Pack - leaders

Pack - leaders Hi, I’m Leah. Pack-Leaders is built on over 25 years’ experience working hands-on with dogs.

I offer one-to-one behaviour support and structured dog walking, focusing on confidence, emotional balance, and practical guidance that fits everyday life. 🐕❤️ Dog walking £13 (1 hour pack adventure)

1-1 Behaviour session : ( from 50 ) ( 1 hour)

soon to add grooming : price list will follow

04/06/2026

One thing I always pay attention to is how a walk starts and how it finishes.
When Sola was younger, I was only asking for 5–10 seconds of heel work at a time. Now at 20 weeks old, I'm asking for 2–3 minutes on the walk back to the van. Training is all about building duration gradually and setting them up to succeed.
When we got back this morning, I asked her to sit and wait while I opened the van, rather than rushing straight in. I went back to her, removed her harness and lead, asked her to sit again, then invited her up into her crate.
To some people it probably looks like a lot of fuss just to get back into the van, but every little moment is an opportunity to teach patience, impulse control and listening, even when the exciting part is right in front of them.
The goal isn't to create a robot. The goal is to create a dog that can stay calm, think clearly and wait for permission when it matters.
How you start a walk matters. How you finish a walk matters. The training happens in all the little moments in between. ✨️🐾💛

03/06/2026

Not every recall has to be the word "come."
If your dog has learned that "come" is optional, or you've had to repeat it so many times that it's lost its value, don't be afraid to start fresh with a new cue.
One of my favourites is "touch."
Teach it at home first by asking your dog to touch your hand with their nose, rewarding them well, then sending them straight back to whatever they were doing. Before long, they'll learn that running back to you and touching your hand is always worth it.
I use "touch" out on walks with high-value rewards, and because the dog gets paid and released straight back again, it quickly becomes a fun game rather than the end of the fun.
Sometimes a simple change of cue can make all the difference. ✨️🐾💛 #

The days are long, but the weeks are short. ❤️9 weeks old in the first photo.✨️🐾20 weeks old in the second.✨️🐾Same room....
01/06/2026

The days are long, but the weeks are short. ❤️
9 weeks old in the first photo.✨️🐾
20 weeks old in the second.✨️🐾
Same room.
Same pen.
Same breakfast routine.
But somehow, the tiny puppy who could barely see over the bottom rail has almost filled the doorway.
When you're in the middle of raising a puppy, it doesn't always feel like it's going quickly. You're running on less sleep, setting alarms for toilet trips, picking up chewed-up bits of random things, repeating the same training over and over again, cleaning muddy paws, washing bowls, carrying treats in every pocket and wondering if they'll ever learn.
Some days feel like you've achieved nothing at all.
Then you look back at a photo like this.
You realise those tiny moments have quietly added up to something pretty special.
The confidence has grown.
The understanding has grown.
The relationship has grown.
And somehow, while you've been busy doing all the little everyday things, your puppy has grown too.
The days can feel endless sometimes, but the puppy stage really does pass in the blink of an eye. So as challenging as it can be, don't forget to enjoy it while it's here. ❤️✨️🐾💛

31/05/2026

One of the most important things I teach my puppies isn't a fancy trick or obedience exercise—it's neutrality.
Today Sola worked around joggers, people, children and other dogs. Not by interacting with them, but by learning that she doesn't need to.
We practised watching the world go by without reacting, holding a wait while I moved away, and choosing to come back with me when something more interesting appeared elsewhere.
The goal isn't for a dog to ignore the world completely. It's for them to understand that they don't need to investigate everything they see. They can observe, process what's happening around them, and then look back to their handler for direction.
At just 19 weeks old, seeing Sola choose "this way" over following a family and their dog was a lovely reminder that all those small daily repetitions are starting to pay off.
Calm choices. Clear communication. Real-life training. ✨️🐾💛

30/05/2026

Training doesn't always need to be something new.
This morning, Sola and Luna had already enjoyed plenty of free time, sniffing and exploring, so before heading back I spent a few minutes running through some things Sola already knows.
We practiced middle, recall, wait, heel, free and a stop whistle. Most of it was lovely, but the stop whistle was a little slower than I'd like. She took a couple of extra steps before dropping down. Did she still get paid? Absolutely. She made the right choice, it just wasn't quite as sharp as I want it to be yet.
That's actually one of the reasons I like doing little training sessions out on walks. They show you where your training really is. A dog might perform something perfectly in the garden, but add another dog, new smells and a different environment, and suddenly you can see which behaviours need a bit more work.
Rather than constantly teaching new things, sometimes the most valuable information comes from revisiting the basics. The things that are quick and reliable are progressing well. The things that are slower or need a second thought simply tell you what needs more proofing and practice back at home before bringing it back out into the real world.
Training isn't just about teaching. It's about assessing where your dog is today and adjusting your plan accordingly. ✨️🐾💛

29/05/2026

No time to train? 🤔
This entire session took just over a minute before lunch and before a nap.✨️😴
Using part of her daily kibble allowance, we ran through a few things she already knows:
• Engagement and focus • Heel • Sit & wait • Recall • Middle • Touch • Impulse control around food
Nothing complicated. No hour long training sessions. Just a minute of reinforcing behaviours I want to keep strong. 🐾✨️
The rest of her kibble was scattered into the grass. Not only does it encourage natural sniffing and decompression, but it helps her switch off before her next sleep.
I actually like doing little sessions like this before a nap. Training doesn't always have to be hard work. Sometimes a minute of quality repetition is all you need. Daily repetitions &
Consistency beats duration every time ✨️️🐾💛

28/05/2026

One of the biggest mistakes people make with young dogs is giving them more freedom than they're ready for.
At this age, Sola would make plenty of decisions on her own. Most wouldn't be naughty, they'd simply be immature. She'd rush up to dogs, interrupt interactions, jump on dogs that don't appreciate it, and rehearse behaviours that could become habits if repeated often enough.
That's where tools like long lines come in.
They're not there to restrict a dog. They're there to guide them through a stage of development where they don't yet have the experience or self control to make the best choices consistently.
The long line allows her to explore, socialise, learn and enjoy being part of the pack, whilst giving me the ability to step in before poor decisions are rehearsed.
Every time I redirect her, help her make a better choice, or prevent her practising something I don't want to see as an adult, I'm investing in the dog she'll eventually become.
The aim is always less equipment, not more. But first, they need to learn how to handle the freedom that comes with it. ✨️🐾💛

Nine dogs on today's early morning pack walk, so for a juvenile puppy there were definitely moments where excitement got...
27/05/2026

Nine dogs on today's early morning pack walk, so for a juvenile puppy there were definitely moments where excitement got the better of her and I had to help bring her back down again.🤣
That's normal. Learning to be part of a group isn't just about the lovely bits when everything is calm. It's also about working through the moments when excitement, curiosity and impulse control collide.
In between those moments though, there were some really lovely glimpses of the dog she's becoming. Choosing to settle, checking back in, walking nicely with the group and then, afterwards, climbing into the van and switching off.✨️🐾💛Thank you Sarah Barker & Jo for joining the pack walk & taking these lovely photos after 🥰🐾😘

25/05/2026

✨️🐾💦💛Today was one of those really nice puppy days where you can actually see the confidence growing in real time.
Early shady pack walk first thing this morning, home for a solid two hour sleep, then straight out into the garden for a short little water session. A few simple retrieves into the paddling pool, practicing “hand” from about 10 metres away, a couple of “middle” reps mixed in, then straight back to free play again. Tiny bits of training woven into fun without turning everything into a formal session.
Later on, her new fountain arrived… and you could literally watch her work through it from curiosity, to caution, to bravery. Lots of staring, splashing, eating the water, poking her head through the spray, then finally building up the courage to go right in for her new flying squirrel toy. The best part though was what happened afterwards. She carried it straight over to Buddy as an offering to play. Buddy politely declined and turned his head away, but instead of pestering him, she simply settled down beside him in the shade.
Six days ago he didn’t really want her near him at all. Today she was lying right beside him. That gentle, persistent little Labrador spirit is hard not to love.✨️🐾💛

25/05/2026

First proper pack walk for Sola this morning 🌿✨️🐾💛
At 19 weeks old, this isn’t about off lead freedom or expecting perfection. It’s about learning the rhythm of the walk, moving calmly with a group, checking back in, and understanding that excitement doesn’t always have to explode into chaos.
She started and finished on a slip lead with the pack all moving together calmly around her, then swapped onto the long line for the more open parts so she could still explore, sniff and learn appropriately for her age.
Simple, low pressure, real world education. ✨️🐾💛

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