Training and behaviour help around Bristol, for dogs of any age. Positive reinforcement only, and you'll always understand why.
Message me on WhatsAppTell me what's happening and I'll tell you honestly whether I can help.
Prefer to write it out? Email me instead.
★★★★★43 five-star reviews
Start here
There are two different things I do, training and behaviour work, and most people genuinely can't tell which one they need. That isn't a failing on your part. Working it out is the job.
Take pulling on the lead. For one dog, nobody has ever taught them that walking next to you is worth doing, and an hour with some good treats will start to change that.
For another dog, the pulling is happening because they can't cope with a busy pavement. Traffic, bins, other dogs, people appearing round corners. That dog isn't being difficult, they're overwhelmed, and no amount of lead work will fix it while they feel like that. What they need first is to feel safer out there.
Same behaviour. Completely different reason. Completely different plan.
And it isn't either/or. With that second dog we'd still teach loose lead walking, just somewhere quiet enough that they can actually think, and we'd build up from there as their confidence grows.
So please don't try to diagnose it yourself before you get in touch. Tell me what's happening and I'll tell you which it is. That conversation is free, and I'd much rather spend ten minutes on WhatsApp than take £65 off you for the wrong session.
What it costs
Almost everyone begins with a consultation: two hours at your home, £195.
That's not me upselling. It's because if something is going wrong, the useful bit isn't the training exercise, it's working out what's actually driving it. That takes seeing your dog, in your house, with your family, and properly going through their history and their day.
Follow-up sessions afterwards are £65 an hour, and only if you want them. Plenty of people never book one.
If your dog is happy and relaxed in themselves and you simply want to be shown how to teach something, you don't need the full consultation. Book an hour and I'll teach you it.
An hour, at your home or out where you normally walk. Book one, or a few if you'd like company while you get it established.
If you're not sure which you need, that's completely normal, and it's my job rather than yours. Tell me what's happening and I'll say honestly. I'd always rather point you at the £65 hour than sell you the £195 one.
And if we get it wrong, I'll tell you. If we start with a standalone hour and it becomes clear something deeper is going on, I'll say so at the time rather than keep charging you by the hour.
So you know what you're getting
£65 · one hour · your home or where you walk
What we do: I show you how to teach one or two specific things, and you practise them with me there to correct you.
What you leave with: a clear thing to go away and practise, and the reason it works, so you can keep building on it yourself.
What it isn't: an assessment. I won't be working out why your dog does something, because an hour isn't long enough to do that honestly.
Right for you if: your dog is happy and relaxed in themselves and you just want teaching.
£195 · two hours · at your home
What we do: go right through your dog's history, their day, their environment and what's actually happening, so we can find what's driving it. Everyone in the house is welcome.
What you leave with: an explanation of why it's happening, a practical plan you can start straight away, and both my ebooks to refer back to.
What it isn't: a one-session fix. Behaviour takes time, and anyone promising otherwise is selling you something.
Right for you if: something's worrying you, or you don't understand why your dog is doing it.
Follow-ups after either are £65 an hour, whenever you want them, with no package to commit to.
If something's going wrong
Most people who message me about behaviour have been carrying it around for a while before they get in touch. They've stopped walking at the times other people walk. They've stopped having friends round. They apologise to me in the first message, before I've even asked anything.
Dogs don't misbehave. They communicate. A dog who lunges at another dog is not being dominant or badly brought up. They're frightened, or frustrated, or they've learned that making a fuss works because it makes the scary thing go away.
Once you can see what's driving it, most of it stops feeling like defiance and starts feeling like something you can actually work with.
I won't tell you off for what you've tried already. Nearly everyone has been given some bad advice by someone who meant well, and it's not your fault it didn't work.
The behaviour consultation
Behaviour work isn't a quick fix, and I'd be lying if I sold it as one. What it is, is a proper look at the whole picture.
My aim is for you to need me as little as possible. Not because I don't want the work, but because the point is for you to understand your own dog. There's never any pressure to book more, and plenty of people never need to.
"For anyone that has rescued, you'll know it's a rewarding journey but it's far from straightforward. Julia has worked with us every step of the way."
Julia has been supporting us to settle in our new rescue pup and I can't recommend her highly enough. She's tremendously knowledgeable, practical and passionate about her work.
We're so looking forward to continuing our training with Julia. If you're considering a dog trainer, I'd hire her now.
— A rescue dog family in Bristol
The standalone hour
Sometimes nothing is wrong. You've got a dog who's perfectly happy in themselves and has simply never been taught to walk nicely, or who is having a great time in the park and has no intention of coming back yet.
That doesn't need a two-hour assessment. It needs an hour, some decent treats, and someone showing you how it's done.
We can do it at your house, or out where you actually walk, which is usually more useful for recall and lead work. You'll leave knowing what to practise, and why it works, so you can carry on without me.
£65 an hour. Book one, or book a few if you'd like company while you get it established.
Got a puppy?
If your puppy is under six months, the five-week class in Downend is usually the best value and they get to meet other puppies, which matters more than most people realise.
If Sunday mornings don't work, or you'd rather not throw a nervous puppy into a group straight away, I do a 1-2-1 puppy session at home for £140. An hour and a half covering settling in, routines, the mouthing and chewing stage, and the beginnings of recall and basic cues.
Before we start
If your dog has become reactive, snappy, or has changed suddenly, the first thing to rule out is that something hurts.
A great deal of behaviour that looks like temperament turns out to be discomfort. Sore hips, ears, teeth, guts. A dog in pain has a much shorter fuse, and no amount of training fixes that.
Book a specific appointment to discuss pain, rather than mentioning it at the annual jab. It's worth being direct with your vet about what you're seeing. Getting this ruled out first means the training we do is fair on your dog and actually works.
Being straight with you
I'm a trainer. I help you understand why your dog does what they do and give you practical, kind ways to support them. I work on everyday training like recall and lead walking, and I specialise in anxiety, reactivity, destructive behaviour, resource guarding and confidence.
A clinical behaviourist is a veterinary professional who handles the more complex end, often where medication or a medical cause is involved. Severe phobias, serious aggression, compulsive behaviours.
If I think your dog needs one, I'll tell you. I'd rather say so at the start than take your money and get nowhere. I'm happy to work alongside other professionals so you get the right help.
Where I come to
That covers Downend, Mangotsfield, Emersons Green, Pucklechurch, Bromley Heath, Staple Hill, Fishponds and most of the north and east of Bristol.
If you're a bit further out, ask anyway. I'll tell you if it's workable.
Everything else you're wondering
It varies. Message me with roughly where you are and what's going on, and I'll tell you what I've got. If it's urgent, say so.
No. Nothing I do involves forcing a dog through fear, and I don't use slip leads, prong collars, spray or shock. If a dog is worried, we work below the level that worries them and build up. That's the whole method.
Tell me exactly what happened when you message. In most cases yes, but I need the full picture first so I can be honest about whether it's me you need or a clinical behaviourist.
They're very welcome. Dogs live in families and it works far better when everyone's doing the same thing. Equally, if it'd be easier to talk without them the first time, that's fine too.
I genuinely can't tell you before I've met your dog, and I'd be suspicious of anyone who could. Some people need one and never see me again. Others like a few while they build confidence. There's no package you have to sign up to.
I understand why people ask, and life is genuinely busy. But a dog trained by me is a dog who listens to me. The lasting change comes from you learning it, which is why I'd rather teach you than perform for you.
Where this goes
The families I see are rarely doing anything terrible. They're usually doing something reasonable that happens to be making the problem worse, and nobody has explained the bit in the middle to them.
"She is amazing with dogs and has so many training techniques which really shows her knowledge. Kobe has come such a long way thanks to Julia's help."
— Kobe's owner"She gave a great approach to learning different ways to deal with some of the problems we were having with our young dog. The information given has been easy to put in place."
— A 1-2-1 client in BristolTell me what's happening in your own words. There's no form to fill in and no obligation.
Rather write it out? positivepawsbristol@outlook.com