Walking a Dog to Heel

Born in rural Bedfordshire, England in 1957 I was brought up in a very small village, four miles from the nearest town of Biggleswade.

Like most families we had dogs as pets, all of them cross breeds, and in time all of them had puppies. Endless fun for small children.

As I grew up the bond between dogs and myself became obvious, and at the age of fourteen I trained my first dog Sally, she was the beginning of my dog training career as far back as I can remember. With every dog I train there comes a new challenge and different rewards, over the 20+ years that I have gained my own experience, I have developed my own technique and style. Many people have come to me for help just through word of mouth but demonstrating heel work at country shows and village fetes brought me to the attention of our local radio station, BBC Three Counties. One of the presenters watched me in action and fascinated by what he saw, invited me to his show every so often to give advice to listeners on dog handling and obedience problems.

It was listening to other people's problems that led me to believe that the majority of people have more problems with just walking their dog to heel than anything else. They end up missing out on vital exercises for the dog, and the owner missing out on the pleasure of walking a well behaved dog.

Dogs have been a big part of my life from a very early age and over the years I have trained countless numbers of dogs of all breeds and ages, and every single one of them tried to be the boss, It's in their nature that their goal in life is to be top dog.

Every dog has his day, just make sure its not every day.

The idea of Dogs at Heel came to me simply because no matter how many dogs I come into contact with, the owners all seem to struggle with the one thing that is important and that's being able walk the dog and give it the exercise it needs in a disciplined manner.

I have seen people who have had treatment from doctors, just because the dog has pulled so much it has torn muscles in their arm .

My method of training does not need strength, or harsh measures, and I would like to point out that check chains are not part of my training, although the check chain can play its part, but only in my opinion in the hands of a professional.

Remember a check chain is to check a dog, not choke it !!

There is no such thing as a choke chain for dogs.