We’ve been using Active Canine for doggy daycare since the arrival of our rescue Bull Terrier , They are attentive, good communicators and genuinely caring folks. They haven’t been ‘perfect’ and that’s reassuring because we aren’t perfect too! They have been utterly brilliant in moments of imperfection, which only builds our trust in them. They are excellent value for money and Daisy utterly loves the team and so do we. The best part for us is daily videos which fill a normal working day with minutes of joy! And knowing she is happy and loved by the team.
I could not recommend Active Canine enough. We where so worried letting our 4month chocolate lab go away for 3 weeks but Anna our trainer was lovely, she made us feel at ease and explained everything that was going to happen...she sent us loads of videos and just felt like he was in great hands from start to finish. When Milo came back the difference was amazing, I still feel amazed now. and again Hannah spent lots of time with us explaining what he had learnt and then teaching us what she had taught him. I recommend this company and especially Anna.
About 8 weeks ago our 18 month rescue dog, unexpectedly bit another dog. We were out walking as usual and he came across a dog he clearly didn’t like and went on the attack. Thankfully neither dog was badly hurt, but it was really upsetting. Looking back, the previous few weeks he had become a little more snarly at the dog park, but we didn’t think anything of it. After the biting incident I knew we had to fix the situation, or we’d end up scared to take him out, be constantly nervous and thats not good for us or the dog. As it was we had some issues on the leash with him and his pulling we were already trying to sort.
I reached out to a few dog trainers to see what to do. Active Canine immediately called me and we discussed the issues. We agreed that 4 weeks board and train would be the best option, where Scout could be assessed and a plan put in place. Our trainer was to be Tim.
Tim was amazing!! He called and we discussed the issues, he was reassuring, really professional and really understanding. I felt like a bad dog parent, to not be able to know what to do or control him. Tim made me feel so comfortable i knew there was no judgement.
What was even more amazing was that they could make it work so that Scout could get picked up in the next couple of days. I wanted to get started as soon as poss. to minimize the occurrence of any other incidents.
The day came for Scout to be picked up. Tim was amazing. He came and collected Scout. My boyfriend and I were both upset, but Tim was great and sent photos of Scout at his home, with the family as soon as he got home.
Over the course of the 4 weeks Tim called regularly, shared videos and photos, and seeing Scout so happy in his training, constantly wagging his tail, playing in the garden and making progress was a joy to see. I knew he was in good hands. Turned out Scout had anxiety around big dogs.
Well, the good news is, three weeks since Scout came back to us, he is perfect on the leash, no longer anxious around other dogs, and I have things to look out for and tips and tricks to keep him that way. We both are so much more confident with Scout. He is happy, healthy and chilled.
I can not say thank you enough. If you have any concerns about a board and train option, please don’t. Your dog will thank you for it. And with Active Canine and Tim, you need never have any concerns. Thank you Tim, and the team at Active Canine.!
Tim collected, boarded, trained and loved my little Poppet (a street dog from Cyprus) brilliantly. We knew that Poppet was stressed from travelling and shifting about, but Tim really managed to bring her out of her shell. Poppet now seems to have all the basics, and she’s a lot more confident for it. Tim kept in touch regularly and we felt really safe in her hands.
The service is pricey, but for what you get, it’s excellent value, and I couldn’t recommend Active Canine / Tim more highly
I decided to use this service as I was struggling to cope with walking and training our beautiful Dora, a rescue pup (now a year old) from Romania.
Our trainer Joe has been super supportive, with daily videos, tips and feedback during and after her training.
Dora has been home now for 10 days and I am so pleased with the results and can’t thank Joe enough for his patience with all my questions and reassurance with my doubts.
She no longer pulls when walking. Previously she had pulled me to my knees!
I can distract her from other dogs pretty easily so she doesn’t bark at them, yesterday another dog passed by her with no distraction and she did not bark or lunge at them. I cannot begin to tell you how bad this was before.
I had been having some problems with Bella our 3 year old German Shepherd for some time. She was trained as a puppy but this seemed to diminish considerably as she entered her ’teenage’ years and she was virtually impossible to walk on a lead due to her incessant pulling and excitable barking at other dogs and people, she seemed to have developed a ’I will do what I want to do’ attitude as well, something I had previously only observed in my human teenage daughter but equally as exhausting. Bella was missing out on walks and general stimulation as we couldn’t cope with walking her at all and she was miserable.
3 weeks in residence and a new and much happier dog walked back in through the front door. Our trainer was incredibly patient, understanding and immediately put me at ease as she listened to my seemingly never ending list of problems I was having with Bella and the lines of communication when Bella was away from home was always open for any question or concern I had, no question was too much trouble for to answer, the videos and photos were such a wonderful way for me to feel connected with the process and see that Bella was ok. Anna is very warm and friendly, patient and offers clear and easy to understand techniques and instruction for me to continue at home with Bella and she is also extremely realistic and honest when it comes to expectations and progress. I think having a German Shepherd carries a certain responsibility due to their ’bad’ press and public perception can often be incredibly negative which isn’t helped at all by a noisy German Shepherd and an owner who doesn’t look confident about handling their dog so for me personally I felt it was very important for me to regain my confidence and to appreciate that sometimes Bella may be having a not so good day which isn’t solely about my lack of skill handling her, being made aware of that has impacted greatly on our relationship and my being able to relax has been invaluable. It has been an absolute pleasure to have Anna work with Bella and myself and I will always be thankful that I made that call to Active Canine.
