Canal Cottage Dog Training Reviews 

Helen was recommended to me when I was looking for help with my reactive rescue pooch & I in turn can’t recommend her highly enough to everyone else!
Helens knowledge & understanding of dog behaviour is second to none. Her training methods are reward based & kind. She is full of tricks & tips for all eventualities & is very approachable & accessible.
Our 1-1 sessions have been so valuable. They have helped me understand & adopt strategies to reduce Bellas reactivity to other dogs which in turn has built our bond and made our walks much more enjoyable & a lot less stressful!
I am currently consolidating what I have learnt & I will not hesitate to contact Helen for any reinforcement or future issues.
Thanks so much Helen!

Fantastic service that lives up to the phrase, train me not blame me. My dog was very reactive to light and has a particular issue with resource guarding. Training has been thorough, calm and very good for all my dogs, settling the environment and them in turn. Most of all it’s built my confidence and the helpful check ins are great when need a little advice in between training. Great value for money, great training and very happy dogs and owner as a result.

Friendly, honest & reliable dog trainer & felt reassured after the visit.
Gave very helpful, useful tips which are easy to follow and would highly recommend.

Helen visited us and our recently rescued retired greyhound Ranger for a 1-hour session. Helen was extremely knowledgeable and reassuring, and gave us great advice on how to build Ranger's confidence and help him settle into life in a home. Helen even managed to teach Ranger some new tricks before she left! She then followed up with an email with lots of tips and advice to help us more going forward.
We would definitely recommend Helen and we would use her again in the future.

Helen's advice and support has been invaluable. The dogs have been transformed. Still a long way to go but with Helen's support we will get there.

Excellent, knowledgeable trainer. The techniques we were shown are already beginning to help our dog with his reactive behaviour. Really impressed with his improvement.

I have two word to say to Helen - thank you! We approached her for advice initially and then training having got our first ever puppy (Croigeal). Not only did she teach us what we needed in order to ensure that Croi knew what was expected of her, she taught us how to do that in a way that made both the pup and the humans happy. Croi is only 17 weeks old and already knows all the commands we need her to at this stage- and obeys them (mostly, nothing will distract her yet from a leaf blowing around!) AND she is working towards some that will make our lives (and Croi’s) easier in the future. That would absolutely not have happened so easily or enjoyably without Helen’s input. A few sessions with Helen has, I truly believe, enabled a lifetime of being able to really enjoy being with our dog.

Helen is also a real pleasure to work with and is very reliable and great at communicating (including post-session reminders of what we went through in session). She will absolutely be our first call should we run into any difficulties in the future or if we would like to do something more advanced with Croi to help keep her brain active.

Helen has been most helpful, kind and informative from the very beginning. She has given us useful and practical advice that fits our dog's profile. Each session is followed up by a brief written summary and interesting videos to reinforce the training strategies. Thank you so much Helen, we shall be continuing to seek your advice as our dog responds to your techniques

I cannot rate Helen high enough with the help and support training my 3 year old Labrador who had got rather nervous and was barking at most dogs after several attacks on him. In just 4 training sessions and working with him every day over a 8 week period, the new skills that I have been given and the difference in our family pet is incredible. The simple changes recommended and the wonderful training plan and the variety of commands I use and he recognises makes it a pleasure to walk him with no reaction to other dogs (and cats). I love that Helen provides a recap of the training session along with videos as a reminder so that you can work together and have that wonderful bond. I only wish I had use a professional trainer like Helen when he was a puppy because the difference is incredible - I cannot recommend Helen high enough - thank you

Helen from Canal Cottage has been absolutely fantastic. She's given us all the advice and support we've needed to train our rescue into being less reactive. She has listened to our concerns, asked insightful questions and provided a simple solid plan for development. In addition to our scheduled sessions she has been very quick to respond questions and queries in between sessions. Thank you Helen 👍

Our 1:1 sessions with Helen have transformed our ability to deal with our boisterous juvenile standard Schnauzer. We had attended some excellent puppy training classes but in a 1:1 setting Helen helped us to understand our dog’s individual traits and offered practical solutions to channel his urges into acceptable behaviour. She taught us how our own behaviour influences our puppy both positively and negatively, and we are now certain that we are on a path to a fun-filled loving relationship with our dog.

Excellent and friendly dog training approach. Muffin instantly bonded with Helen and responds to training methods advised and remembers training techniques. Brilliant service through and through. We cannot thank Helen enough 😊

We can't thank Helen enough for all of her advice and help with our teenage pup who struggles with anxiety and reactivity.

We had two sets of three 1:1 sessions with Helen approx. 3 months apart and her help has been invaluable on both occasions. Helen came to our house for an initial meeting and we subsequently visited the lovely Canal Cottage, which was a great training environment for our pup (who even had an opportunity to meet horses, donkeys and sheep for the first time).

Helen's approach has been positive, warm and reassuring, and she provided lots of helpful strategies and tips. Most importantly, she helped us understand our pup and read his body language and behaviours better, so while his reactivity continues to be work in progress, our relationship with him has much improved, leading to less stress all round!

Helen has always been responsive, flexible and would go over and above to try and help us and think of helfpul suggestions and recommendations.

We were really struggling with our Scottie pup in 2021 - we have owned dogs previously but this time we felt completely out of our depth. We contacted Helen who came out to see us straight away. She was so positive & calm, giving us confidence to work with our pup. She gave us lots of strategies to deal with his behaviour- there was an instant improvement. We also had homework to do, but Helen had given us the tools to work with him. After each visit there has been an improvement, her advice has been invaluable & we cannot thank her enough.

Helen was amazing. So warming and has a genuine love for dogs.
Highly recommend.

Helen visited us at home for a 1–1 session. The session was thorough and informative and provided a plan to help resolve our issues! Would recommend.

We have had 3 training sessions with Helen for our 1 year old Labrador who was showing signs of reactivity towards other dogs along with other adolescent related behaviour. As first time dog owners this behaviour was at times overwhelming and Helen has been a massive help in understanding this phase of our dogs development and handling it accordingly. Our dog is much more relaxed on his walks now and it's much more enjoyable for all involved.

Helen is super helpful and is always available for any questions whether by phone or email.

I went to Helen for help in training my 12 month old labrador not to chase sheep. We worked on this but I learned so much more from Helen. She showed me how to train him to 'stop to the whistle', reassured me about the training we had already done before meeting her ('we' being the pup and me), listened to my worries about things that weren't working prior to us meeting (loose lead walking when not on pavements, reactivity to some other dogs when on lead, etc) and offered practical, realistic suggestions. She demonstrated her suggestions and that helped enormously. Most of all, Helen listened patiently and helped me prioritise what elements of training were important to me and how to approach this. I gained a lot of confidence and some really useful skills as a result. I have no hesitation in recommending Helen.

Our 1-1 training sessions with Helen with our 2 bearded collies have been great. Her depth and understanding of dog behaviour is outstanding. The training aids that she helped us put in place regarding reacting to other dogs have been invaluable and made our dog walking experience less stressful and more enjoyable. Looking forward to our ongoing training sessions.

We had three 1-1 sessions with Helen and her advice and knowledge is brilliant, she helped us to understand the needs of our puppy. Would highly recommend Helen. Looking forward to seeing her for more brilliant advice/training with Myla in January.