Dogs Matter

07/08/2026

What is a good dog walk for you?

I believe walking our dogs, getting out for exercise, fresh air and fresh experiences is exceptionally important, and for me one of the biggest bonus's of getting a dog - even on a wet, windy, dark day!

That being said, I have had those walks where it feels like a constant battle, micromanaging every move, I understand how it feels because I have been there, but there is hope for it to be different.

For me a good walk is one where we get to be, be in the place, without worrying about who or what is around us, just being able to move, and smell, and see.

A good walk for me is grounding and exhilarating often in its simplicity, me and my dogs going for a joint exploration, seeing what adventures we might find.

Is that what a good walk is for you?

What do we do if your walks are not as pleasurable as they could be? Well that is a big part of the Positive Control course, One huge advantage to your dogs being self regulated around other animals is that we have space to find the joy.
These sessions give us a chance to work out why walks can feel like a nag and we problem solve solutions. Because I genuinely believe that if you can walk through the world with less to stress, you will find more beauty, more peace and in turn more confidence, its worth it just for that, I think.

https://bookwhen.com/dogsmatter/e/ev-s51jd-20260912100000

02/08/2026

Now the temperatures are cooling off, I've scheduled a new...

🐏 Positive Control Around Livestock course (and other distractions!)... although I really need to come up with a catchier name! 😆

Positive control around livestock – a safety course with a difference.

The aim of this course is to help you and your dog safely and confidently share the countryside with livestock. We'll work on helping your dog regulate themselves around other animals, giving you the skills to maintain positive control in the presence of sheep (and other animals that don't appreciate being chased!), while protecting the emotional and physical wellbeing of livestock.

My goal is for you and your dog to have the skills for stress-free walks together.

Some of the things we'll cover:

🐑 Understanding sheep – How sheep communicate and how to prevent you and your dog causing them stress.

🐕‍🦺 Training and management – Teaching behaviors that promote responsible space-sharing. Sometimes we need to walk past sheep on a public footpath, how can we do that without frightening the sheep or our dogs losing their minds?

⚽ Meeting your dog's chase drive safely – Appropriate games and activities that fulfil those natural instincts without putting wildlife or livestock at risk.

🐶 Essential life skills - Recall, loose lead walking, self-control, and more.

🌼 Building a great relationship – Developing a partnership where your dog chooses to engage with you rather than constantly looking to the environment for entertainment.

😴 Learning that sheep are boring! – Working safely around calm, confident sheep to help your dog learn that they're really not all that exciting.

❌ Kind, effective training only – We'll be using positive reinforcement, thoughtful management, and relationship-based training. There will be no use of aversive or punishment tools.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work around real livestock in a safe, controlled environment for you, your dog, and the sheep.

📹 Between-session support, videos, and homework are all included.

👥 Extremely small group – Just 4 participants, allowing plenty of individual coaching and training that's tailored specifically to you and your dog.

email [email protected] if you have any questions re suitability etc.
Booking link:

https://bookwhen.com/dogsmatter/e/ev-s51jd-20260912100000

07/06/2026

A whole month of Scentwork training and a grand total of ZERO photos or videos taken 🫣

So here is a short clip from our training back in March, we utilised the Barn mirrors to reinforce the dogs for indicating, even though they couldn't see us (but we could them) this is the lovely Betsy showing us how its done 😁

Happy sniffing!

01/06/2026

Due to a reshuffle because of last weeks heat we have a couple of Scentwork opportunities up for grabs.

Wednesday 3rd June 130pm
Saturday 6th June 130pm

Super small groups. We do a mix of foundations, skills and searches.

£40 [email protected]

🙂🐶

14/05/2026

Due to some lucky people on their travels there are two one off spaces on our monthly Scentwork group up for grabs! Next Wednesday 20th 130pm. Your dog needs to already have had some Scentwork training, ideally detection style. We do a mix of foundation games, searches and skills.
Email/ message me to see if it's suitable for you and your dog 🙂🐶

06/05/2026

A great opportunity at our barn!

**Full Day Handler’s Choice Scent Detection Workshop**

A full day to focus on exactly what you and your dog need.

This workshop is suitable for complete beginners, newer teams and more experienced handlers. Dogs can search for food, toys or any target odour, and the training will be adapted to each individual team.

You might want to work on:

• getting started with scent detection
• building motivation
• improving search skills
• clearer indications
• handling and teamwork
• confidence in new environments
• problem-solving a specific issue
• trial preparation

📍 Dogs Matter, Silverton, Devon
📅 Tuesday 16th June
⏰ 10am–4pm
🐾 Suitable for all levels

A practical, supportive day designed to help you develop your skills, understand your dog better, and make progress at your own level.

Book here: https://www.topgunncanine.co.uk/book-online

05/05/2026

This past weekend I was instructing at the hosted by Leanne in Scotland.
I was so concentrated on my teaching that I took a grand total of ZERO photos of my workshops! 🫣
I did however take plenty of my own dogs on their adventures between my teaching 😁

It really was a positive event, the venue was superb, so beautiful, the photos do no justice! and the hosts were amazing.
The information shared was so valuable and most importantly the dogs and people were joyful.

Positive training has come so far in the 30 ish years I've been involved in dog sports and I'm so grateful I get to share my passion.

Thank you to everyone who came to my sessions, and to Leanne for putting on another super event, I am honoured to have been a part of it.



Positive Gundog Training Conference

27/04/2026

I unusually have spaces on the upcoming Positive control around sheep (and other distractions!) course, I expect that this will be the last time I hold the course until late summer/autumn so grab the chance while you can!

Booking link here:

https://bookwhen.com/dogsmatter/e/ev-s9b74-20260510100000

Email if you have any questions [email protected]

Training is kind and fun for people dogs and sheep alike :)

21/04/2026

These last two days DMs HQ hosted Georgie from Endeavour Canine
Two days of in depth Scentwork training. What better?! 😁

Such a great mix of Dogs and people! Georgie was so generous with her knowledge and watching the teams grow in confidence and technique was an absolute privilege.

Thanks to Paws4Teaching for making it happen!

And Sooz and Gillian for the snaps.