One to one tailored dog training
Helping pet dog owners improve their relationship with their dogs, through easy to understand, fair methods. All sessions are catered to your dogs’ needs, working on the premise that they all have their own distinct personality and drives.
We offer help with:
Puppy training
Pulling
Reactivity
Recall
Lunging/Jumping
Separation Anxiety
Barking
Crate Training and more…
Welcome! My name is Tommy, and I’ll be your trusted personal dog trainer. Meaning, your trainer, as well as your dog’s.
After a lifetime owning dogs, and a particularly difficult time with a boisterous Rottweiler named Loki who opened my eyes to the hardships of owning a difficult dog, I made it my life’s ambition to learn all there was to learn about dog training, specifically behaviour modification. The decision I made four years ago led me to hands-on training with numerous dogs, courses and seminars, first aid training, and shadowing other dog trainers. Learning will never stop, as each dog I work on poses new challenges, but nothing beats the reward of seeing a troubled relationship heal through training both dog and human.
My job is to equip you with the tools and know-how you need to become the calm and confident leader your dog likely needs. With some hands-on tutoring and guidance from me, I aim to show you what is possible with your dog, so that you can learn to trust your dog, as well as it trusts you, in all sorts of environments.
“It is such a reassurance to know your dog is in good hands”
“Thomas has a very calm approach and was attentive to the dog’s individual needs”
But why “BIRCHBARK”..?
You mean, apart from the amazingly thought out dog related pun?? Well…
For most of us dog owners, I believe the ultimate test for knowing whether we’ve trained hard with our furry friend, is successfully handling real life scenarios in such an unpredictable environment as a woodland. A place full of interesting smells, obstacles, wildlife, blind spots, and often other off-lead dogs. A woodland walk exposes you to the very real possibility of something going wrong if you don’t know how to handle a situation.
I could have picked any woodland term other than Birch to go with my amazing pun, but as it happens, I live surrounded by a birch woodland and I’m very fond of them: there’s something very calming about them, which is an important mindset to be in when training dogs.
Birch trees are what’s known as ‘pioneer’ species. This means that they are the first ones on a site, to grow, establish, heal, protect and nourish the soil, waiting for the other more long-lived trees to arrive and take over. They can be seen as the foundation of many woodlands.
I strongly believe that all dogs need good foundations if they want to reach their full potential, much the same way as we do, taking our first steps before we can walk or run. I therefore chose the image of Birch, to represent this necessary process. To remind people the importance of starting from the beginning, establishing some strong roots in the foundations of dog training, before climbing up the levels to the more difficult challenges ahead.
Contact
Picking a dog trainer can be daunting. I went through four trainers myself when I had Loki, each with their own style, only to find that the fifth and last one trumped them all for Loki and I. It is why I encourage you to ask as many questions as you may have to ensure I am the best fit for your companion.
It may help coming up with some goals before sending the enquiry. Take your time, and consider discussing with any family members or friends involved in your dog's life too.
loose leash walking, e-collar training, remote collar training, reactive, 1-2-1, fear aggression, dominant, heel walking, barking, lunging, balanced training, positive reinforcement, R+, fearful, fix pulling, bite history, recall, longline, runs away, doesn’t like people, food motivated, luring, aggressive, jump, jumping, jumps on people.