The Dog Training Company Wakefield - Wakefield

Life of Flo

Since deciding to take in a re-homed 2 year old Doberman in December, it was clear the dog needed professional training, but I also wanted to be involved in this and put in the work myself to train him, so I looked at reviews for the Dog training company and booked the assessment. Right from meeting Zak in Wakefield I knew he was the right trainer for us. He lightly tested Adonis’ boundaries in a controlled environment to correctly assess what package we would require to begin our training. We went for the silver package which included the boost day and this was extremely beneficial to us for Zak to have him for a full day and understand him more and guide me through his training. Every session we discussed how we’d got on with the training in previous weeks and what we needed to work on. We’ve come from having a dog I was unable to walk, to one that will now walk on a loose leash my side, and listen in the house much more, as Zak also gave us tips on how to control his behaviour in the home and integrate him with our other dogs. We still have obstacles to overcome but I’m much more confident in handling Adonis and look forward to future adventures! Thank you very much Zak! 😊

Lee Austin

We enrolled our puppy Geoff on the puppy training course and we are so glad we did! Adam, his trainer has been brilliant and he's taught US as much as he has Geoff. We now feel confident taking him everywhere with us, whether that's a walk or a trip to the pub. We know he can behave and we get to enjoy our time with him more.

anthony cooper

Extremely knowledgeable trainer Adam, very patient, friendly and able to get the best from your dog and also owner. Relaxed sessions, always a friendly welcome.
The course was really enjoyable, sorry it had to end but many goals were achieved and I cannot recommend this company enough. Thankyou very much Adam.

Tony Kim and Teddy

Yvonne Brear

Home Life Residential

Zak did an amazing job looking after our very challenging dog Athena.
With the updates on the report card I felt she was in safe hands I could relax on holiday.
Athena has made some great improvements in her behaviour whilst at her home life residential course and this has continued at home.
Would highly recommend this training package & training centre.

Abby Clarkson

Choosing The Dog Training Company was the best decision I ever made! My German Shepherd, Doug, showed aggression towards most humans other than those he lived with, both in and out of our home. Due to his strength and reactivity, Doug was becoming impossible to walk.

The centre is ideally located directly across the road from a nature reserve. Zak explained that as part of Doug's training programme, a session would take place there. At the beginning, that seemed impossible.

On our initial assessment Zak reassured me that although Doug was almost 7, he could definitely make progress. I initially booked 5 1-to-1 sessions and 1 boost day. After seeing the progress Doug had made after the first boost day, I booked another one on too. The sessions were adaptive to Doug's needs and what we wanted to get out of the training.

We built on the foundations of our relationship first. Zak explained the theory around the basis of the training and how important it was to solidify this before moving on. Each session, Zak would explain how to work on different aspects at home then recommend the length of time to practice this before the next session. You are given the skills, knowledge and tools to change your dogs behaviour, but the responsibility is on the owners dedicating time to this outside of the sessions in order to progress. The training is as much for the owners as it is for the dogs.

Zak made me comfortable from the initial assessment. He answered any questions I had along the way, and would support in between sessions over email. It was clear that Zak cared about how Doug was developing and would always ask if there was anything I needed that hadn't been covered during the sessions.

Doug's progress has been nothing short of amazing. In comparison to the dog he was when we attended our initial assessment, he is transformed. I can now have people at the house and Doug is happy to be in their company. Doug will walk on a loose lead past people, dogs and cyclists with no reaction. Vet visits beforehand were extremely difficult. Doug now manages these well and is calm. We did spend our last session on a walk around the nature reserve opposite the training centre. Doug encountered all of the above and remained settled and focused throughout. The transformation in him is 100% down to how knowledgeable and dedicated Zak was to helping us. I cannot thank him enough!

Kimberley Graham

Our friend recommended using The Dog Training Company. We are so glad they did!.

The change in Chester has been very rewarding to watch. Our family and friends have noticed the changes too. He's a completely different dog now.

Our story:

Our consultation was with James. He was very understanding and he could see that we needed some support and that Chester needed help in building his confidence.
Chester hated the outside world. He didn't enjoy going out for a walk and always appeared nervous. He would be wary going up to new people. Even when he was out as a group he was so slow, always lagging behind like a deflated balloon. His happy place was at home with his toys.
After his 1st boost day we saw a big change in Chester. He was walking on the lead and his whole body language changed, tail up, strutting his stuff. Between the 1st and 2nd boost day we had a few one on one sessions with James. His advice has been excellent. He is very knowledgeable and takes the time to explain both the practical and theory behind the training regimes so you always know what the next step is. This is backed up by an information pack. We did have doubts about crate training but it has been a game change for us. Chester loves it. His own little safe place.
I felt like James was the right trainer for Chester and us. We have learnt so much along the way. We can't thank James and his Wakefield Team enough for all the help and support.

Carla

Can't praise Zac enough. Such a lovely person and so nice with our dog. We clearly saw results of Zac and Maude's relationship from day 1. Thanks for helping us with a very sassy Dachshund

Laura Featherstone

Sonny is a rescue dog who came over from Romania. He had lived his whole life (four years) in a shelter so when he came over to the UK to live in a city, he found life very overwhelming and became a very anxious dog, scared of pretty much anything and everything except me, his owner. He developed lead aggression and his daily walks became something to dread.

A friend suggested contacting Wakefield Dog Training Centre as she was already working with them and seeing a massive improvement in her own dog. I booked an assessment session, where I met Adam with Sonny and discussed issues that we were having. Adam explained why various aspects of Sonny’s behaviour were happening and really gave me the confidence that it would be possible to make him much less anxious. He suggested a set of five 1-2-1 sessions for Sonny, along with an optional booster day that takes place on the day of your first lesson, I decided to go ahead with both.

When I dropped Sonny off for his booster day, he looked terrified. I genuinely didn’t think that they would be able to do much with him that day. How wrong I was. When I went back six hours later, my dog was bouncing around having a love-in with Adam and Jacob and barely looked in my direction when I walked in. I couldn’t believe the difference. They had taken videos throughout the day so I could see what they had been doing with him. They showed him walking calmly to heel and sat nicely next to a large German Shepherd. All this within a couple of hours. Things I hadn’t managed to do myself in the 9 months I had him.

Our first lesson went over what they had been doing with him on his booster day and showing me what I needed to do to get the same reactions from Sonny. That really is the theme of the training, they are actually training sessions for the owners far more than the dogs.

The trainers at Wakefield Dog Training are all brilliant at what they do. I have had sessions with Adam, Jacob and Craig and all have been really knowledgeable and put me very much at ease. Jacob has been our main trainer and he has been so good at explaining why Sonny reacts in the way he does to different circumstances. The training sessions all focus on a different theme (sit, stay, recall etc.) and Jacob really helped me to understand how I need to act / react in order to get Sonny to do what I want him to do. Like anything else, practice makes perfect and these sessions only work properly if you are constantly putting what they have shown you into practice in real life. It is hard work but it is amazing when I look back as to how far Sonny has come in the last two months.

Sonny isn’t ‘perfect’ yet but our life is so much easier and, more importantly, I have a happy dog who is enjoying his life in the UK now.