Shape Dogs was founded on a simple premise: Every dog deserves to be happy, with and without their owner.
And every owner deserves the freedom that comes with a happy, home alone dog.
The story begins with my rescue dog, Hank.
Like many dogs in rescue centres, Hank struggled with separation anxiety and was destructive in his previous home when left alone.
He also suffered from noise sensitivities, was easily over-aroused and struggled settling in some situations.
Like many owners, adopting him led me down a path of exploration and education in the world of dog behaviour and training, helping him to be the happiest, care-free dog he could be.
Since adopting Hank, I’ve become a certified, positive reinforcement dog trainer.
I’ve trained with a number of leading canine education organisations across a range of dog-related topics. These have covered everything from loose-lead walking, recall and predatory motor patterns (why your dog loves to chase squirrels so much!) to resource guarding, canine body language and – of course – separation anxiety.
Credentials and memberships
I founded Shape Dogs to help dogs and their owners prevent, manage and overcome behavioural problems as a team.
Our approach revolves around positive reinforcement, ensuring that every interaction strengthens the bond between you and your dog. This is in-line with our commitment to adhering by modern dog training methods rooted in compassion and science.
Whether it's in-person dog training sessions in Runcorn and the surrounding Cheshire area or virtual separation anxiety training worldwide, we're here to provide guidance that fosters a supportive learning environment for you and your dog.
Our values and what we believe in
What we believe and how we work to make our vision of dogs and their owners finding happiness together and apart, a reality for all dogs and their owners worldwide.
Ethical, modern, research-based methods
Based on an overwhelming amount of evidence toward the effectiveness of kind, ethical methods, we practise positive-reinforcement/force-free training. This works where we reward the dog for behaviour that we want repeated (because rewarded behaviour becomes repeated behaviour), whilst also considering your dog's needs and well-being.
By using positive reinforcement training, it helps to build the trust and bond between you and your dog, and works toward creating more confident dogs, free from fear of making a mistake.
Ongoing education
The scientific research behind dog cognition, behaviour and training is constantly growing and changing, and as a professional advising in these areas, we believe it's essential that we keep up-to-date with the latest research so that you and your dog are always getting the best advice.
Judgement-free approach
We know that understanding and overcoming behavioural challenges can be difficult, particularly with the amount of misinformation and quick 'tips and tricks' online that don't work without an understanding of the bigger picture. We'll never judge you or anything you've tried, we just ask that you come with an open mind to learning our training techniques and taking on board our advice.
Jargon-free training
We value your time and dedication to your dog, so we will never make any training or advice more complicated than it needs to be, to make sure that our training and advice is always as accessible as possible.
Trust in teamwork
There's no stronger team than a dog and their human working together. We prioritise building strong bonds between you and your dog centred around trust and communication so that your dog better understands what's expected of them in a wide range of situations, and you can cater to their needs and well-being with safe outlets to help reduce unwanted behaviours.
And because we know the importance of teamwork between dog, owner and trainer, all of our programmes include unlimited WhatsApp support as standard so that you have access to advice and feedback as and when you need it.
Any dog, any age, any breed
Our training methods adapt to your dog's learning pace and their motivators, to make sure that we're always progressing in a way that works for them and solidifies their learning.
And yes, we absolutely can teach an old dog new tricks.
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