Nigel and Monty (off lead behaviour)

a picture of Monty

Monty was a 12 week old Bernese Mountain Dog puppy when I met Paws in the Pink and Kiri & I learnt how to have some control of our lovable, boisterous and enthusiastic puppy.

Unfortunately, a few months after our puppy training had finished, things started to go downhill a bit.  Monty was enjoying himself too much off the lead, bothering other dogs, and disappearing, when he picked up the scent of a deer, a pheasant or a squirrel.  He was also being ‘bullied’ by other dogs who didn’t seem to like his size, and the fact he was ‘intact’.

Kiri  made several suggestions, including getting a Suprelorin implant for Monty, so that we could see how reduced testosterone affected him; keeping him on the lead much more; really working at re-establishing my relationship with Monty; and having a handful of 1-1 sessions with Kiri, both at her premises and also where we take Monty for walks.  It all worked really well.  

Eventually, we took the plunge and had Monty neutered.  He’s now able to spend longer off the lead on our walks; is much more manageable around other dogs; and he is far more reliable at recall than he was. Kiri’s relaxed and knowledgeable help has been invaluable.  I know that Monty and I still have a lot of learning to do, but we’re in a much better place than we were when I asked Kiri to help us.  I also now have a much better understanding of what Monty needs from me, to help him as he matures and continues to develop.”

Caroline and Mimi (puppy training and behaviour)

animage of mimi a dog trained by Kiri Downes

I have come to Kiri to help me train my Cockapoo puppy. Even though I have had many dogs I had forgotten the basics.
Kiri’s approach is wonderful, no shouting and very modern (as things have changed enormously!) I feel more confident and have learned a tremendous amount which has helped me to enjoy Mimi (puppy).

I started with 3 private lessons when Mimi was about 3 months old and have taken another 3 lessons, as she is now 6 months.

We are both enjoying the lessons and find Kiri an excellent teacher and always reliable.
Caroline Lentaigne & Mimi

Frankie – (puppy training & behaviour advice)

Paws in the Pink (Kiri) has shown us the way to train our Cockapoo in a quiet and gentle manner to achieve great results. Kiri has an affinity with dogs and they with her. 

We took our puppy to some puppy classes with Kiri and also had some private lessons here at our home.  Her classes are restricted to 5 or 6 puppies which she runs with a helper enabling every puppy and owner to get personal attention.  We also appreciated the one on one lessons with Kiri at our home as we were able to expand on the initial training at the classes and were able to include brain training exercises. 

We now have a very loving, obedient, happy, well adjusted 20 month old Cockapoo who adores Kiri and still benefits from contact and occasional training with her. 

I cannot recommend her highly enough.

Sophie & Harvey (behaviour)

Harvey

I first contacted Kiri after having some resource guarding issues with our 1 year old working  cocker. His behaviour was becoming unpredictable and this was an issue with children in the house.

After a couple of 1:1 sessions Kiri spent time with the children and the dog. This session was invaluable – Kiri was fantastic explaining things to the children and kept their full attention throughout the entire session, whilst giving them the opportunity to practice their new skills with the dog in a safe and controlled environment. 

I would happily recommend Kiri to anybody needing any help, support or advice with their dog- her friendly, engaging character is great and she is very realistic in the training and outcomes that she sets for the owner and the dog.

Mikhaila & Jaxon- (training to qualify to be an assistant dog)

jaxon

Jaxon and I started our journey with Kiri in September 2017. We enrolled on her puppy class, it was amazing, her training methods are brilliant, insightful and covered so much. We progressed to Kiri’s junior training and had a great time developing our skills together in a fun environment. Jaxon used to get so excited when we would get the Paws in the Pink training bag out.

Sometimes I struggled to do a training exercise so Kiri would adapt it and was very mindful of making sure every aspect of training worked with Jaxon and I.

Since then Kiri, Jaxon and I moved on to Assistance Dog training in partnership with Dog AID (Assistance In Disability). I meet with Kiri every few weeks to continue our training journey with and will do until we are a fully qualified team.

Kiri is a very knowledgeable trainer and will always strive to do the best she can to help you and your dog. She has experience in so many different areas and pulls on all of her expert knowledge to adapt training to suit you and your dogs needs. 

Rosie -Working Cocker Spaniel (re-call, re-engagement & connection)

I initially took my new puppy, Rosie, (Working Cocker Spaniel / Labrador cross to a Puppy Class run by Kiri. This got us off to a flying start; I really loved Kiri’s reward based training and her obvious love for what she does and her total compassion and commitment to the puppies / dogs in her care.

Just as I was feeling very smug with myself about how six weekly sessions of training, together with my consistent follow up training, had ensured I had the perfect dog…..disaster struck!  Rosie hit doggie teenage years!! 

I suddenly had a dog with no impulse control and a crazy nose for scents!  I felt ridiculously inadequate and helpless to have ‘lost’ my dog mentally (and sometimes physically)! 

I rang up Kiri very soon after I realised things were not going to plan.  I had two lots of three 1-1 sessions and everything changed.

Kiri was fantastic at explaining Rosie’s behaviour and helping me with positive tools to assist me with improving the impulse control.  I learnt so much in those sessions it was truly like an epiphany for me. I would really recommend Kiri to anyone.

Rosie has improved dramatically and I feel so proud and thankful to Kiri that I managed to avert training disaster! 

Linda, Robin & Wellington (behaviour and training)

We were desperate to find help for our golden retriever puppy Wellington who at 12 weeks was jumping, biting and getting over excited very quickly.

Even as experienced dog owners we were at the point of being frightened of this little ‘delinquent thug’ puppy. Kiri came to our house initially and worked with us and Wellie teaching us how to de escalate and prevent situations with management techniques to help his over emotional responses. She used calm positive reinforcement and distraction and almost immediately we started to see a different dog.

We followed up the 1 to 1 session by attending the excellent weekly puppy training which again really helped teach us as well as him how to work together. We have sought Kiri’s expert help at further stages of Wellington’s  development (teenage months!).

We would recommend anyone who has concerns over their pets behaviour or just wants good puppy/dog training to seek support from Paws in the Pink as we now have a rather wonderful, if occasionally loopy, 2 and a half year old family pet and without Kiri’s help it could have been a very different outcome.

Shanie Grant & Hugo (dog to dog reactivity, building confidence & training skills)

Hugo

Kiri has been absolutely incredible with Hugo, our 3 year old Shih-tzu terrier mix and in just a few short weeks she has helped him grow into a confident and happy dog again. 

Hugo didn’t have the easiest start in life and as he got older, helping him cope with his daily routine had become a huge challenge for us – we tried everything we could think of and we were at a huge loss of how best to help him, we really felt we had exhausted all options. 

Luckily we found Paws in the Pink and from the moment Kiri came into our lives she helped us transform him, teaching us how to help Hugo manage his range of issues and enable him to interact with other dogs safely, all the while explaining how and why the techniques would help him, all of which were very easy to understand and implement into Hugo’s daily routine. 

We now have a comfortable, happy dog again and we are so grateful for the lifeline Kiri and her expertise has provided us with. 

I would highly recommend Kiri as the perfect trainer and behaviourist to help with you and your dog and we will certainly be booking further top-up sessions in the future!”

Darcey & Maggie (learning to re-connect, new fun skills, agility, gun dog seeking, find it & much more)

darcie and maggie

“I came to Kiri with a young rescue dog with a few issues and a newly arrived puppy.  The changes that she has helped bring about have been remarkable.  Throughout the process, she has been cheerful and patient.  Equally importantly, the dogs have loved every minute.

I have also suggested Kiri to a work colleague with a newly adopted dog who was equally pleased. Thoroughly recommended!”

Will