Dog Training and Dog Behaviour Testimonials.

A H

Throughout, Craig was patient, taking the time to understand me, and my dog. In doing so, guiding me in tailoring exercises to meet immediate concerns, and the underlying causes.

The supporting information he provided was very useful, and professional. He gave great insight, and advice regarding my dog's diet, and the Impact of food with behaviour.

Conducting the training in my own home was a huge bonus, spending a significant period of time familiarising himself with me and my dog.

Overall, he put me at ease, and has helped my confidence, as a 1st time dog owner, answering all of my questions, and great to know he is always available to provide guidance, and encouragement.

I can not recommend Craig enough.

Sandie S

Our wee 3 year old cockapoo ruled the house and everyone in it.

She was mischievous, hyperactive, demanding, even 2 hr walks a day didn't calm her down. She barked in the house, the car and on walks and was an extremely poor eater. Her behaviour was quite frankly out of control.

So although I was skeptical that anyone could do anything it was decided we contact a behaviourist named Craig.

Once Craig had all the information the 1st thing discussed was the food she was eating and he gave us a much better understanding on how diet can contribute to behaviour.

Still being skeptical he gave us 2 samples, we changed the food and the change within a matter of days was unbelievable.

She was eating every meal enjoying the food and seemed happier and content and, by the way, no more mooching from our plates.

Craig's teaching has reduced the barking in the house and the car and currently we are working on the outside and the barking at other dogs.

Even our families have noticed the behavioural changes as I think some members dreaded our dog visiting.

Anyway we are so grateful to Craig.

He is approachable gentle and patient and has said we can contact him at anytime for any further advise we may need.

We wouldn't hesitate to recommend Craig to anyone with a dog that has behavioural difficulties.

Can't thank him enough.

Carolyn & Martin

Our Bichon, Summer, was of out of control when walking with me - pulling on the lead and barking at everything and everybody. it was getting to the point that I couldn't cope and I didn't want to take her out walks anymore.

We went by the excellent reviews on-line and contacted Craig for help.

Craig turned around this problem within weeks and now I can calmly walk Summer without the incessant barking.

Craig visited our house several times and introduced us to new positive training which we practiced daily.

The technique's were very easy to follow and were all printed on fact sheets and supplied in a folder.

Craig has a great understanding of dog behaviour and is a very friendly, professional, calm and an extremely humorous guy.

Can't recommend him enough and he assured us that we can contact him at any time in the future if we need him.

S C

Could not recommend Craig highly enough and have already passed his details to friends.

We have only had our beautiful SSPCA rescue since just before Christmas but we wanted to start as we mean to go on so we called on Craig and he was the perfect choice for us and Seeley.

The two visits were definitely full of great tips and advise.

Seeley is a work in progress but we have moved on so much in the last few months. Walking better on the lead.

Her recall is amazing.

Still reacting to other dogs quite strongly but we know it's I want to talk to you not I want to eat you and we've gained the confidence to talk to other dog walkers and as soon as she's close and sniffing she calms down.

We are learning to control her just generally, without losing any of the love and fun, and that is all thanks to Craig's advise and my sister and I working with him.

Not only behavioural but also tips on diet and stimulation Craig covered these too and we have moved forward to a wet diet now and bought a deer antler from a sustainable source and Seeley loves it.

Life is just going to keep getting better for our beautiful Lurcher, Seeley

L A

Craig’s approach to dog train is both animal and people friendly!

Everything he set us to work on felt achievable and has slotted easily into our day to day - it amazes us how some seemingly small simple changes to our routine had a very big positive results on our dogs behaviour.

The resources Craig provides are really helpful and great to refer back to.

Cannot recommend him enough!

V G

Well what can I say about Craig, he is amazing, we have 2 Westies who one was out of control and were at our wits end.

Craig came in and listened to us about the issues we were facing.

We couldn’t get Kensi out on walks as she was super hyper/anxious, she constantly barked which made our other dog Ollie start barking all the time, she was jumping up on people and the couch.

Craig calmed me down and showed us very simple ways to change her behaviour.

After constant practice and listening to Craig we have had a major breakthrough with Her.

She can now go on walks, she still reacts when she sees people, dogs and cats but we have the tools now to combat this, Craig, we can’t thank you enough, we will forever be in your debt.

Thank you again ❤️❤️

M W

There are so many "dog behaviourists" now, that it's difficult to know which one to choose. We went by the excellent reviews that Craig had and they are well deserved.

Our border collie, Dexter, was reactive to other dogs, pulled on the lead and raced to the door when visitors arrived, barking furiously. Nothing too dreadful, but not leading to a happy relaxed life for us or our dog.

Craig came to our home and really listened to our difficulties. He explained why these things happened from a dog's viewpoint.

We did exercises with Dexter and Craig left us some very helpful instructions sheets. He also sent a short video.

We are continuing with the exercises which Craig suggested, as we can see big changes in our lovely dog, even family members have commented on how much calmer he is.

We can still contact Craig for free advice at any stage of Dexter's training.

Craig certainly has a great understanding of dog behaviour and he listened very carefully to our problems.

He is an exceptionally pleasant guy with a lovely sense of humour and we cannot recommend him highly enough.

Look no further, you will be amazed.

Thanks, Craig.

E & K with Y, P & M

When we called in Craig we were at crisis point almost at the stage of re-homing the dogs.

Craig was brilliant very non judgmental and listened to our needs.

With Craigs advice and support we have turned a massive corner especially with our Boerboel puppy.

We can not thank Craig enough and would highly recommend him to anyone.

G & M with M & J

Craig was brilliant. The first visit was in-depth, covering diet and exercise matters, and then focussing in on techniques to get the dogs to focus their attention on us as their pack leaders and look to us before making decisions by themselves. Craig gave us a bespoke training plan and then came back 3 weeks later to assess progress.

By keeping commands simple, and by exploiting all opportunities to demonstrate our leadership (and rewarding obedience), both dogs are now much calmer and are looking to us before they simply react. We’ve reduced the amount of carbs they were getting which has also helped with obedience.

Wish we’d called on Craig’s help much earlier as his approach had been effective and assuring. Very professional and communicates really well.

Highly recommended.

Michelle, Graham & Shadow

Can't recommend Craig enough, he is so knowledgeable, patient and a real life "dog whisperer". We asked Craig for help with our little Frenchie Shadow who was out of control, totally wild and didn't listen to a word we said.

He had issues with resource guarding and food aggression. He was also aggressive to my partner.

We genuinely thought as he is 3 that he was untrainable but we didn't want to give up on him, hence asking Craig for his help!

Craig came on a home visit to see Shadow in his own environment and within minutes of meeting him he had shadow listening to commands and being obedient, we couldn't believe our eyes!

Craig gave us the knowledge and skills to work with Shadow and understand his behaviour, as well as ours! He taught us all about dogs and discussed everything about their food and how important proper nutrition is.

Craig gave us some homework to do and returned again to see how we were doing and then took us to do some outside training to help keep shadows focus and stop him pulling on the lead.

Craig also gave us written information too and was always there to answer any questions or concerns we had.

We are amazed at how well Shadow has come on, we could never have done any of this without Craig's expertise. We now have a calm, happy, obedient little Frenchie who is just the best!

Not only is Craig knowledgeable, patient and friendly but he is also funny down to earth and has a real passion for what he does.

We would highly recommend Craig! Thanks so much from Michelle, Graham and Shadow!

Awaiting gorgeous pic

E & D with Angus

We thought it was too late to do something about our very vocal and demanding, three year old cocker spaniel Angus.

However, Craig proved us wrong!

Craig very quickly put our minds at ease, and with a very non judgemental approach, helped us to turn Angus’s behaviour around.

It was amazing how quickly Angus’s behaviour changed.

Money very well spent and our only regret is that we didn’t find Craig earlier.

D, D & Cooper

Craig helped us turn around a very boisterous, destructive and ultimately very unhappy and stressed pup into a calm, gentle and sweet natured family member.

Craig empowered us with the skills, knowledge and confidence to train our dog to become the best version of himself.

By helping us to develop consistency and boundaries with our dog, Craig supported us to enable Cooper to have complete recall off lead, stop all destructive behaviours and become a dog that we could take anywhere and into any situation.

We could not have asked for better support.

Craig at Scottish Dog Behaviourist knows and understands how to work with dogs as individuals and correct behaviours with non punitive methods that even children could implement safely.

We will always be grateful to him.

A, J & Toby

We contacted Craig as our Labrador Toby was becoming very anxious around other male dogs, making walking him problematic.

We had looked at his web page and the comments from other dog owners and looked to use his experience to help us and Toby.

Immediately upon meeting us and Toby, he put us at our ease and pointed out a few simple things to work on straight away.

By the end of the first visit we had some homework to do in the next two weeks until a follow up session.

The techniques that Craig introduced us to provided an immediate difference with Toby and us-all for the better.

We would just like to say that Craig is extremely patient and has some really simple techniques to help with any situation and with the reassurance that even after the training that we can contact him at anytime in the future if we need him.

We would really recommend Craig and his way of looking at the issues and bringing simple ideas to help us and Toby.

L, Milo & Willow

What can I say, Craig started working with my 2 dogs and myself during a particularly stressful period.

He quickly got to the root of my concerns and issues particularly with milo (the wee white dug as he is generally affectionately known).

Craig gave me direct guidance and steps which I was able to put in place and saw a difference in Milo's behaviour and manner quickly.

Craig's approach is respectful, tactful and direct, never patronising or blameful.

He takes time to listen and understand what was important.

I now have a loving, playful and obedient dog which before meeting Craig I would not have described Milo in this way.

I have gone from having a dog who acted petrified and occasionally affectionate, barking at the wind and always in flight and fight mode to a chilled, happy and relaxed boy.

We still have some work to do but I have confidence in my dogs but more so I have confidence in myself.

Some people scoffed when I said I had began working with Craig, they had watched the TV programmes and thought they knew all they needed, however, the one to one guidance and recommended steps Craig gives by putting them into context relating to my dogs, and my needs.

Please if you are looking into approaching a dog behaviourist, Craig will deliver what he promises.

Thank you Craig

J T

Had my sons dog for several months, he had developed an aggressive side that hadn't always been there. We invited Craig to help us.

Craig visited our home several times, we worked through all that he suggested and now have a very calm chilled dog, no angry behaviour over food and my Granddaughter plays with him like he's her best friend.

I can take him anywhere, he's never on the lead, except when near cars. He ignores all dogs and stays by my side.

Craig's visit and training has given us a very different dog and given me the confidence to deal with him.

Thank you again Craig.

R & K

Craig has been a big help!

We contacted Craig because our Border Collie puppy and older Yorkie weren’t getting along.

He helped us by identifying their behaviours and picking up on new ones we didn’t notice.

From general puppy training to fixing behaviours in our older dog.

With Craig’s knowledge he is the perfect person to help.

Thank you for everything!!!

EC

I would honestly recommend Craig, (Scottish Dog Behaviourist) if your having issues with your dog.

Had a worryingly aggressive unpleasant 2 year old dog.

Craig has helped us completely changed our dogs behaviour.

He had such a calm manner throughout which was so encouraging to us.

Worked with us through training where we managed to change our dog in to a calmer friendlier dog.

His ideas explanations and techniques were easy to follow and very effective.

Can't thank him enough as we didn't think we'd be able to keep the dog in our home as part of our family.

Thoroughly recommend him.

JD

When I contacted Craig I was at the end of my tether and considering re-homing my 2 year old Sproodle, Stella.

Craig spoke very reassuringly and said he could help.

When Craig came to the house he listened carefully, no judgement given and talked through some strategies.

We then tried new training exercises with Stella that she responded to straight away. After listening to the advice I was more relaxed which instantly gave me control back and Stella responded to me, not the other way around!

Through advice and facts from Craig we changed Stella’s food to a raw diet, the effects and benefits are amazing!

Stella looks and behaves 100% better.

If you are looking for advice, strategies and guidance on how to change your dog’s behaviour in any way I highly recommend Craig!

Thank you so much!

R G

Luna our one year old GSP was a handful.

She was constantly full of energy, always counter surfing and had a lack of focus wherever we were on our walks.

We were recommended Craig through a work colleague, he replied quickly to the message I had sent and after a short phone call we were booked in.

Craig arrived at our property bang on time and got to work observing Luna’s behaviour.

At the end of the session we had a better understanding as to why the behaviours were happening and what we had to do to change that.

Before Craig left we were given handouts with tasks which we were to continue to work on until and after the second session.

After a week of working on these and dedicating the time required we noticed a massive difference in Luna with family members also mentioning this to us too.

We have not long had our second session and are still working on the tasks given but we know if we dedicate the time we will definitely see a difference.

Craig has assured us he is available to contact if any other behaviours creep in which is great.

I would recommend Craig to anyone, thanks again.

M C

Craig helped us so much to understand a dogs behaviour (and ours ) in 2 weeks we had a different and much calmer dog , he also helped us to be more confident with Lucy.

He goes through everything, including food and the effect it can have on your dog .

I cannot recommend Craig enough.

He most certainly knows all about dogs .

Thank you Craig it was a great experience 👍

A C

Beyond amazing!

Luna is like a totally different dog now! Can't thank Craig enough.

She went from being a menace that we were thinking would need re-homed to our perfect gentle giant

L McC

I'm really glad I contacted Craig for his services as he's been SO HELPFUL <3 he spent the first session giving us a better understanding as why and how to counteract our Blind German Shepherds behaviour.

He assisted with issues as him not wanting to walk with us (dragging, sitting), lunging at others, food aggression, and barking at everything and everyone -- Its only been a month since we started following their training and he has improved so much that he's now getting along with our older dog so much better than ever!

Craig is a professional and humorous person, he made it super clear what you need to do and was encouraging and so kind -- even when we messed up commands he'd gently show us again without judgement <3

He also left us with leaflets and guidance on what dog foods would be best (so he wouldn't get overly hyper) which has been AMAZING as I am pretty forgetful so having it all written down has been amazing!!

Genuinely recommend him, he's a really great person who can bring the best out in any doggo ❣️

L Mc

As first time puppy owners our inability to train and control our 8 month old Weimaraner came to a head when she pulled us into the path of a car.

We had issues with pulling on the lead, toileting, her over-exuberance and anxiety.

Craig's input has transformed our pup and our relationship with her.

All problems have been addressed and she is generally calmer and more confident (as are we!) Our grand daughters who were scared of her now enjoy playing with her in the garden.

Craig is non-judgmental, approachable and supportive. Exercises are designed to the dog's individual problems and the fact sheets are a useful tool.

One of the fact sheets is entitled "Chaos to Calm" and that's just what Craig has helped us achieve.

J F

Meet our lovable, mischievous, adorable bundle of fun and energy. She is a bordoodle – border collie/miniature poodle mix. We have had border collies for over 40 years and thought we were fairly experienced with the many demands of the breed. Add poodle into the mix….well….!

Picture an energetic, lovable, intelligent, high drive border collie combined with a lovable, intelligent, super bouncy poodle and you’ve got it... !

Her main issues were separation anxiety – she followed me everywhere and became really distressed on even being in a different room. Greeting visitors, both human and animal, inside and outside, with huge excitement, combined with jumping “skills” to win the Olympics. In a similar vein, pulling on the lead and excited barking when distracted by other dogs outside. Just wanting to be everyone’s friend and playmate. No “off” switch.

Our life seemed on hold. Why could I not “fix” our lovable rogue?

Before meeting Craig, we had already spent a lot of money through puppy classes, which were great but proved so stressful. Lots of new playmates – yes! Far too many other exciting things to do rather than listen – yes! The class trouble maker (!)

We also tried one to one training and another trainer at our house which didn’t work either – and of course, endless online/youtube videos.

How we wish we had contacted Craig first!

I was nervous about meeting Craig, expecting he would be very critical and think me a failure, especially with past doggy experience.

Craig instantly put me at ease. He was totally non-judgemental, positive, professional, all laced with good humour and fun. His obvious passion for dogs and his work with them gave us confidence that there was light at the end of this tunnel at last. Having blue merle border collies maybe helped a bit too!

Craig introduced us to lots of new, effective and positive strategies - easy to understand and put into action straight away - “why didn’t I think of that before?!” – which were stimulating and fun for both me and pooch. The positive, “non harm” methods he uses were really important to me too. The progression was easy to follow over his sessions with us.

It is also worth mentioning that Craig told us we could contact him with any issues arising between sessions and most importantly, after completion too.

So where are we now? We are continuing to work with Craig’s excellent advice and methods which are showing very positive results. Craig’s recent blog on consistency is very important. His advice and training is just the start of the journey. We have good days and not so good days – almost always our fault, got lazy, not been consistent but lesson learnt, tomorrow’s another day and we’re getting there.

To finish, I must pass on my heartfelt thanks to Craig as he supports us through the recent, sad loss of that aforementioned blue merle border collie, our beloved old friend Glen. He had only met Glen a couple of times when at the house but his empathy has really helped us. Above and beyond. Thank you Craig.

We are now really looking forward to learning more through your website, blogs and online presence Craig.

I cannot help recommend Craig highly enough. Worth every penny.

Y H

Our 18 month Miniature Dachshund was driving us up the wall with his constant barking, and then sudden aggression towards visitors and people outside. Craig came to the house and spent about three hours with us, working through what was happening, helping me to understand what was happening.

As I suspected it was actually me who needed to be trained. Anyway roll on one month, armed with the know how, Hamish is a different dog.

The ultimate test was a workman today in the front and back yard. One little bark and stopped as soon as I told him. Rather than him feeling he needed to protect me, he sat down and just watched. I was even able to make his breakfast and get him to eat it.

He’s a happier dog and we are happier dog parents. Can’t recommend Craig enough. And the offer of being in touch if we ever have any issues is so reassuring. Thank you so much!