Vals K9 Training

Vals K9 Training Positive, reward-based training for real-life dogs 🐕💛 Proud to be an award-winning trainer, here to help you and your dog feel confident together
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My name is Valentina, and I’ve been working with dogs since 2003. I first started out as a dog walker and then worked alongside a dog behaviourist, where I realised this was what I truly wanted to do. I’ve always had a passion for helping both animals and people, and I found that working in dog training and behaviour gave me the opportunity to do both. Over the years, I’ve worked hard to expand my

knowledge and skills through a wide range of courses, seminars, and hands-on experience. I’m proud to share that in 2024 I was awarded Dog Behaviourist of the Year, and most recently, in 2025/26 I won Dog Trainer of the Year for Bedfordshire — achievements that mean the world to me and reflect my dedication to this field. I have completed various courses and modules with:

Cambridge Institute of Dog Behaviour and Training (CIDBT) – Common Canine Behaviour Problems

Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT) – Career as a Dog Trainer

IMDT Ofqual Regulated Level 3 Professional Day Care and Boarding

School of Canine Science – 30 Days of Canine Science, Fear Short Course, Separation Anxiety Webinar, The Behaviour Bible (Year 1 completed, currently in Year 3), The Puppy Lab (ongoing), Nutrition & Behaviour

Webinars attended include:

The Neurobiology of Trauma in Dogs with Daniel Shaw BSc (Hons), GMBPsS, CDBC

XL Bully Webinar – Cooper & Co Law

A Professional’s Guide to Canine Intelligence

Reactivity Masterclass – Help My Dog with Tom Mitchell

The Dog Anxiety Summit (4 days, hosted by Dr Edward Bassingthwaighte)

When it comes to working with dogs, I will never stop learning. I do my best to equip myself with knowledge in a wide range of training methods, so I can tailor my approach to each individual dog and family. My aim is to help you understand your dog — and for your dog to understand you. Building that two-way communication is key to a happy, balanced life together. At home, I’m also a proud mum of two children, both raised around dogs. My eldest son (15) has never known life without a dog. My youngest (5) adores dogs and loves getting involved in training — especially the treat-giving side! Teaching children how to be around dogs is just as important as teaching dogs how to be around children, and I love involving my kids in that process. I am fully insured, DBS checked, and licensed by Bedford Borough Council to board a maximum of 2 dogs.

15/08/2026

Elsie is a rescue from Bosnia, she's been in her home for 6 months now and her behaviour has become progressively worse to the point where walks end up in tears, regretting life choices and difficult decisions of whether they can actually continue this way. Her reactivity stems from a fear of the lead, causing frustration and panic all at once.
We were able to identify this and help her through it. Being a super smart problem solver, she was quick to learn and believe it or not... This was the first walk where she actually engaged with her owner, looked relaxed and didn't react to all the triggers we saw!
Don't believe me?
If you're struggling with a reactive dog, find out for yourself --->>
Get in touch!
Book a consultation - link in bio!

Does life with your dog feel harder than you thought it would?Maybe walks have become stressful because they're pulling,...
15/08/2026

Does life with your dog feel harder than you thought it would?

Maybe walks have become stressful because they're pulling, barking or reacting. Perhaps they're struggling with fear, anxiety, separation or resource guarding. Or maybe you've simply got a young dog who needs some help learning how to navigate the world. 🐾

Whatever you're working through, you don't have to wait until things become a crisis to ask for help.

At Val's K9 Training, I offer compassionate, reward-based training and behaviour support tailored to the individual dog in front of me — from everyday training and life skills to more complex behavioural cases.

🐾 Reactivity, fear & anxiety
🐾 Resource guarding & separation problems
🐾 Lead walking, recall & impulse control
🐾 Puppy to adolescent training
🐾 Complex behaviour support
🐾 One-to-one sessions & training packages
🐾 Activity Days & Board & Train

Based in Bedford and surrounding areas, with support designed around both you and your dog.

No judgement. No one-size-fits-all approach. Just practical training, a better understanding of why your dog is behaving the way they are, and a plan to help you move forward together. 💚

🌐 Link in comments 👇🏻👇🏻

Helping you understand your dog. 🐾

08/08/2026

🐑 Sometimes the best training decision is simply… put the lead on.
Yesterday this field was empty. Today it was full of sheep — and for Hazel, seeing them this close was pretty exciting!
Rather than avoiding them completely, we used it as an opportunity to practise some predation substitution-style training: allowing her to watch, giving her time to process what she was seeing, reinforcing disengagement and rewarding her for choosing to reconnect with me.
She did brilliantly. ❤️
But she also stayed on lead.
And that's the important bit.
I don't care how good your dog's recall is. How reliable you believe your e-collar is. How fantastic your positive reinforcement history is. Or how certain you are that “my dog would never chase.”
Livestock are not there to test or prove our training.
You can work around them. You can use the environment to train. You can allow your dog to observe and learn to disengage.
But you can do all of that with a lead attached.
Because the consequence of getting it wrong isn't just an embarrassing failed recall. A dog doesn't even have to physically attack livestock to cause serious harm — chasing and worrying them can have devastating consequences.
So enjoy the countryside. Train your dog. Let them look. Let them learn. Reinforce the choices you want to see.
Just keep the bloody lead on around livestock. 🐑🐕
Your dog's freedom isn't worth somebody else's animal paying the price.
CountrysideCode ResponsibleDogOwnership ForceFreeDogTraining BedfordshireDogs

08/08/2026

☀️ Summer is in full swing… and apparently so are these two 😂🐶
One thing I will always advocate for is teaching children to understand dogs, rather than expecting dogs to simply tolerate children.
Learning when a dog wants to play, when they need space, what their body language is telling us and how to interact with them safely can make such a huge difference. ❤️
And that's a big part of why I wrote my two children's books. 📚🐾
🐶 Kids' Guide on How to Speak Dog is a fun, child-friendly introduction to dog body language and communication — helping children learn what dogs might be trying to tell them. I recently read it at a Year 1 school assembly and it was an absolute hit! 🥹
It also includes colouring activities, so kids can get involved rather than just reading along. 🖍️
📚 Kids' Guide on How to Speak Dog – available on Amazon https://amzn.eu/d/0a7wpb7s

🌱 The Little Bean That Grew is a story for our littler dog lovers, again with colouring activities included — but there's something in there for the grown-ups too!
At the back you'll find a parent's guide to helping keep children and dogs safe together in the home, with practical guidance around creating safer, happier relationships between them. ❤️
📚 The Little Bean That Grew – available on Amazon https://amzn.eu/d/05rNSWjO

Because teaching children about dogs isn't about making them frightened or giving them a huge list of "don'ts". It's about helping them recognise that dogs communicate too — we just need to learn their language.
And, of course, understanding what's behind behaviour is a huge part of my everyday work too.
If your dog is reactive, anxious, fearful, struggling with resource guarding or displaying more complex behaviours, I work with dogs of all breeds, shapes and sizes to help owners understand why the behaviour is happening and how we can work through it using force-free, reward-based methods. 🐾
Whether I'm teaching a room full of six-year-olds, helping a family understand their dog, or working with a complex behaviour case, the principle remains the same:
❤️ Understand what the dog is communicating first. Then we can help them.
📩 Get in touch if you need help with your dog — or grab one of the books for your little dog lover this summer!
Val's K9 Training
Force-free • Reward-based • Behaviour & Training
Reactive dogs • Complex behaviour • All breeds welcome 🐾

Address

Wootton
Bedfordshire

Telephone

+447572922605

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