Lady & The Hound

05/06/2026

01/06/2026

Beautiful Bonnie is one of my current therapy dogs in training and here she is today nailing her outdoor stay around distractions 💯

I met Bonnie and her lovely handler at the school where they would like to be working, so I could assess her in the company of the children she would be working alongside. With such a lovely calm and gentle soul, Bonnie has the perfect temperament to be a school dog 🐾🚸

Well done team Bonnie and I’m looking forward to continuing the assessment process together over the coming weeks 🐾🦮💜

11/05/2026

This photo of my lovely clients Team Crumpet brings me so much joy 🥰

We are working together through one of my puppy training packages and last week’s homework was to visit some dog friendly places to help socialise Crumpet before he is allowed out walking. Here he is meeting a bunny rabbit at the pet shop for the very first time with his dad 🐶🐰

Gradually exposing your puppy to the world as soon as they come home helps to desensitise them to sensory experiences which might otherwise overwhelm them if left to later in their development. We call this gradual sensory exposure and the sorts of things it’s important to focus on are:

🐾 novel items
🐾 different sounds/noises
🐾 new people/children/animals
🐾 different smells
🐾 a variety of substrates
🐾 different weather
🐾 traffic/roads/transport
🐾 different food tastes/textures
🐾 hearing music/TV
🐾 experiencing the hoover/washing machine/dishwasher

You can achieve some of these things at home but it’s important to take your pup outside too. Most of these experiences can be achieved from the safety of a puppy socialisation bag/rucksack by visiting a variety of dog friendly places such as:

✅ shops
✅ garden centres
✅ DIY stores
✅ pet shops
✅ cafés/restaurants
✅ the pub
✅ a trip on public transport
✅ visiting a friend’s house
✅ visiting a National Trust
✅ a trip to the beach
✅ a car ride
✅ visit a dog park
✅ a mooch along your local highstreet

The options for early gentle socialisation are endless really, the key is variety and to be guided by your puppy’s ability to cope. Be mindful of overwhelming them and keep experiences positive (take snacks!) Allow lots of opportunity for your puppy to take it all in, but also to rest if they need to.

Happy socialising! 🐶🐾🙌🏻

15/04/2026

Sometimes I just meet a dog and fall in love….well, a lot of the time really 🤣

This is little Pepper the mini pinscher who has today passed her formal temperament and training awards with me so she can now be a professional working school dog 🐾💜🚸

Pepper came for her initial assessment last month and had a few areas to finesse which she and her super switched-on guardian have done such great work on, meaning that she totally breezed today’s final assessment 💯

Skills Pepper had to be able to demonstrate today included:

💜 Acceptance and enjoyment of being handled
💜 Calm and neutral around loud noises and novel items
💜 Responsive to training cues and focused on her handler around distractions
💜 Leave food and toys on cue
💜 Go to bed and stay for 2 mins
💜 Settle on mat on cue
💜 Recall away from distractions
💜 Wait at an open doorway
💜 No jumping-up or pawing

Well done team Pepper, I’m sure you’ll bring a lot of comfort and support to the children at school 💜🐾🚸

24/02/2026

📣 We are hiring!!

🐕 Are you interested in re-training to be become an accredited dog trainer?

🐕‍🦺 Would you like to have the autonomy of being self-employed whilst also joining a wider network of professional accredited dog trainers?

💫 I currently have opportunities to join my Surrey & SW/W London Puppy School team as an Associate Tutor teaching classes in London W13 & Surrey KT8, KT12, KT13, TW10, TW12, TW16 🐶🐾

✅ Ideally you’re already working in the industry and have some existing dog handling experience - perhaps you’re a dog walker, groomer, RVN or animal behaviour graduate.

☎️ Please get in touch directly with Imogen if you are interested in joining the team at Lady & the Hound and becoming part of the wonderful Puppy School UK franchise network!

➡️ [email protected] ⬅️

*must have a car and be able to work weekends and weekday evenings.

03/02/2026

♥️ Happy 9th birthday to my main man!

♥️ The one constant in my life and my reason for being, doing, making, growing, working and creating.

♥️ A friend to little Rita after we were told she couldn’t be rehomed with other dogs.

♥️ And a friend to many children, some of whom were previously scared of dogs.

♥️ Keep on keeping on Albie Moo Moos….I’m looking forward to growing older together 😂

17/01/2026

💖 Meet therapy dog in-training, Chelcea 🐩

💖 We met for the first time today for a pre-assessment to see where I can help Chelcea finesse her skills needed to nail her formal working therapy dog certifications.

💖 Isn’t she the best? Just imagine if you were an axious child in school and didn’t like to read out loud but had Chelcea by your side to read to instead? I wish I’d had a Chelcea to read to when I was at school….I’m sure she would have helped me no end!

💖 Good girl Chelcea and I can’t wait to continue our training journey together.

14/01/2026

💩 Poo bag top tip! 💩

🚙 Last year I spotted someone in the car in front of me driving along with a full poo bag tied to their back windscreen wiper! I assumed it was because they couldn’t find a bin on their walk and were intending to deposit it in a bin on their way home or in their own bin when they got home (rather than simply for decorative purposes).

And ever since, if I get caught with a bag due to no bins, rather than hang it from a tree 🙄, I now do this and either drop it en route to home or at home! I used to pop it in the passenger footwell but maaaaan….that made for a stinky ride home!

Am I late to the party on this? Do others do similar or do you have any other mobile poo bag tips?! This stuff is life changing, riiiiiiight?!

You’re welcome 💩