Two five-week courses on the park: a dog who comes back, and a lead that stays loose, £140 each
Recall and lead work
Two focused five-week courses on Heath Park for the two things owners most want: recall, with long lines, whistle work and real distractions, and loose-lead walking, with harness choice, the stop-and-go method and walking past the things your dog cannot resist. Six dogs at most, £140 each.
A dog that comes back every time can be let off the lead, and a dog that walks on a loose lead is a pleasure to walk. Neither is a trick and neither is luck: both are taught, in small steps, in the place they need to work. These courses are for dogs of any age who have the basics but not the reliability.
Recall runs on Saturday mornings on the open field at the north end of Heath Park. Every dog works on a ten-metre long line, so the dog cannot practise running off while learning to come back. The course builds a recall cue the dog has never heard ignored (most dogs' names have been ignored a thousand times), teaches a whistle, and then adds distractions one at a time: another dog, a ball, a picnic, a squirrel. By week five most dogs are recalling off a dropped line in the open park.
Lead work runs on Wednesday evenings on the paths round the park. Week one is the kit: a well-fitted harness with a front clip or a flat collar, a two-metre lead, and the end of the extending lead. Then the method: the lead going tight means you stop, the lead going loose means you go, and a reward is delivered at your side where you want the dog to be. Then the real world: other dogs, joggers, bikes, smells and the gate to the park, which is where most dogs lose their heads.
Both courses come with a written homework sheet, videos, and a WhatsApp group with the trainer for the five weeks. Dogs who struggle with other dogs at close range are better starting with a home visit; we will say so honestly rather than put them in a class that sets them back.
Owners often take both, one after the other. The two skills support each other: a dog who checks in with you on the lead checks in with you off it.
What is included
- Recall: Saturday mornings on the open field, ten-metre long lines
- A recall cue the dog has never heard ignored, and a whistle
- Lead work: Wednesday evenings on the park paths
- Kit advice, the stop-and-go method, rewards at your side
- Real distractions, added one at a time
- Long lines and harnesses lent; videos and WhatsApp support
What it costs
£140 for five classes of an hour on the park, either course. Long lines and harnesses lent during the course. No membership and nothing added. The timetable has every class with its spaces and every price side by side; the problem finder says which course or visit fits.
Questions about recall and lead work
My dog comes back except when there is another dog. Will this help?
That is exactly where the course ends up. Weeks three to five are recall past other dogs on long lines, starting at a distance the dog can manage and closing it each week.
What harness do you recommend?
A Y-shaped harness with a front and a back clip, fitted so it does not restrict the shoulders. We lend one for the course and show you how to fit it. We do not use head collars or slip leads for pulling.
Is a whistle better than a word?
For most dogs, yes: it sounds the same whoever blows it, carries across the park, and has never been used crossly. We teach both.
Tell us about your dog. We will say what fits, and what it costs.
Two minutes on the form: your dog, their age, what is going wrong. We reply the same working day with the course or visit that fits and the next date, or book a free ten-minute call if you would rather talk first. Or ring Ffion in the office.