See the dog in front of you.
Canine and Family Total Welfare Specialist. Licensed Family Dog Mediator. Twenty five years, and one very destructive great dane.
How this started
My first dog was Max, a great dane crossed with a labrador. Ten months old, gorgeous, and with separation anxiety I had no idea how to handle.
I worked full time in a secretarial job. Most days I came home to something else destroyed. The bannister rails. The chair legs. On one memorable occasion, an entire cupboard.
I had an extraordinary boss who let me bring him into work, and that is genuinely the only reason it worked out.
What stayed with me was everyone else in that position without a boss like mine. How fast the relationship between a person and their dog falls apart when the training is not working. How quickly love turns into guilt, and guilt turns into resentment. And how little the quick fixes actually fix.
Max was the most gentle giant and he adored everyone. He is the reason I stopped looking for techniques and started asking why.
What I learned along the way
I qualified as a dog trainer. That part was straightforward.
Then I learned the thing that changed how I work completely. A dog who is overwhelmed cannot regulate, and a dog who cannot regulate cannot learn. You can run the best training plan in the world at a dog who is not coping, and nothing will stick.
That led me into Family Dog Mediation, which starts somewhere else entirely. Safety, connection, agency, needs, and the whole welfare of the dog in front of you.
Five years at Battersea with rescue dogs taught me the rest.
Who I work with
Busy families. Usually with children. Often with more than one dog. Frequently with other people involved in the dog’s day, whether that is family, a nanny, or a wider team.
Homes where life is full and the dog has to fit into it without becoming an afterthought or a problem.
What matters to me is that your dog lives a connected life with you. Not stressed. Not misunderstood. Needs seen and met, with you supported while you learn how to do it.
What I bring
Over twenty five years working hands on with dogs, in homes, in rescue and in service organisations
Five years at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home with rescue dogs
Licensed Family Dog Mediator, and the only one in the UK with the Total Welfare App, so your dog’s welfare is tracked rather than guessed at
Work with families in the public eye on selection, placement and ongoing training, where discretion matters as much as the dog work
The DIAL Method, a 40 minute video and workbook to help your children understand their dog, and to help you navigate the parenting of them living together successfully
Continued professional development, because this field keeps moving and so should I
What I believe
See the dog in front of you.
Not the breed stereotype. Not the dog you expected. Not the dog on somebody else’s social media.
Yours. As they actually are, with their own genetics, their own history and their own personality.
Parent your dog rather than control them, and almost everything else falls into place.
What people say
“Debbie has gone above and beyond for us, collecting Alfie in the middle of the night when we were having our first child, and voluntarily picking him up on Christmas Day so he would not be on his own while we visited family. She has baby sat and dog sat many times, including when our second child was born. She is part of the family.”
“Debbie is an absolute fountain of knowledge, bursting with passion for her work and genuine love for every dog she meets. I would trust her completely with my dogs any day of the week and would not dream of turning to anyone else.”
“Meeting Debbie completely changed my mindset, and was the missing link I very much needed.”
If any of this sounds like your house, have a conversation with me.
Fifteen minutes, no cost, and no pressure at the end of it.
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