Happy Tails Andover

Happy Tails Andover Hi I'm Ash, and I'm the founder of Happy Tails Andover and a Canine Enrichment Specialist.

I offer dog training and walking services; focusing on calm, positive and enrichment-led support to help dogs to feel happier, more confident and fulfilled.

12/06/2026

PART 1: An Introduction to Shaping… ✨

‘Shaping’ is the process of building a behaviour by rewarding small, manageable steps towards the end goal. It’s a fantastic way to encourage our dogs to think for themselves and use their problem-solving skills — which is also incredibly effective at tiring out their brains!

For this exercise, I’ve chosen to use a brown blanket as my target. This is the very beginning stage of teaching Simba a designated “place” that I’ll eventually be able to send him to. By rewarding any interaction with the blanket, I’m creating a positive association and building value in that space.

At this stage, Simba has no idea why he’s being rewarded in that particular spot… he just knows that interacting with it earns him treats! Naturally, this encourages him to start experimenting and figuring out what behaviour is getting him rewarded.

Over time, Simba will begin to eliminate behaviours that don’t earn rewards and repeat the ones that do, gradually learning that I want him to go to the blanket — all through positive experiences and association.

Watch out for PART 2: To be continued… 👀

Paws and love 🐾❤️
Ash

A little gosling is probably the last thing you expected to stumble across here (for the record, this isn’t a new traini...
11/06/2026

A little gosling is probably the last thing you expected to stumble across here (for the record, this isn’t a new training avenue for me!) — but it’s certainly one way to brighten up a gloomy day!

Now I’ve got your attention…

As dog trainers and dog walkers, we always talk about giving other dogs space. However, it’s important that we consider other species when talking about this too.

With beautiful weather incoming, I expect our open green spaces, forests, and in particular our lakesides, will be much busier than usual. Let’s all keep in mind the wildlife that naturally inhabits those spaces.

Whether that be the gorgeous goslings and cygnets (and their mums and dads at the lakes), or the nesting birds and the hares in the meadows, let’s make sure we’re not allowing our dogs to become a nuisance on our adventures 🌍

Paws and love 🐾❤️
Ash

08/06/2026

It’s an all weather kind of day apparently! How perfect for a walk 💚

What is Enrichment… and why is it so important? 🐕Enrichment is anything that stimulates your dog mentally, physically, o...
08/06/2026

What is Enrichment… and why is it so important? 🐕

Enrichment is anything that stimulates your dog mentally, physically, or socially. Whether it’s exploring new places, solving a puzzle, learning a new skill, or simply engaging in play, enrichment gives your dog a positive outlet for their mind and body.

Dogs are naturally driven by instinctive behaviours that form part of their predatory motor pattern:
➡️ Orient
➡️ Eye
➡️ Stalk
➡️ Chase
➡️ Grab bite
➡️ Kill bite
➡️ Dissect
➡️ Consume

For our domestic dogs, those needs don’t just disappear, so it’s important we provide safe and appropriate ways for them to express them.

Think about playing fetch 🎾
Your dog watches the toy, chases it, grabs it, and sometimes gives it a good shake — they’re engaging in natural behaviours through play!

Enrichment doesn’t have to be complicated - there are many ways you can provide outlets both inside and outside of the home, just get a little creative! At the end of the day, dogs thrive when they have a job to do ✨

If you’re not sure where to start on this feel free to reach out directly!

Paws and love 🐾❤️
Ash

MY STORY 📖A picture tells a thousand words… and if you look closely at my face, you can still see the scars left behind ...
05/06/2026

MY STORY 📖

A picture tells a thousand words… and if you look closely at my face, you can still see the scars left behind from a dog bite when I was a small child.

Despite this, I was fortunate to grow up in a home filled with the love of many animals, including collies, labradors, retrievers, and terriers. Every dog had a different personality and different needs, but our expectations were always the same — we gave them love, shelter, food, walks and belly rubs, in return we received loyalty and companionship.

Growing up alongside these wonderful dogs helped me recognise that not every dog naturally fits into busy family life. That sparked a passion in me to learn more about different breeds, their instincts, their abilities, and what they truly need to thrive.

I began studying canine psychology — how dogs think, what stimulates them, how they communicate with both each other and us. Using this knowledge with my own dogs, and later with the dogs I worked with, I saw first-hand the positive difference it made to their behaviour, wellbeing and happiness.

That’s how Happy Tails was born…

Our dogs mean so much to us. We want them to be part of our family and fit into our world, but sometimes we unintentionally overlook what they need as dogs. At Happy Tails, my goal is to provide education and services that enrich and fulfil dogs’ lives — creating calmer dogs and happier homes.

If you’d like to learn more about how I can help, head over to my services at www.happytailsandover.co.uk

Paws and love 🐾❤️
Ash

03/06/2026

Not all exercise looks the same…

When walking your dog it’s important to fulfil both their physical and mental needs, whilst also providing outlets for any natural behaviours they display.

This means that not every walk looks the same - it’s not just about mixing up the route; sometimes we can create variety with our pace and distance.

You’ll get just as many benefits from your outing whether you slow it down or extend your walk! Here’s some ways to slow your walk to allow your dog to get more out of it:

💨 Allow and encourage sniffing
Dogs get so much information from sniffing so it’s really important we allow this behaviour. We can also use scent games such as ‘find it’ to tire them out.

👌 Work on their skills and obedience
Practice some of their new or well rehearsed skills, whether that be positioning them and working on impulse control, loose lead walking or recall. The learning opportunities are endless when you move the training outdoors!

🥎 Play with your dog
Now you actually don’t have to have a toy for this - if you ever see me running in circles with a dog I promise that you mustn’t worry 🥲 BUT some dogs love to practise their chasing and catching skills, so it’s absolutely fine to bring along a toy to your walk. Just make sure you’re not sending your dog so far away that you’re not able to see their surroundings and control a situation if it arises.

If you incorporate these into your walk, your dog will get so much more out of it, as well as the social fulfilment from engaging with you ❤️.

Tell me in the comments, what does your walk look like?

Paws and love 🐾❤️
Ash

The team behind Rufus H at the 2026 Andover Soapbox Derby - what a fantastic day we had 🎉Thank you to the guys for their...
31/05/2026

The team behind Rufus H at the 2026 Andover Soapbox Derby - what a fantastic day we had 🎉

Thank you to the guys for their full commitment in getting Rufus down the track as fast as possible. For any of you wondering, we didn’t come home with a trophy this year but it’s the taking part that counts right?

There were some incredible designs this year that have given us some inspiration for our own creation next year. Which leads me to a shoutout to Aldridge Vehicle Services for loaning us Rufus this year 👏

Thanks again to everybody that was involved in pulling together this event; the volunteers, the sponsors and of course Andover Community Events . It’s all for a very worthy cause; Andover Twenty1 please head over to their page to see the incredible work they do!

Andover SoapBox Derby - see you next year…

Paws and love ❤️🐾

31/05/2026

We are very excited to announce that we will be participating in the Andover Soapbox Derby 2026!

This year the soapbox derby will be raising funds for an incredible charity Raising Twenty1, who do important work supporting children and their families with Down syndrome.

We would like to extend our thanks to community events for organising the event, the sponsons and all of the volunteers for making it happen!

We are so thrilled to be part of this and I’m sure the boys will do us proud on the track today!

Keep your eyes peeled for the polls and results later on, head on over to

Paws and love
Ash 🐾❤️

🐾 Welcome to Happy Tails Andover 🐾Hi, I'm Ash, founder of Happy Tails.My passion has always been helping dogs live happi...
30/05/2026

🐾 Welcome to Happy Tails Andover 🐾

Hi, I'm Ash, founder of Happy Tails.

My passion has always been helping dogs live happier, more fulfilled lives through positive training, enrichment and understanding their individual needs.

I created Happy Tails to help improve the lives of dogs through enrichment-focused care, training, and support. I believe that by meeting a dog's natural needs through appropriate mental stimulation, movement and communication, we can create happier, calmer and more fulfilled dogs.

Our services include:

🐕 Structured Training Walks
🌿 Small Group Enrichment Walks
✨ The Happy Tails Fulfilment Programme
🎓 Puppy Foundations Programmes
🐾 One-to-One Training Packages

Whether you have a brand-new puppy, a teenage whirlwind, or an older dog who needs a little extra support, we're here to help.

We're excited to become part of the Andover dog community and can't wait to meet you and your four-legged friends.

Follow our page for training tips, enrichment ideas, behind-the-scenes content, and updates!

👇 Tell us about your dog in the comments!

Paws and love 🐾❤️

Address

Sunflower Way
Andover
SP116GD

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Happy Tails Andover posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category