Training you can Trust
“Hi, I'm Hayley one of the Founding Fairies and resident Trainer at The Fairy Dogmothers.
‘I have been working with dogs professionally for over 6 years; however I have always been surrounded by four-legged friends. As a child we had at least 2 cats and 2 dogs at any one time. I loved them all and learned at a very young age to cherish every moment shared with our furry companions.
My answer to the question 'what do you want to be when you grow up?' was always 'a Vet!' of course. However, I found myself quickly building a career in the world of finance soon after leaving school. It was during a 10 year career as a HR Director, managing and developing people that I realised I have a skill for training and motivating people. I never dreamt that I could combine this experience with my love for animals, but somehow that's exactly what happened.
I left my former career to work with dogs all day every day and couldn't be happier. I work with all different breeds, with all their quirks and individual personalities. Through years of hands-on daily experience, living and working with dogs, taking plenty of online courses, reading dozens of training books, and keeping up-to-date with current dog training techniques and research; I have learned how to read their body language and understand what motivates them too.
I believe that given enough time, I can train any dog to respond to *Requests.
*I hate the word commands (although it's commonly used,) as it sounds like the dog doesn't have a choice. Whereas dogs do have a choice to respond to our requests - they aren't robots!
However, me training your dog in isolation doesn't necessarily transfer; they may respond to me and may still choose to ignore you. The best approach in my experience, is for me to work with you to train your dog to choose to respond as requested. I do this through understanding what motivates your individual dog (it doesn't just depend on breed, however breed instincts are a helpful indicator), there are many factors at play [pun intended].
My aim is to make communication from you clear for your dog to understand. No, that doesn't mean repeating a single syllable word at them. Your dog reads you with verbal and non-verbal queues, as well as your body positioning, energy and even your heartbeat (yes dogs can hear your heart beating and smell the changes in your sweat!).
Dogs live in the moment, but they predict whats next based on past experience. Creating plenty of positive associations, setting clear expectations and managing human energy is key to helping your dog feel content and understood.
One-to-one training is where we work together to strengthen communication lines between you and your dog and subsequently tackle any specific fears or behavioural challenges. It is not an hour of command drills (of course I can do that but your dog will only be paying attention for the first 10 minutes and then they'll be following a pattern of behaviour). Our training sessions are tailored to you and your dogs current relationship and how we get to your desired one.’
If this sounds like the right type of training for you and your dog, then get in touch and I'll see you both soon!
The Fairy School Diaries
‘The session with Hayley was eye opening and not only did she show me what I need to do before and after something triggered my dog, but to also understand what my dog needs from me.
Just one hour session and it gave me so much insight into my dog's behaviour and what to pay attention to as an owner. The session has helped me so much and saved me so much stress and worry’.
Simba’s Mum
‘Our puppy Gigi had a lot of trouble with fearful behaviour which displayed as a reluctance to leave the apartment, pulling on lead and paying no attention to us outside.
Training with Hayley helped us understand how to motivate Gigi without food, how to gain and keep her attention whilst distracted, and how to help boost her confidence.
Her tips and techniques for recall, leash walking and confidence building have been extremely helpful and we continue to see improvements everyday.
Gigi’s Mum and Dad