Smart Dog Training Puppy Socialisation Classes

I have been having an issue with my dog for some years (progressively getting worse) with her barking at other dogs we see on walks. I have tried in that time multiple techniques from the internet with little/no success. Luke was really patient with me explaining the issue then extremely supportive and clear on the day he visited. He really took the time to explain what was going on with my dog and how I needed to respond to it. We saw progress right away on the day with the techniques he recommended, and have continued to practice the simple steps he gave me with excellent results. I would wholeheartedly recommend a visit from Luke if you are struggling with your dog.
May 1st, 2023

Excellent classes, Luke makes them fun for you and your dog, we have seen great improvements in ours since attending Lukes classes. Its clear this is as much about training us to understand how to interact and control our dog as it is our dog being trained!! Great job Luke, we'll definitely keep coming and learning
Feb 16th, 2023

Luke has been helping me on proofing my dog's recall, stop etc. on everyday walks, utilising the gundog training we embarked on after our initial Smarties Puppy Training with Luke, I had lost some confidence in everyday walks in maintaining his focus, as I couldn't work out how it was so different to how he behaved while working in field as a gundog. Luke adapted our training to consider this and no surprise I was the one that needed more training..I am now more confident in using the techniques we used during training with Luke and it's made such a difference to my relationship with my dog. I highly recommend Luke to offer unique training to your dogs situation. I would also add, that if you think your training is not working, consult a professional. Thank you Luke.
Feb 26th, 2023

Hello to all who read this. Last August my husband and i bought a Border Collie. He was already 4 and a half months old, and so very scared. He had a few guarding issues over food, but, nothing really bad. We had him a week, and then my husband was off work for two weeks. His name is Dave, the dog, not my husband, anyway, Dave was doing so well. He was training and was a joy to have around, even with the odd food guarding. But, he was so small and scared, we put it down to anxiety and he really needed to trust us. Well! When my husband went back to work, Dave changed. He started snapping at the air at nothing, constant barking, but, that was just the beginning. He started growling and snarling at anything, or nothing. He would be sitting there, seemingly happy as anything, then you would hear a growl, look over, and he was stiff, ears back, snarling. We looked at so many videos online to try to sort this, but, it got worse. We had to buy a muzzle because it was getting impossible to be able to remove him from where ever he was stressing out. One day, he just lunged at me, and bit my face near my mouth, it was a good job he had a muzzle on. This was too much, as we had a small grand daughter in the house. We had taken Dave to the vets for help in case he had something wrong, but, his tests had come back ok. It was suggested we get a behaviouralist to try to help. After he bit me, we again called the vets, who prescribed him some medication to help with his anxieties. But, even with these in place, it was still a hostage situation many times with Dave. We actually thought we cannot keep him. He was always shut away from people because of his aggression. It just got to a point that as soon as i was up, you would hear a growl, and it was set in for the day. He had periods of calmness during the day, but, come the evening again, he just wanted to eat me. My grand daughter was never anywhere near him by this point. Finally, at the end of September we decided, last try now, if this does not work, there is nothing we can do, but rehome him. We contacted Luke and booked an appointment for October. Then , the magic happened it makes me teary to think of what this man did for us. He came round, he gave us advice. He explained so much, and the things we had seen to do online, were not at all any thing Luke said to do. At first, it seemed a little odd, what we were doing, and thought this is strange, how will this work? But it did! Within a few days, there was a change in Dave. In a few weeks we got very very few aggressive displays. After a couple of months, Dave learnt so much more. He let me back to training him. As of now, Dave is just an amazing boy, and when i think about how we just thought we could not help him, even though we already loved him, but, re homing him just seemed kinder, we are so glad we contacted Luke. The magic that man bought to us that night in October, i cannot explain. Dave does still have the odd growl, but, it is over in seconds, rather than hours. We know totally how to calm him, we know if he has had too busy a day, he may have a moment. But, for 98% of the time, Dave is such a different boy. I did not think back in October there was any chance of Dave still being with us. I highly recommend Smart Dog Training. Without them and Luke, Dave would not be here and we would never have known how to understand him. I can not say Thank You to Luke enough.
Jan 18th, 2023

Luke is a wonderful trainer. He has really helped me and my dog. I will continue to train with him and highly recommend Luke to all new dog owners I meet.
Oct 16th, 2022