Samantha Wayland Dog Training

Samantha Wayland Dog Training Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Samantha Wayland Dog Training, Dog trainer, Stanford-le-Hope.

Award winning certified Dog Trainer
🐶Rescue Specialist
🐕Separation Anxiety Specialist
💚UK Sniffer Dog Instructor
💙Helping anxious dogs build confidence
📍Essex or Remote

Great Session today from these two on our Chase to Calm Class 😍
02/09/2026

Great Session today from these two on our Chase to Calm Class 😍

The summer holidays are over, the children are going back to school and household routines are changing again.But while ...
01/09/2026

The summer holidays are over, the children are going back to school and household routines are changing again.
But while we’re getting used to earlier mornings, school runs and quieter houses, our dogs are adjusting too.
If your dog has had people at home more over the summer, they may suddenly find it difficult when everyone returns to school or work. You might notice them following you around, becoming unsettled when you pick up your keys, barking when left or struggling to relax on their own.
This doesn’t automatically mean your dog has separation anxiety, but it does mean they may need a little help adjusting to their new routine.
Start rebuilding predictable feeding, walking and resting times. Practise very short, manageable separations and return before your dog becomes worried. Make leaving cues such as shoes, coats and keys less significant, and use a camera if possible so you can see how your dog genuinely copes when you’re gone.
Most importantly, start with the amount of time your dog can comfortably manage, not the amount of time you need them to manage.
Dogs don’t learn to feel safe by being left to panic or “cry it out”. If your dog is showing signs of separation anxiety or distress when left alone, getting support early can prevent the problem from becoming more established.

Has your dog struggled with the return to the September routine, or are they secretly relieved to finally have some peace and quiet?

Save this post for your September routine reset and share it with another dog owner who might need it.

When a rescue dog first comes home, they’re often pretty quiet.They might be cautious, unsure, keep themselves to themse...
30/08/2026

When a rescue dog first comes home, they’re often pretty quiet.

They might be cautious, unsure, keep themselves to themselves and generally not cause too much fuss.

And then a few weeks or months down the line, you suddenly think…

Hang on. Where did THIS dog come from?

They start barking at things they ignored before.
They might decide they don’t actually want you touching them in certain ways.
They may start guarding their bed, their food or their favourite things.
They might become more vocal, more opinionated and much more confident about telling you when they’re not comfortable.

And this is the point where I often hear, “But they never used to do this!”

No. Because they didn’t feel safe enough to.

That quiet, seemingly easy dog you brought home was still figuring everything out. New house, new people, new routines, new expectations. They didn’t know what was safe yet or whether anyone would actually listen if they said no.

Now they’re starting to realise this is home.

And sometimes feeling safer means finding their voice.

Rescue dog progress isn’t always the lovely stuff. It isn’t just more cuddles, waggy tails and watching their personality come out.

Sometimes progress looks like a dog saying, “Actually, I don’t like that.”

And our job isn’t to punish that confidence back out of them.

It’s to listen, work out what they’re telling us and help them feel safe enough that they don’t need to shout quite so loudly next time.

Your rescue dog hasn’t suddenly turned into a different dog.

They’re just finally comfortable enough to show you who they are.

Apparently it’s National Dog Day today.I know this because Lyla reminded me.Did Lyla then offer to write the post for me...
26/08/2026

Apparently it’s National Dog Day today.

I know this because Lyla reminded me.

Did Lyla then offer to write the post for me? Absolutely not. Apparently she is “not my social media manager” and her involvement ended immediately after informing me. 😂

Anyway… National Dog Day!

As if any of us need an official day to celebrate the creatures who take up 90% of our camera roll, all the space on the sofa, most of our money and somehow still convince us they haven't been fed. But fine. We'll celebrate them just a little bit more than we do the other 364 days of the year.

So I want to see them!

Drop a photo of your gorgeous dogs in the comments. The cute ones, the ridiculous ones, the rescues, the oldies, the puppies, the ones currently making questionable life choices… ALL OF THEM.

I'll go first… Meet Zylvie (Raven Shepherd mix ) Pascal (Cyprus spaniel type mix ) and Tiernan (UK noisy Sausage) My furry little financial dependants.

I talk about this a lot with clients, but your dog’s behaviour isn’t just their personality.Environment changes behaviou...
24/08/2026

I talk about this a lot with clients, but your dog’s behaviour isn’t just their personality.

Environment changes behaviour.

The exact same dog can behave completely differently depending on where they are, what’s happening around them and how safe or comfortable they feel.

A dog who is perfectly chilled at home can go to a busy park and turn into an absolute feral potato.

A dog who seems confident in kennels can arrive in a home and suddenly become worried about things nobody expected.

A dog who struggles around other dogs in one environment might cope absolutely fine somewhere with more space.

It doesn’t mean they’re being stubborn, naughty or unpredictable.

It means something about that environment has changed how they feel, and therefore changed how they behave.

Noise, space, smells, movement, people, dogs, children, how much sleep they’ve had, whether they can move away, whether they feel trapped... all of it matters.

And I think sometimes we get so focused on trying to change the dog that we forget to look at what we could change around the dog.

Sometimes the best bit of dog training isn’t actually training the dog at all.

It’s changing their environment so they don’t need to struggle quite so hard.

Instead of always asking, “Why is my dog doing this?”

Try asking, “What is it about this situation that means my dog needs to do this?”

That question usually tells us a lot more.

23/08/2026

UK SNIFFER DOGS BRONZE COURSE

Have you got a dog with a nose that NEVER switches off? Let’s put it to work!

My next UK Sniffer Dogs Bronze Scent Detection Course starts:

📅 Wednesday 23rd September
⏰ 6pm
📍 RM16, Thurrock, Essex
🐕 6 weeks
💰 £135

Over 6 weeks, you and your dog will learn the foundations of scent detection, searching, indication and working together as a team.

Scentwork is AMAZING for:
🐾 Rescue dogs
🐾 Anxious or nervous dogs
🐾 High-energy dogs
🐾 Dogs with high prey drive
🐾 Dogs who struggle with focus
🐾 And dogs who just LOVE using their nose!

No previous experience needed and you definitely don't need a perfectly behaved dog.

It's fun, mentally tiring, confidence-building and suitable for pretty much every dog.

Spaces are limited, so message me to book your place!

A little personal update ❤️After some worrying appointments regarding my eye, I’m very thankful to say that I’ve now see...
18/08/2026

A little personal update ❤️

After some worrying appointments regarding my eye, I’m very thankful to say that I’ve now seen the neurologist, been given the all clear and have officially been discharged with no further follow-up needed. 🙌

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all of my lovely clients who have been so understanding when I’ve had to move or rearrange appointments at short notice and to my great support network for listening to me overthink what could happen!

Running a small business means there isn’t anyone else to step in when life throws something unexpected at you, and your patience, kindness and understanding has genuinely meant so much to me.

Thankfully, it’s good news and normal service can resume! 🐾❤️

Thank you, as always, for being such a wonderful bunch.

16/08/2026

Sometimes the most important part of a training session is knowing when NOT to train.
This little video shows so many things I love to see:
• Recognising when your dog has had enough
• Respecting when they choose to walk away
• Understanding that sometimes their safe space is more valuable to them than the treats on offer
• Not coaxing, calling or putting pressure on them to come back
• Allowing them to regulate themselves and rejoin when they're ready
• Using consent and choice to build trust rather than trying to achieve a training goal
• And sometimes, having a calmer, more confident dog alongside them can help too. Dogs can pick up social information from each other and seeing another dog feeling safe can provide reassurance.
Walking away isn't a failed training session, It's communication and when we listen to that communication, we're teaching our dogs something far more important:
I hear you. You have a choice. You're safe with me.

15/08/2026

Today I learned something about myself…I REALLY don't like not being in control.
We went on a pedalo and I let the kids steer and pedal, which meant I wasn't steering.
I wasn't controlling where we were going.
I wasn't controlling how fast we were going.
I basically had to sit there and trust the process.
I could feel myself getting panicky and stressed. I wanted to take over. I wanted to know what was happening next and, more importantly, I wanted to know that I could change it if I needed to.

And afterwards it made me think about rescue dogs, because for a few minutes on a pedalo, I didn't have control.

For many rescue dogs, that's been their entire world. They may have had no control over where they lived.
Who handled them.
When they ate.
When they were moved.
Who touched them.
Whether they could move away.
Whether they felt safe.

Then they're transported, handed to new people, taken into a completely unfamiliar home and suddenly expected to trust us.

And even when they arrive, we can unintentionally keep making all the decisions for them.
Come here.
Put this harness on.
Let me touch you.
Get in the car.
Meet this person.
Walk this way.
Say hello to this dog.

This is one of the reasons I am such a huge advocate for consent-based training, particularly with rescue dogs.
Giving a dog choice doesn't mean letting them "do whatever they want". It means giving them appropriate opportunities to have some control over what happens to their own body and their environment.
Can they choose to approach you?
Can they move away?
Can they say they're uncomfortable without being forced through it?
Can they choose to participate in training?
Because when a dog learns that their choices matter, something really important starts to happen, they don't have to shout so loudly to be heard. Which means they start to feel safer and when they feel safer, they can start to trust.

Today I only gave up control of a pedalo for a little while and apparently that was enough to send my nervous system into a minor meltdown.
Imagine having control taken away from you again and again and again.

Sometimes the kindest thing we can give a rescue dog isn't another command

12/08/2026

When you're trying to record videos but the heatwave means your brain is no longer able to find words just noises ....

Thanks for the beautiful description of demonic siren noises 🤣

Address

Stanford Le Hope

Telephone

+447494391131

Website

,

Alerts

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

Contact The Business

Send a message to Samantha Wayland Dog Training:

Shortcuts

Share

Category