Testimonial – Virtual and Practical Lessons to help a Rescue Springer Spaniel

We got in contact with Damian as a last resort for our rescue springer spaniel Buddy. Buddy was completely ruling our life, from desperately craving our attention inside the house to completely ignoring anything we asked him to do outside. Walks were a complete and utter nightmare, he would pull so much on the lead that he would choke himself and often left me on the brink of tears out of frustration! His recall was non existent and we’ve spent many a time sprinting round parks for hours trying to find him. We tried multiple dog trainers and nothing seemed to work as their methods were based on food and treats and this was just futile with Buddy because he would always be far too aroused and worked up to accept food, plus as soon as the food disappeared we had no chance!

Enter Damian…
We had our first lessons during the Covid-19 lockdown so we were one of the first to try out Damian’s new virtual lessons and what a success we’ve had! The virtual lessons were great as they allowed us to sit and talk everything through with Damian and figure out where we were going wrong. Damian told us that it all starts inside the house and he was absolutely right. We created boundaries and structure for Buddy in the house and from day 1 started to notice the difference in his willingness to listen to us. Fast forward to our face to face lessons and Damian did the unthinkable… got our pull you like a train spaniel to walk to heel! All within 10 minutes. We went right back to basics and introduced the whistle and buddy has just gone from strength to strength. We have family and friends stop us to tell us how they can’t believe the difference in Buddy after only a few months of working with Damian. Today we introduced the dummy retrieves and watching buddy work so well made me feel quite emotional! I just didn’t think it would be possible to make any changes with him because we felt so stuck. We still have a way to go and Buddy still enjoys the occasional gallivant around the field when he is feeling mischievous but those times are becoming less and less.

We can’t thank Damian enough, I only wish we’d found him sooner! If you want a dog trainer to tip toe round you softly softly then Damian is not your man. He is straight talking and never lets me or my partner get away with anything! But this is exactly what you need if you want to be successful in training your dog. Plus he’s got a great sense of humour and always makes us feel at ease. We can’t recommend him enough and I can’t wait to see what progress we make in the future.

Posted: July 27, 2020