (and us!) learnt. Looking forwards to seeing our progress over the coming weeks. Xxx

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Matilda is a different girl. loves her walks in the field, sleeps through most nights, won’t come down to go out, but I did buy her a big new bed , well 2 beds 😁 she’s calmer when kids come ,

we can eat, she still tries it on at 1st, but does go and use her little Kong, feeding her out of the big Kong, she’s got the hang of it now. all in all, part from the odd accident or like last night she was hyper at 3 am she’s as good as gold. thank you for all your help.

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Hi Darren

We were really pleased with your calm approach, which helped put both us and Ivy at ease from the start. You helped us to see that communicating with a dog is simple so long as it is consistent, and just in the past few days we have already seen a real improvement in her responsiveness to us .The information pack fully details everything we need to do going forward, and I feel confident and informed in trying these approaches. Thanks for your help so far!

 

All the best,

Milly

 

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Hi Darren,

It was good to meet you today. We found your advice very helpful and I’m sure your visit will make a big difference to Lola’s behaviour.

 

Regards

Sharon and Andrew

 

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Hi Darren,

 

Thanks for your time yesterday. We got found the session to be very insightful and we would not hesitate to recommend the service to others in the local area. We were both in agreement that it would help us fine tune Barbara’s behaviour and hopefully eradicate the small issues that we had with her. 

 

Thanks again for your time and we’ll be in touch in due course.

 

All the best!

 

Adam

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Thank you for coming to see us and advising us with regards to Bella's behaviour. I have been trying to implement all your suggestions! The sit, wait and come has been very successful....as has Bella's love of sausage!....it appears to have made a significant difference when I am out with her as well. If I ask her to come she returns and sits at my feet! Oddly the treat of a piece of sausage does not interest her at all when we are out but she just seems to oblige anyway!

 

 

I feel now that I have a plan to work with which is very beneficial especially by keeping the commands straightforward and simple.

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On the day of the training session we were grateful that the session started earlier as we were worried about Macey getting too hot in the midday sun.

We were both impressed by the way you spent time with Macey before even setting foot in the park.

The whole session was very calm and not rushed.  We never felt that we were being pushed or taking too long to do anything. Your sense of humour and friendly nature instantly put us ease.  We didn’t feel that we were being judged but that you were on our side and wanted to help.  David is still having trouble with the camp voice but he is getting there.

Throughout the session everything was clearly explained to us including the reasons why dogs behave how they do, which was not only very interesting but easier to see the theory behind what we had to do. 

David and I were inspired by the way you went up to people and asked them to be involved with Macey’s training.  We find ourselves talking to other dog owners more and explaining what we are doing with Macey.

 

The above and beyond part of the day had to be when you drove to your house and got your dog Kimba to help out with the meet and greet. 

This gave us both the confidence that Macey wasn’t violent with other dogs and could socialise with new dogs. 

We were both very proud of how well Macey had done on the day and left feeling full of confidence that we WILL get there.

 

The report we received afterwards was very informative and has given us lots of food for thought. Knowing we were getting a report meant that we knew we didn’t have to try and remember everything or try and write it down.

 

We went to the Isle of Wight last weekend and had a much more enjoyable ferry crossing with the other dogs and we had some very enjoyable walks. 

We are getting there slowly and have not done any butt smelling yet.  We have noticed that Macey calms down a lot quicker than before.

We know that it is a long process but we are in it for the long run.

 

Thank you for everything you have done for us and Macey. 

 

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Further to our session with Darren Davidson on Saturday 23rd November 2013 we would like to provide feedback on our experience and the effects it has had on ourselves and Bentley.

 

Darren presented himself very professionally and explained his actions and the reasons why certain behaviours exist.   He found a safe environment for the consultation to take place and made us all feel very much at ease.

 

He slowly took us through our passes ensuring that focus was made on the consistency of our actions and commands towards Bentley for example; being clear with commands (keeping to the same words!) and ensuring Bentley was happy to carry out the commands and being rewarded for positive responses.

 

We feel that the consultation went well and we both noticed positive changes in Bentley’s behaviour and a new found excitement at being given the opportunity to run freely some distance, although tethered.

 

On returning home we continued with our training ensuring Bentley’s ‘walks’ follow the same command structure.   Bentley almost straight away was walking at a better pace and not tugging as much although once he has a scent this still continues and we are aware that this will not change and would not want it to, he is a hound.   He also sits by a non vocalised command, for which he is treated (not all the time) and he will wait/stay at a distance with theses being increased and decreased thus increasing our confidence in letting him stay off the lead and waiting when necessary.  We have also let him off the lead and he manages to stay close by until a scent is found; to date he has not run off too far that we are unable to retrieve him and when Bentley is focused on ourselves returns eagerly for treats.

 

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We would like to thank Darren for the time he spent with us and the skills and knowledge he shared with us during the consultation. 

 

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Thanks Darren Davidson for the consultation and the follow up help. The tips you gave and the advice has really helped. I feel that now i will be able to get my dog Pandora's issues sorted out (or maybe my owner issues). She is now walking on the lead without pulling and i am also able to let her off and she comes back. I understand now its the way that i instruct her and the methods you taught me really work. Before i got into contact with you i thought that i would have to wait until she slowed down to let her off but now its my high pitch voice i have to work on. I was amazed at the obedience of you dog and i am inspired to get my Pandora to the same level. 

I am really grateful that you identified the issues with her scratching and gave some good tips to stop the habit. I feel happy that we are now able to better understand her needs and using your advice we will get rid of some of her compulsions and fears.

 

Thanks 

Craig Jenkins

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Hi Darren

 

Thanks for coming to see us today it was extremely interesting to learn what we were doing almost right but also where we were going wrong.

We both found the morning very helpful and look forward to working with Robbie to make him a happy friendly dog, we will also be using the techniques you have shown us with our older dog Charlie to try and give him a bit more confidence.

 

Once again thanks very much.

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Hi Darren

 

My 7 year old pug had a very annoying behavioural problem whereby for years he would scratch at the doors in our house and would take the paint off them.  The more you ignored him or shouted at him the worse he was.  I contacted Darren as I was at the end of my tether and he showed me the way to remove this pattern of scratching.  It has now been around 4 weeks and I think he has scratched only once or twice in that period instead of scratching numerous times a day, every day for years.  Thank you Darren, brilliant!

 

 

Many thanks

Valerie

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Following our visit from Darren we are getting on well with the new training regime. Darren explained the issues we were having and why and gave us tools and methods to work with to improve things with our dog. We have been strict in following the advice and tools we have been given and Apollo is making good progression. We will continue with this and hopefully know where to come for advice and further services going forward. I would highly recommend Darren and his services as he knows his stuff and teaches you how to become the trainer yourself.

 

Thank you from Lyndsey, Keith and Apollo 

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Darren

Just to say thank you. Your visit last week has helped me so much with my anxieties after my experience a few weeks ago.

I have a neighbour who walks with me every morning and I encourages me to let my boys off there leads.

Still a way to go but it is forward not backwards.

Tess.

 

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Dear Darren Thank you so much for this very detailed paperwork backing up your training with us this morning. We really enjoyed it and feel very encouraged to persevere with the problem areas to make both our and Asha’s lives the best they can be. Everything you said made complete sense and we really felt you understood and addressed all our concerns in a friendly and efficient way. We would definitely recommend your sessions and I hope to be able to report back on further progress in a week or so! Many thanks indeed. Best wishes Albert and Gillian

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It was an absolute pleasure to meet you - Mark and I feel much more relaxed with Coco since our meeting and we can see a real difference in her behaviour also - she seems so much happier. 

 

Coco really enjoyed meeting you also and thank you for your encouragement and kinds words about her - she is a beauty! :)

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Separation anxiety

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Hi Darren, 

 

Otta is doing amazing. We can't thank you enough. 

I am able to leave him now, when I go to work or do a school run.

He sleeps and loves his cheese spread. No more pacing and whinging. He still has a little whimper when we leave him but I'm sure this is to be expected. 

Early morning walks where difficult to start with because we wouldn't leave my side, but that has improved now and I'm able to walk instead of bike lol. 

We have reduced his medications with the hope to stop soon. 

The jumping up and squealing on return has stopped. 

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We got in touch with Darren to help us with our 5 year old Jack Russel who had become reactive and nervous around other dogs.
She would pull and bark incessantly until they would be out of sight.   
We had two sessions with Darren in which he gave us techniques  to use to give her confidence round other dogs and be less reactive.  
    During the second session she was walking side-by side with another dog. Which was amazing to see as she would of reacted so differently 5 weeks earlier.   
After this session we took her for a walk with another dog and she was off the lead and seemed a completely different dog.  She was so relaxed happy and calm.  
  We cant recommend Darren enough. He has left us with a different more chilled dog and well on her way to make lots of doggy friends.

 

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Excellent money well spent we now have the knowledge to communicate with our dog , and it’s working 👍

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We are one week in from our first session with Darren and wow! What a difference already. The session was so interesting and we definitely understand our German Shepard so much better now. Obviously having a dog is a big commitment, if you have invested in a dog and are having any difficulties or worries I highly recommend that you use Darren, he will enable you to get the best relationship with your doggy family member possible. Straight forward, simple , little changes make a HUGE difference. We are so glad that someone recommend him to us ! Diane , Mason and Jackson

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​Hi Darren

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Thank you for yesterday. 

We were very encouraged by the immediate response to your ideas and suggestions.  Very positive direction and guidance for us, as owners.

Thank you for your general advice.

Very much like your approach and style of dealing with our dogs. Would definitely recommend your services.

We will continue with practising your advice ..2 happy dogs and owners!

Kind regards

Lee and Lynda

 

PS

Hi Darren

Just to let you know we had a walk with Tia this morning to a quiet woods,  but one where she has refused to walk before! Had to use the tactic on the lead couple of times,  but she walked which was amazing!!

Thank you so much 😀

Enjoy the rest of Easter

Lynda and Lee

 

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Dear Darren Thank you so much for this very detailed paperwork backing up your training with us this morning. We really enjoyed it and feel very encouraged to persevere with the problem areas to make both our and Asha’s lives the best they can be. Everything you said made complete sense and we really felt you understood and addressed all our concerns in a friendly and efficient way. We would definitely recommend your sessions and I hope to be able to report back on further progress in a week or so! Many thanks indeed. Best wishes Albert and Gillian

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Hi Darren Just an update as requested. I feel we have made good progress with the new regime this week and have done lots of exercise sessions with Asha and adopted the new words etc. She’s pulling a lot less on the lead and not jumping up so much either although work in progress. Same for the barking at Albert but there have been a few occasions when she hasn’t done it at all so hopefully we are winning! Best wishes Gillian

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It was an absolute pleasure to meet you - Mark and I feel much more relaxed with Coco since our meeting and we can see a real difference in her behaviour also - she seems so much happier. 

 

Coco really enjoyed meeting you also and thank you for your encouragement and kinds words about her - she is a beauty! :)

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After struggling with our 17 month old Standard Poodle for sometime now, we decided to get some help. We got in touch with Darren. Within 2 weeks of seeing Darren we were able to walk with Finlay calmly and without pulling. We still have a few issues meeting other dogs, but day by day there is a great improvement. Darren is excellent at explaining situations and why certain things happen ( mainly my errors) The lessons were great fun and he makes you feel at ease. If you have any problems with your dog I would 100% recommend Darren.

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I have a very nervous  Boston terrier  whilst out walking with him I spoke with a lady who noticed how nervous he was and she recommended  Darren  a dog  behavourist  

. I  contacted him and he has been so helpful  .he came around and assessed him gave me commands to follow then followed up a few months later. I also had trouble with my dog lunging at people and other dogs so he arranged for walks with another dog owner  I have a good improvement  with my dog . Any questions  I have I can give him a call and he is always able to help .if you have any difficulties with your dog or concerns I would highly recommend him . I have tried a couple of trainers but have found them quite dismissive  of my concerns.

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Hi Darren, 

 

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"In June 2020, we got a 5 month old Romanian rescue (street) dog named Smudge. Little did we know what to expect with our limited knowledge of other dogs. We fell in love immediately, but soon figured out that our little friend had some issues.

 

On the worst day you can imagine, he managed to get out through his doggy gate and nip two people in the calf (1 of them our neighbour). From that day on, our lives with Smudge got very complicated, as he also started lunging/ barking and snarling at strangers on the street, joggers, cyclists, people in high viz clothing and men in general. 

 

Whatever we did, however we reacted, nothing worked. In the house, he was and is a sweetheart, but the moment we went outside, he got reactive to everything. 

 

When Darren first came to visit us, Smudge didn't calm down for about 2 hours and kept barking relentlessly. Darren showed us how to really understand Smudge's signs and how to react to it and communicate with him more effectively (e.g. a wagging tail doesn't have to be a good sign and can mean quite the opposite).

 

Darren made sure we go back to basics and reinforce the key commandos - come, sit, stay - and to build up from there. 

 

More importantly, he taught us how to really say no to Smudge. We finally learned how to communicate with our dog and it was an eye opening experience.

 

We really put a lot of effort into our training plan and kept practising the key commands, as well as saying no and making sure Smudge would meet as many people as possible.

 

Darren came to see us again in December last year and was really pleased with our efforts. We reinforced some areas of the training plan and he gave us some further things to look into (e.g. training Smudge not to pull the lead).

 

Smudge went from an aggressive reactive to curious reactive in a couple of months. He's still lunging from time to time without any warning, but we know now how to react and how to avoid this kind of behaviour. 

 

Darren helped us from feeling anxious on every walk to enjoying our walks again and making the most of them. We can only recommend working with Darren and will definitely keep in touch about our further progress."

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Have a lovely Sunday evening, 

Marina & Stephan

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We had a Dalmatian who was refusing to walk anywhere (this happened out of the blue) A few hours with Darren and we were able to pin point the issues and more importantly, we are now back out walking the countryside and she hasn't looked happier....... 100% would recommend Darren

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Just have to say a big thank you to Darren! We are super happy with the results and Tiloup is a far better pup! and we are more knowledgeable/trained fur parents! It takes work to own a pup! and we are still working on it but we are so happy with the changes we see so far! Definitively think about doggy behaviour if you have a pup, concerns or training issues!

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I was quite nervous bringing a behaviourist into the home, especially as our dog is a rescue who has been with us a few years already. I needn't have worried though. Darren was knowledgeable, calm and funny and put us all at ease very quickly. His suggestions for our dog were all thoroughly explained and when given a human angle - made complete sense too!

It is true that it is the owners who need the training, not the dog. This was very evident with us when Darren attempted to explain the key principles of tone and timing - he was very patient!

We saw results instantly and continue to see improvements some weeks on. We have a much happier home (and dog) as a result of Darren's visit. I cannot recommend highly enough. 

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Hi Darren

 

Thank you for time and knowledge today. Both Barbara and I are very happy with your recommendations.

 

So glad we contacted you.

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Darren has been amazing! He responded within 12 hours of my enquiry, we had a quick initial chat on the phone to assess the situation (about our 2 dogs fighting over resources and having a newborn). During the consultation, Darren took the time to get know our dogs and our routines. I greatly appreciated his time to answer all our questions and concerns. I learnt to read my dogs body language, understand their instincts and above all how to speak "dog". It was a learning curve for me and since the consultation we have taken Darren's advice to the letter and the major changes were not about training but more about me communicating without misunderstandings with my dogs. Darren has given me so much confidence and already after a week I have seen improvements in our dogs behaviors. I can highly recommend Darren!

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Our Romanian rescue puppy, Matilda was very nervous. Walks used to be very stressful for her and she didn't enjoy it at all. She had a few behavioural problems, such as refusing to let go/leave something, nipping and slight food aggression which was purely an error in our communication with her. Darren was so amazing with us all, Matilda took to him right away and the way he explained everything to us made everything so clear and also gave us so much confidence. We were starting to feel that we may have made the wrong decision and that we were not the right family for Matilda, but Darren showed us very effective ways to communicate with her and she is like a different dog now! My autistic 5 year old son was quite frightened of Matilda (she would be very rough with him) but now they are the best of friends because my son can see how to calm her down/ understands when it is not time to play etc but most importantly he can see that she will listen when told to stop, so the atmosphere is 1000 times better now. We still have little hiccups but that is to be expected with a puppy. We had contacted a few behaviourists before we found Darren, and they basically told us that we shouldn't keep Matilda and that she was beyond help. So I really mean it when I say how grateful we are to have had Darrens help 😊 thankyou for not brushing us off and for giving us that confidence we needed to give Matilda the best life we can!
 

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When we decided to adopt a romanian puppy, we assumed that our basic knowledge of "dog training" would be a breeze. Only to realise one week in our little pup had separation anxiety and a fear to leave home. I never thought in my life I would contact a animal behaviourist to help train my puppy. But with just one telephonic conversation, and one meeting later, Darren changed my life and was amazing. He was patient, calm, went through key aspects of everything, was honest and helpful. I was absolutely blown away. It truly is all about us the humans and how we communicate with our dogs. Darren took me through absolutely everything and gave me the tools on what I needed to do to make this work. Shortly after Darren left, I started implementing what I had learned, and was able to leave my dog for an hour alone at home (when I say leave him home alone, I mean, I walked down the road, and watched on on a doggy camera for an hour before getting to cold and going home) I know if I continue with what I have been taught and guided on by Darren, I know this can only be successful from here on out. I just wanted to say thank you to Darren. It was only a pleasure meeting and working with you.

 

Thank you again

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Hi mate. she’s been good as gold from the minute u left mate! She’s a different dog, we’re so pleased with her and what you have done for us. Thanks again 👍🏼

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Hi Darren. Thanks for coming today, you really are worth every penny. We can see a change in kiki already when you was there and even after you left. We will keep up the training and keep you informed. You are 100% highly recommended!! Thanks again mate 

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