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02/05/2026

In a totally predictable turn of events, I am behind on my admin.

Anyway, here's the classes for this coming Monday!

30/04/2026

Have you done your anarchist calisthenics today? That's practicing acts of micro disobedience to help resist fascism as a larger practice. No really, it's an actual thing.

Anyway, here's Lizzie stealing a carrot from the bag I left on the floor to remind you to keep up the good work. She believes in you.

Video Description: Lizzie Schnauzer standing at the top of the stairs holding a carrot in her mouth. The song is Soup For My Family (by .pit )

20/04/2026

We all adapt the way we teach things over time, and one of the things that's changed for me is "settle". It's an essential assistance dog skill, and I want to break down what it actually means to me.

I used to define settle as "dog lies down, maybe on a mat, for a long duration."
But now I'd define it as "dog is genuinely relaxed and understands the cue as a time to rest. This will usually lead them to lying down and potentially sleeping in the environment".

With the first one, I'd get the dog to lie down, and then give them a treat. Then build a longer and longer duration. The issue with this is that some dogs will then get frustrated because they are doing their trick "lie down" and feel they are not getting the treat. Others will be excited by the food which causes them to be less restful. Others will try and start the treat getting process again with action prompting.

With the other approach, the first step is ensuring that the dog is comfortable enough in the environment that they could rest. For my own dog I usually put a mat of some type on the floor (partly to add comfort, partly to give them a good space to target). Secondly I make sure that I'm neither micromanaging them, nor creating frustration (so not asking them to do things like sit or down every 5 seconds, and also making sure we're not just creating learned helplessness). And then, as long as my dogs aren't doing anything problematic, I just wait for them to lie down and rest. It's their choice. They can lean on me for attention, they could stand/sit and people watch, they could sniff where they are.

Then it becomes something useful for me - if my dogs aren't settling - why? Is it environmental? Is it discomfort on them? Have I not adequately met their needs?
If I'm frequently seeing that, then we need to look at the wider picture.
But what you should see is a dog, sleeping deeply when they want to, comfortable in the environment.

02/04/2026

A huge thank you to for hosting us today! We were able to practice crucial assistance dog skills such as the security process, and experience all the sounds and smells of planes taking off from the edge of the runway. It was such a useful session for everyone, from an airport that clearly cares deeply about being as accessible as possible.

I'm also so so proud of all the dogs and their humans. Large group sessions are challenging at the best of times, let alone in a completely new environment after traveling for at least a couple of hours - and they all did fantastically!

21/03/2026

Our first time flying!

This week me and Lizzie went on a work trip from Heathrow to Edinburgh with . Not only was this the first time I've flown with dogs, but the first time I've flown myself! (Ok, I did as a child at some point but I can't remember it at all)

I can't fault any of the staff we interacted with, many going above and beyond to ensure we were ok.

Some of the things I expected to be hard were actually quite easy, and some things were more challenging.
For example it was suddenly very warm and stuffy in Heathrow, so the dogs drank more. Since it was only an hour and a half flight we didn't take them to the dog relief area inside Heathrow. But then when there was a significant delay getting off the plane, and another delay in luggage arriving - meaning we couldn't leave the airport - both dogs were very keen to get to the grass outside!
(This is why it's advised that they are p*e pad trained if you're flying further - and in fairness, that was an option we had and if it had taken longer, the one we would have opted for).

The plane itself was treated by both dogs as exactly like a bus. Harley slept the entire time. Lizzie alternated between leaning on my feet and doing a chin rest on my lap.

I was expecting to find the hardest thing navigating all the systems and rules I wasn't used to. But actually special assistance was amazing.

I'm really glad that we had this opportunity, and I do feel more informed for helping other teams who need to fly in the future now.

Thank you so much for the wonderful staff at and

17/03/2026

The one you've all been waiting for!

In this hands on workshop with we'll be learning all about the specific conditioning work we can do in order to help our working dogs thrive!

Handler spaces will be worked in two sections (so we can rest our dogs between exercises).
Spectator spots also available (for those whose dogs may not thrive in a group setting, for other professionals working with assistance dogs, or who are just generally interested!)

Handler spots - £55
Spectator - £25
Message to reserve your space!

02/03/2026

March Classes!

All of the classes are suitable for pet or assistance dogs - other than our Saturday class on "finessing PA skills" which is designed for assistance dogs who already have some level of public access training and who can work around other dogs!

By next month I might actually have a website you can use to book things, but for now, please message me to book in!

Image Description:
A greenish background with text saying -

Solidarity Dogs Presents-
March Classes

Monday 9th
4:45-5:45pm - Brain Gym
6-7pm - Dogs Club

Saturday 21st
2-3pm Finessing PA skills in the wild

Monday 23rd
4:45-5:45pm - Rally for the real world
6-7pm Dogs Club

Monday 30th
4:45-5:45pm - Reliable Retrievals
6-7pm Dogs Club

There is also my logo a a photo of Lizzie doing a chin rest.

21/02/2026

Taking a group of teenage dogs and their young people to city centre on a busy half term afternoon - what could go wrong?

On Monday evenings I run "Dogs Club" - an accessible dog training and social group for 11-18 year olds and their dogs.
Some of the dogs who go to Dogs Club are also training with me to become assistance dogs (which doesn't make them any more important than the others in Dogs Club at all, but it does mean the extra training looks a bit different)

This week we did a Dogs Club trip to town and went for coffee and cake at . Four teenage dogs, small space, cakes at retriever head height...
But they all absolutely smashed it!

[Video Description in comments]

17/02/2026

You know there's no AI in my adverts (because it's just me not understanding how to use Canva for its most basic functions)
Anyway - Class on Monday! Come and look at how we can use targeting (where the animal puts themselves in relation to other things), mechanics (how we move and treat) to level up our training!

If you have something you're stuck on, bring it along and we'll work through it.

If you just want to hang out and play around with the technical side of training - that's good too!

08/02/2026

February classes!

Monday 9th-
Brain Gym - a concept training trick class
4:45-5:45 pm

Dogs Club - a dog training and social club for 11-18 year olds
6-7pm

Saturday 14th -
The Valentine's Special - a silly class with a Valentines "photo booth"
12:30-1:30

Monday 23rd-
Targeting, mechanics and reinforcement protocols - how we can improve our training techniques
4:45-5:45pm

Dogs Club - a dog training and social club for 11-18 year olds
6-7pm

Saturday 28th
Grounding tasks - a look at several assistance dog grounding tasks - pet dogs also welcome
12:30-1:30pm

All classes are a flat Fee of £20, and held in St Augustines BS14 0LL (a wheelchair accessible venue with its own car park in South Bristol)

Message to book

See you there!

01/01/2026

First class of 2025!
Cooperative Care is one of my all time favourite things to teach, going back to the "Rachel Trains Animals" days and working across species!

Learn how tigers opt into their own blood draws, and how we can use the same principles for your dog and their nail trims/teeth cleaning/ vaccinations/ ear drops/muzzle training - and anything else you can think of!

Classes are £20
Message me to book, or if you have any questions!

Address

Telephone

+447702049267

Website

https://www.racheltrainsanimals.co.uk/

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