Baxter is our 6-year-old Clumber Spaniel who has had our undivided attention and run of the house and garden since we got him as a 10-week old pup. We always wanted to get a ‘pal’ for him and we were delighted when we found a litter of Clumbers in the area.
Murphy arrived home with us early February – a 10 week old confident, cute, and very playful puppy – very keen to play with his new housemate.
We were slightly nervous about introducing a new puppy, given that Baxter had been on his own all that time – he is a loveable, friendly dog who loves playing with balls – to the point he sometimes gets obsessed with them. As a breed Clumbers can be reserved with strangers and this is true of Baxter.
The dogs were getting on fine most of the time – Baxter surprised us by willingly dropping his favourite balls and toys when Murphy would inevitably try and pinch them from him. We had Murphy in our Utility room when we were out and we were nervous about leaving them together on their own, in case there was any jealousy or territorialism.
A friend at work told me about Mike and the work he had done with her dog, so we contacted him and arranged a visit.
Mike came to the house and spent 3 hours with us, observing our behaviour with the dogs. The relationship he managed to develop right away with them was incredible. He spoke in a very calm manner with them and managed to completely get their attention and trust. The various techniques he showed us were amazing – it really was an inspiration to us seeing somebody who could build that trust with the dogs so quickly.
We realized very quickly that it was us that needed the training, not the dogs!
Since Mike’s visit, we have worked to implement some of the techniques he showed us – we received very helpful reports from him within a week of his visit. These were a very useful reminder for us having covered so much on the day. We are absolutely delighted with the way the dogs are now – they are happily sharing the kitchen space together, travel happily together in the car, and happily play together – it is great to see them so happy together.
I can’t recommend Mike highly enough – he has an amazing gift and an amazing ability to share this with people. Anybody who wants to find out more about their canine companions and how to get the best out of them shouldn’t hesitate to contact him.
We are very grateful to Mike for sharing his incredible talent with us.
