Canal Cottage Dog Training Reviews 42

I am beyond grateful for the support Helen is giving me and my dog. I have a young Staffordshire bull terrier who’s over excitement and over arousal is through the roof. I struggle to even walk past people in the street because she jumps and lunges with so much excitement. I’ve cried many tears because I desperately wanted to be able to enjoy life and make lots of memories with her which I thought would never be possible. I still have a long way to go and it’s a lot of work but since having Helen’s support our life and enjoyment of walks has already significantly improved. Helen is extremely patient and makes the training process feel relaxed and with no pressure. With the techniques and support Helen’s given it hasn’t just helped my dog but it’s also giving me more confidence in handling her and being open to try new things and environments. I booked a block of 5 sessions and look forward to the remaining ones.

Working with Helen is the best thing we’ve done for our dog and people reactive whippet. We completed the 6 month programme and the progress we have seen is huge, from a dog who would go crazy at any dog from across a field to now being able to calmly walk close to most dogs and improving so much with bigger breeds. I would highly recommend Helen to anyone experiencing behavioural issues with their dog and only wish we found her sooner.

I have been having the guidance/training from Helen Oram at canal cottage dog training for around 2.5 years for my dog Molly. Molly began as a very anxious puppy who found the world a scary place. Helen is exceptionally knowledgeable and patient, she used positive reinforcement and no adversive training techniques which was important to me. She helped me feel comfortable and confident in learning and applying strategies to help Molly. Molly has come on such a long way and I could have stopped the sessions but I value Helens flexibility that I can book a block of sessions and spread them out. I choose to do this to help keep me on track with continuing Mollys progress. I also have a new rescue dog who needed some general puppy training which Helen has helped with. There is never any pressure about how many sessions to book and she can offer telephone support to answer queries when needed. I think Helen goes above and beyond and I can't recommend her enough to anyone who needs guidance with puppy training up to more complex scenarios such as resource guarding and dogs with reactive behaviour.

Helen has really helped us understand our corgi. He was driving us pretty crazy with his constant energy and mischief hunting.
Throughout the Reactivity Bundle, she has given us tricks to deal with this and also reassured us that he was just being a puppy.
We are all very grateful to her and have a happier life together now.

Our vet recommended we sought out some professional help with our anxious Cavapoo Margot.
Thankfully I came across Helen.
She came to meet us in our home and we talked about all our concerns. She helped us immediately with how to cope with Margot’s anxiousness on walks when she meet other dogs and things which scared her.
Margot is fearful of the vet and groomer. We’ve done some work in the vets. Helen has taught me so much about Margot’s body language.
She’s advised how I can groom Margot with building trust and getting used to me handling her.
The advice and tips Helen has given has been invaluable.
We will continue to have visits with her 1. Because we want to learn more and 2. She’s so lovely to spend time with

Took our young rescue dog to Helen to help with his interaction with other dogs. Having previous restricted socialisation with other dogs he varied between reactive, anxious, and over-excited.

Helen was so kind, caring, and supportive of both us and our beloved pooch. Approaching training in a very relaxed, less formal, positive, and reward driven manner has made the whole process fun and constructive.

Was wonderful to find someone so upbeat and positive, who believes in letting dogs do dog things, whilst still being able to train them effectively, making things fun for both pet and owner.

Following the course our dog is so much better and more relaxed with other dogs, allowing both him and us to enjoy a richer life together.

Feel much more confident that we have the tools to continue his training and see him grow in confidence over time.

Massive thanks to Helen for all her hard work and support. Highly recommend if you want a positive training experience.

Helen came to do a 1:1 consultation with us before our puppy arrived to help us plan introducing him into our family with a blind dog and 2 cats. Approachable and lots of great advice which calm worries and has really helped us. Intending to book onto puppy classes too with Helen now.

Helen has helped us a great deal with our dog’s lead reactivity and focus. She has been very kind and supportive and shown a real understanding of our dog’s behaviour. We would not hesitate to recommend her.

We got in contact with Helen when our year and a half doberman became reactive during our walks and outings. Helen listened to our concerns and helped reassured us about moving forwards. She provided many different options and showed loads of tips and tricks on how to deal with different scenarios and identifying different behaviours.
Even after our lessons she provided us with lots of information and videos via email and text and was always checking in on things in between lessons to see how we were progressing.
Honestly cannot recommend Helen enough she has been so amazing and helpful! She’s very kind and understanding and you can just tell this is her passion, she genuinely has a love for dogs and is so knowledgable! We are over the moon with the progress we’ve made so far and are excited to make more! We were even able to walk around Poolsbrook on a busy day with our doggy all calm and focused on us and just genuinely enjoying himself playing which was so nice to see! Helen gave us the confidence to be able to put this training into practice by ourselves and to just be able to go out and enjoy adventures with our doggo and for that we just can’t thank her enough! We won’t hesitate to contact Helen again for anything we need and we know she’ll always be there. Thanks so much Helen!
Nathan, Ellie and Judge x

We were really struggling with our 2 young cockapoos Daisy and Lily reacting to everything on walks, especially other dogs. It had become impossible to walk both dogs at the same time and was not enjoyable taking them out at all.
After researching so many different trainers we decided to take a leap of faith and go for the reactivity package with Helen and I’m so glad we did.
In just 4 sessions the girls were at a point where we were able to walk around Poolsbrook country park on a busy Saturday morning without any reactivity. We never thought we would get to the point where we could relax on a walk but it was possible with a few simple steps and some reassurance that we knew how to handle the situation.
This weekend we took both dogs to the All about dog show at Newark which a few months ago we would not have thought possible. Both girls had a great day and most importantly no barking at all 😱 There were hundreds of people with their dogs at the show and the girls did amazingly. We could not be prouder at how far they’ve come in such a short amount of time.
I can’t thank Helen enough for all her help with everything from loose lead walking to dealing with reactivity.
Were now looking forward to our next adventure with both dogs again 😍

Helen has fantastic knowledge about dog behaviour and helped us to understand what was driving our young labrador Honey's chaotic energy. Helen worked with us to find a way to incorporate training into our busy lives. In just a few 1-1 sessions over a few months, Honey has learnt to go to her "place", to sit whilst we put the harness on, to lie down, to wait, to drop, to come to us when called, to walk to heel and now we are working on her fear of traffic with Helen's guidance. Helen also gave us great tips on enrichment activities and how to make sure Honey can settle in the evenings, giving us tired dog-parents chance to rest too! I would highly recommend Helen to anybody, she truly has not only built Honey's confidence but ours too.

We found Helen via our vet’s recommendation and also a local dog trainer. Our Bulgarian rescue Ben is very reactive and Helen’s reactive training package was excellent for the various stressful situations he was struggling with. He is improving daily and although it is still work in progress, his progress recently has been amazing. Helen showed us how to deal with him and situations, training us on how to train Ben. She was always there when I messaged her asking questions and sending videos and photos. We know that if we need any further advise she will be there for us. Thanks so much. Caroline and Mike

We approached Helen for help with our two terriers. They’re sisters, litter mates and can be highly strung, nervous and bossy ….. typical terriers. Their training needs are different and we were struggling to understand what to do for the best.
Helen helped us to understand them and she gave us the techniques required to work on their individual needs. She was incredibly knowledgeable, professional and kind and we would have no hesitation in recommending her to others. We thoroughly enjoyed working with her and really can’t thank her enough for the support she provided.

Helen has been fantastic with my reactive dog. She has given me the tools to help me with his reactivity, the understanding why and when he might react and how to remain calm.
Helen uses positive reinforcement which is what I wanted in a trainer, we have done a lot of hard work and gone through alot of sausages but it has been worth it.

As a first time dog owner, I had an amazing experience with Helen! I was very anxious about getting it wrong for my pup but she helped and supported me through it all. My little pup has come such a long away in just a few weeks with all the training from Helen. I would highly recommend her services. Thank you Helen for everything. You’ve been amazing!

Helen isnt just a dog trainer, she's an owner trainer as well. She not only taught us how to train our labrador, but helped us understand the needs of our dog and how they differ from others. Online videos don't work for every dog and it was the knowledge that Helen gave us about Arlo being a working breed that made us understand his needs and boundaries to make his training successful. We are so grateful to Helen for her help with Arlo.

Ive had 2 Border Collies and 2 Labradors in the past but never felt the need to go to a dog trainer in the past.
I now have Boxer dog, Dino who is 17 months old. We had real issues with his recall and jumping on other dogs and growling at them. We spoke to our local vet and they reccomended Helen.
We went to see Helen who reassured us it wasnt agression but Dinos way of playing, the Bull Dog in him enjoying rough play. We had 3 sessions with Helen who you can tell genuinely loves dogs.
We have learnt so much from Helen, she made it fun for both us and Dino and even got me running!
I would highly recommend Helen to anyone who needs some support with thier 4 legged friends!
Thanks again Helen!
Andrew and Carol x

Helen has transformed our rehomed puppy from anxious and stressed to happy and a pleasure for us to walk and take on holiday.

Helen was recommended to me when I was looking for help with my reactive rescue pooch & I in turn can’t recommend her highly enough to everyone else!
Helens knowledge & understanding of dog behaviour is second to none. Her training methods are reward based & kind. She is full of tricks & tips for all eventualities & is very approachable & accessible.
Our 1-1 sessions have been so valuable. They have helped me understand & adopt strategies to reduce Bellas reactivity to other dogs which in turn has built our bond and made our walks much more enjoyable & a lot less stressful!
I am currently consolidating what I have learnt & I will not hesitate to contact Helen for any reinforcement or future issues.
Thanks so much Helen!

Fantastic service that lives up to the phrase, train me not blame me. My dog was very reactive to light and has a particular issue with resource guarding. Training has been thorough, calm and very good for all my dogs, settling the environment and them in turn. Most of all it’s built my confidence and the helpful check ins are great when need a little advice in between training. Great value for money, great training and very happy dogs and owner as a result.