Hound About Town

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Hound About Town

Offering 121 dog training, behaviour sessions, training walks and dynamic dog assessments.

18/07/2025

Benji the Springer Spaniel absolutely stole my heart today! 😍

His fabulous owners booked in just to make sure they were getting off on the right foot which is always such a smart move in the early days of having a puppy.

One of the first things we worked on was the hand touch. It might look a little pointless at first, the pup boops their nose to the palm of your hand, but it’s one of my favourite early behaviours to teach. Why? Because it builds focus, creates a positive association with coming close to you, and lays brilliant groundwork for recall. Benji picked it up fast and seemed to really enjoy the game!

We also talked about preventing resource guarding which is a topic that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. Most people don’t think about it until it becomes a problem, but with the right approach early on, often we can avoid that happening. We looked at ways to build trust and create positive associations around humans being near food, toys, or chews by not taking things away, but by adding value when we do approach.

If you’ve got a new puppy at home, think beyond just “sit” and “stay.” The habits and associations you create now will shape how your dog thinks and feels for life. What matters most is being thoughtful and consistent, all the fancy stuff can come later!

Well done Benji! 👍

28/06/2025

We tried something new today!

I took Inca to Dogzmania’s new DIY Dog Wash and I can’t recommend it enough. I’ve been hunting for a setup like this for over a year and it was FANTASTIC.

It’s brilliantly designed: you literally drive in, park right next to the dog wash, and your dog gets their own little enclosed space so they can be off-lead and relaxed, with plenty of room to move. You can use their shampoos or bring your own (which I love!), and the height-adjustable drying table is soooooo appreciated. No more sore back for me!

We booked an hour slot and we had plenty of time to go at Inca's pace without feeling rushed.

Inca even got to wear the cutest little hoodie to protect her ears from the dryer noise. She looked adorable and stayed calm pretty much the whole time.

Keeping bath time stress-free helps dogs build positive associations with grooming. A calm, enclosed setup like this makes such a difference!

Such a great addition for anyone who wants to make bath time easier on themselves and their pups!

24/06/2025

This is lovely Dougie the cocker spaniel 😍

Saturday was our fourth session together (out of five in his Silver Training Package), and he has truely come on in leaps and bounds!

So far we’ve worked on:
– Loose lead walking
– Recall that works even when there are squirrels
– Learning to live peacefully with his cat housemate
– Calming down after play
– Chewing, biting, jumping up.. all the usual puppy chaos

This weekend we focused on a “go to bed” cue and building some calm, positive crate time and he absolutely smashed it.

The lovely thing about working in a package is that you get to build skills week by week. It’s not just about teaching ‘sit’ or ‘stay’, and it's not a one and done thing, it’s about helping a dog understand how to navigate their whole life more easily and keeping a consistency throughout their learning experience.

Dougie’s humans have done just that, and their pup is a total star to work with! 🌟

21/06/2025

It's been ages since I last posted! Life, walkies, and general chaos took over for a while but I've missed sharing bits of what I do so here we go again!

Today I’m off to see a lovely puppy, and it got me thinking about how hot weather changes everything for the dogs. My own dog Inca has been flopping dramatically in every shady corner of the house trying to keep herself cool!

So if you’re also:
– juggling walks around the crazy heat
– battling zoomies at 9pm because the dog was too hot to move all day
– or trying to convince a soggy pup that ice cubes aren’t scary

I feel for you! This time of year is a lot, even for the most well behaved pups!

25/12/2024

Merry Christmas from Hound About Town!

Wishing you and your dogs a day full of peace and joy. 🎄

15/12/2024

Happy 8th Birthday to Hound About Town!🐶

What a fabuous 8 years it's been, transforming both canine and human lives. From teaching sits and hand touches to solving tricky behavioural puzzles every step of this job has been driven by my love of dogs and commitment to helping them thrive with their humans.

Over the years, I've:

- Worked with hundreds of wonderful dogs and their families.
- Expanded my knowledge to provide the most effective, compassionate training.
- Built a small community of dog lovers who share a passion for positive reinforcement.
- Witnessed countless moments of growth and trust between dogs and their humans.

Here’s to many more years of creating harmony between dogs and their humans, and to all clients, supporters and pups I've met along the way thank you from the bottom of my heart for choosing Hound About Town to help.

03/10/2024

I'm off on holiday now from 3rd-9th of October so I will respond to any emails or messages as soon as I am back!

01/10/2024

Today is National Black Dog day! Here's a pic of mine 🥰

National Black Dog Day was actually created to bring awareness to the fact that often black dogs are overlooked when being rehomed, the same thing also happens with black cats!

Show me your lovely black dogs!

30/09/2024

Last week I had a session with lovely Tilly who I have been working with since she was rehomed to her new humans.

Over the course of a couple of months we've covered things like not jumping up, not stealing from the table, recall, lead walking, and not dashing out the front door.

It can be a real adjustment for a dog when they are rehomed, and can take a while for them to settle but Tilly's humans have given her lots of time to adjust and really gone at her pace and it's been absolutely lovely to see her flourish.

Well done Tilly! 🐶

16/09/2024

This is becoming a welfare issue!

Im tired of hearing “the vet says there is no pain” by a guardian after they have taken their dog to the vet. It leaves me deflated and frustrated and feeling so sorry for the dog.

Myth Bust:

PAIN CANNOT BE RULED OUT IN ANY ANIMAL (dog, cat, horse or hamster), by anyone!

* A quick palpation - CANNOT RULE OUT PAIN

WHY?

The dog may shut down due to environmental factors or dislike of a strange human touching them, they keep still to get it over with ASAP!

The dog may be over aroused or overwhelmed by the clinical environment (excited/scared etc) to the point that adrenaline is so high it blocks pain!

* Blood Tests - CANNOT RULE OUT PAIN

There is currently NO blood test that can detect pain.

* Diagnostic imaging - CANNOT RULE OUT PAIN

Yes they can pick up a variety of conditions, but even the GOLD standard MRI doesn’t pick up everything, but NONE of them can detect PAIN.

Just because a source cannot be found doesn’t mean there is no pain.

PAIN is subjective, it is whatever that being (human or animal) perceives it to be!

Pain can come in many different forms, it is extremely complex, and can effect the individual in many different ways. A dog may get injured, the injury may have healed, but the pain remains … this is known as maladaptive pain.

Behaviour can be a HUGE indicator for PAIN:

* There could be a change of behaviour that has been directly caused by PAIN.

* There could be a worsening of behaviour due to an increase or new presence of PAIN.

* There could be a lack of “normal” behaviour due to PAIN.

* There could be behaviours that are present but that the guardian/owner don’t deem to be problematic that are indicators of PAIN.

* The dog may have ALWAYS displayed behaviours that are indicators of PAIN, but they have been ignored and put down to “just the way they are”.

* There may be NO problematic behaviours at all …. And the dog might still be in PAIN!

* The dog might be energetic, always on the go … and still be in PAIN.

* The dog might be lazy … and still be in PAIN.

* The dog may zoom up and down stairs … and still be in PAIN.

Diagnosing PAIN is not simple and can be difficult to get on top of.

A PAIN relief trail can be great! But often only one type of analgesic is tried and sometimes this doesn’t get results leading to the ASSUMPTION that there is no PAIN!

Here’s why:

* The drug was only trialed for 2 weeks - when living with chronic pain it can take longer to relieve. 2 weeks is not enough.

* The drug used wasn’t targeted to the type of pain the animal is feeling; soft tissue, bone, nerve or a combination of all.

It might take a number of different medications or a combination OVER TIME to see a difference.

ALWAYS keep in mind, NO ONE can rule out another being’s PAIN.

NO ONE. Not me. Not you. Not a Doctor. Not a Vet.

13/09/2024

I worked with Lulu a few years ago as a fresh puppy and she recently came back to see me for some help with her recall.

We built up her response to her name, reintroduced a solid recall cue, and attached a long line for her humans peace of mind. We also removed the overstimulating ball throwing, and replaced it with sniffing games and ball searching.

Lulu is hanging around with her human more, and is much more responsive to their voice and walks are improving for everyone involved.

Big well done to Lulu 👍❤️

12/09/2024

Last week I was working with lovely Leo who needed some help learning that although he is lovely, not everyone wanted to meet him.

We kept things simple, introducing a little interruption noise when Leo had locked eyes with his new future friends, and then rewarding when he refocused on his human.

He picked this up really quickly, and soon we were trotting merrily past people and not leaping all over them meaning walks were easier for everyone involved.

Great job Leo 👍

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Opening Hours

Monday	08:00 - 19:00
Tuesday	08:00 - 19:00
Friday	08:00 - 16:00
Saturday	08:00 - 13:00

Website

https://www.hound-about-town.co.uk/

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