Hello!
I have wanted my very own dog family ever since I read about George and Timmy’s adventures… a long time ago. As with many other children I wasn’t allowed a dog, and at the time felt this was grossly unfair. As a child I would spend school holidays with my grandparents walking in Snowdonia, I promised myself that one day my own dog would be at my side.
My first dog was a Golden Retriever called Winston, or “Biscuit” when walking over the fields. Learning recall took a while, and calling from distance wasn’t covered in the dog training classes we went to back then, nor did YouTube exist! Nowadays I wouldn’t let a dog off the lead if their recall wasn’t up to it, they’d be on a long line for safety.
Rosie came along when I had Winston, Rosie was a Samoyed-Retriever cross. She absolutely knew her own mind, very astute, and when interested she was a quick learner. I lost Rosie at 13, a few years after losing Winston at 12.
On my dog journey I’ve learnt most from my own dogs, especially those that have come via rehoming. I’ve also learnt through more formal studies. I attended numerous dog emotion workshops to support of Leo.
I qualified as an IMDT Dog Trainer in 2019, and in Feb 2022 I started the COAPE International Animal Behaviour Diploma, qualifying as a COAPE Certified Animal Behaviourist, and MHERA™ Practitioner in March 2024. Between lockdowns I volunteered as a dog walker in a rehoming centre in Cardiff, then in 2022 I relocated to become a training and behaviour volunteer with a rehoming centre in Bristol, enabling me to work with more complex cases, and learn much more about cooperative care.
Jake
Then came Jake. A Lab-Springer cross and highly tuned to people. He joined me at 9 months as a ‘failed’ working dog. He was phenomenally bright and eager to learn new things. Due to his energy and bouncy nature people thought he was much younger! He loved absolutely everyone, and especially loved all the attention when visiting the Vet.
Sadly, following a short illness Jake passed away in December 2021. He was very nearly 14 years old.
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Leo
Leo a Springer Spaniel joined us when he was 2 years old. He was ‘matched’ with Jake by a behaviourist as he was very timid, anxious, and reactive to men and teenage boys. Jake provided him with the calm canine mentoring he needed, and I introduced him to as many socialising activities I could.
He was a great scent tracker and loved to do flyball for fun. Tragically, Leo left us in 2018 after only 6 short years due to end stage liver disease.
Truly
Then there was Truly, a Husky-GSD cross who joined us when she was 5 years old. I had thought Rosie was independently minded. Truly absolutely doted on Jake.
When Truly arrived she was suffering with an undiagnosed bowel condition. We had a lot of Vet support to manage her symptoms, with detective work by me to find the triggers, all food related. Truly had been diagnosed with a degenerative condition affecting her back legs, and later on, cognitive disfunction, also referred to as ‘dog dementia’.
Truly missed Jake tremendously, she passed away in February 2022 at 12 years of age.
Zeke
In 2022, while Truly was still with me, I decided to look for the right puppy. Truly had recently met a friend’s Golden Retriever puppy, and it seemed to energise her! I knew nothing would replace the loss of Jake (for either of us), but I set off on a search for the right breeder and puppy.
Sadly, my search for the right breeder meant that Truly didn’t meet Zeke before she left us.
Zeke came from fully health tested working parents, both breeders working with dogs as a behaviourist and a gun dog trainer. Zeke’s Mum and Dad had excellent temperments, and were hand selected to breed.
Zeke was raised with Puppy Culture, another big win for Zeke (and for me).
