Anvilstone Dog Training - Carnforth

MalGib P.

We took our 7 month old GWP and spent the day with Ian at Anvilstone Dog Training. We had the basics in place but really wanted to polish and build on our training and develop a stronger bond and leadership with our boy. Ian spent time working with Brodie, doing a series of exercises to gauge where Brodie was at. He then spent time talking through the exercises and explaining the importance of each one in great detail. Just within the first 30 minutes, Brodie was so engaged and looking like a different dog. He highlighted areas of Brodies behaviour and explained the importance of dealing with them now, before they could develop into something that potential could be difficult to correct later down the line. We have come away with a wealth of knowledge and a clear understanding of how to better communicate with Brodie to make our future together a solid team.

Emily R.

My friend recommended Ian at Anvilstone Dog Training after she had taken her GSP Urnie for a very successful weeks training.

We have a 5.5 year old GWP who has been with us for 18 months. He is a big dog and when we got him he had a level of training; recall to the whistle (if there was nothing around to distract him) and some lead walking with a control collar. I am not ashamed to say over the last 18 months I lost all communication with Ghillie and he was getting too much for me. Going through a field of sheep he would scream (literally) at them and pull my arms out their sockets trying to get to them, he would chase bikes, lead walking was uncomfortable and recall was ok as long as we were somewhere where there was nothing more interesting than me! In the end we did the same walks every day in the woods at the crack of dawn so I didn’t have to put him on a lead and I didn’t meet any bikes, runners or other dogs and with a ball to keep him occupied and stop him running off.
After my friends recommendation and checking out the website and instagram page I bit the bullet and contacted Ian for some training.
Ghillie spent a week with Ian and then I joined for the last day to be “trained” as well. I can’t get over the difference in Ghillie. I am not exaggerating when I say this has changed my life! I’ve been out by myself and ghillie has walked calmly on his lead, his recall is spot on, even when he got distracted by another dog and he is listening to me! We even went through some sheep and where I’m not quite confident enough to have him off his lead, he walked past them with no screaming or pulling my arms off!
Training Ghillie on our walks makes them so much more interesting and rewarding for both of us, I can’t wait to go to different places with him!
Thank you Steph for recommending Ian and most of all thank you Ian and Grace for all the hard work you did with Ghillie…and me.

Sara M.

A fellow pointer owner recommended Ian. We have a 7 month old GSP Dennis who has been running us ragged! Top and bottom of it , he thinks he’s the leader. We went to see Ian and spent an hour listening and observing how best to control Dennis. We feel reassured that we will have a well behaved dog to enjoy.
Ian was fantastic with Dennis, it was a pleasure to watch him walk calmly and become more focussed. We look forward to what’s to come

Emma O.

If you're searching for help, stop right here and give Ian a call!

Our 2.5-year-old GSP had been testing boundaries for over a year, and we were at a complete loss as to what to do next. After just one phone call with Ian, we felt truly heard. He gave us practical advice that we could start using immediately. When we dropped Maggie off for training, we were nervous, but Ian instantly put us at ease with the way he interacted with her and understood her behaviour. We left feeling reassured that she was in the best hands.

Throughout the week, Ian kept us updated with videos of Maggie working on her heel, staying focused off-lead, and enjoying playtime with his dogs or cooling off in the nearby river. Yesterday, when we returned for our own training session with Ian, he put us through our paces, making sure we understood everything, no matter how many questions we asked or how often we needed him to repeat something.

We couldn’t be happier with the progress Maggie has made -and the progress we’ve made too! For so long, we struggled with everything from lead walking to her anxiety in busy, high-traffic areas and chasing anything that moved. Thanks to Ian’s leadership and focus training, Maggie is now a more relaxed and content pup. We’re finally able to take the reins as her leaders and give her the freedom to just be a dog. 🐾 There's still work ahead, but with Ian’s framework, we feel confident that we can keep improving and enjoying life with Maggie.

Thank you, Ian - you’ve truly given us our quality of life back with our pup 🙌🏽

Holly R.

I spent 5 days with Ian with my 7yr old GWP Lemmy, after 24 hours we were off lead in a field with him coming back to the whistle, the next day he was off lead with sheep. Incredible! I had seen many other dog trainers before Ian, with no results and I had began to give up hope. If your dog has any sort of behaviour issues please just call Ian, he is happy to chat through any of your concerns/questions and give you options! money well spent, I now have a happy dog!

Freya W.

Annie our GWP has just graduated from boot camp at Anvilstone Dog Training !

If like me you have been reading the reviews and wanting to book in with Ian for the last 1-2 years whilst pulling your hair out about your dogs behaviour, but still trying to fix it yourself… this is your sign to book in!

Annie is 3 this month and we adopted her from a family that couldn’t cope when she was 6 months old. She is significantly better than when we first got her after a lot of training, and a lovely dog, but put any animal that moves into the equation and she would go deaf and forget about us!

It wasn’t fun walking her anymore. Times off the lead were few and far between and the times she was off were stressful and I was anxious about what she was going to do next.
We couldn’t walk her with friends because she would either drag us round on the lead the whole way or we couldn’t hold a conversation with anyone because we were too busy screaming her name and blowing the whistle at full volume when she ran off constantly.

Over the last 2.5 years we have had far too many incidents to remember that involved going deaf when chasing something, this included:
Running to the end of the long line chasing birds/ squirrels in the woods and pulling me over and breaking my finger.
Jumping a fence into a private fishing lake (no dogs allowed!), jumping in the lake and swimming after a swan that looked like it was about to kill her!
Chasing a deer (twice), once disappearing across about 4 fields and came back 10 mins later.

The nail in the coffin for me before I booked in with Ian was her chasing a deer a few weeks ago in the direction of a very busy A- road, me and my husband were running after her shouting and convinced she was going to jump the very small wall, run into the road after the deer and get run over!
I felt like it wasn’t safe to walk my dog anymore.

We made the drive and dropped her off Monday morning and travelled home for a few days before returning on Thursday and today for training with us.
Ian kept us updated each day with progress videos from as little as 2 hours after we had dropped her off.

Today we walked for 5 miles up the fell with Ian for our final challenge!
it was the least stressful walk we had ever had with her despite us coming across sheep and cows within a few metres. She was off the lead the entire time.
Her recall is spot on, she can be around livestock, she is staying close to us.
The pictures speak for themselves.

Ian we can’t thank you enough. The change in her is unbelievable.
Annie can now enjoy her life off lead, walking for miles with us as she should do without the fear of her getting hurt or lost.

cheryl S.

We have just used Anvilstone dog training and would highly recommend Ian. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience that he very clearly conveyed to myself and my husband. We had booked in for a week with Ian, mainly for resourse guarding dead animals and dominancy. Ian contacted us after two full days for us to go and work with our dog alongside Ian. After a full afternoon's handover, we came away with our dog. We are full of knowledge and understanding of how to continue moving forward with positive reinforcement. Thank you so much, Cheryl, Dave.

Mike S.

Having discovered Anvilstone Dog Training via a friend who owns a GWP it was with some trepidation that I made contact with Ian in the hope that he could help us with our 2 year old flat coated retriever, Fynn’s lack of recall.
Immediately putting my mind at ease, Ian arranged for a visit to outline an initial four day programme. Heading over to Lupton from our Guisborough home meant an early start on the Monday morning of February 12th. Having achieved this, the travel plan went awry with a dodgy sat nav taking me 10 miles out of my way before finally we arrived at Ian’s location.
Apologies for delay courteously accepted by Ian, Fynn was immediately put to work with close lead work followed by long lead 180 exercise with the aim of encouraging Fynn to concentrate on Ian and follow his direction.
Fully explaining the process, it was brought home to me the importance of the relationship between owner and dog, key words, treat rewards and positivity were paramount.
After the introduction, Ian agreed to take Fynn for the full four days with myself and wife Shirl due to return on the last day to work in tandem with our boy.
Returning on the Thursday to an extremely damp training field, we held our breath waiting for Ian’s
assessment, it was with some pride that we listened to Ian extol Fynn’s ability and general good nature and willingness to learn. Associating this with our knowledge of the flat coated retriever breed through 3 previous owner relationships we set to with renewed enthusiasm not to let our boy down and support him in his education. After a few minutes it was our turn to carry out the chosen exercises. Whilst nowhere near the level of Ian’s expertise, we both achieved sufficient response from Fynn to realise that we could succeed over time.
Observing Ian working with Fynn was hugely rewarding. Even being aware that we were present, Fynn was so caught up with wanting to please Ian and follow his every instruction that his focus was total. Watching this work was truly inspirational and we committed ourselves fully to continue this process. Having been home for a week, we have managed to carry out the required exercises on a daily basis and are pleased with Fynn’s response. Clearly we have a journey ahead, but we feel that after Ian’s guidance and instruction we have the necessary tools to maintain the progress and enable Fynn to enjoy an active life as a well behaved member of the “flattie” community.
A huge thank you to Ian, Fynn sends his best regards.