Reviews

It’s difficult to express our immense gratitude to both Ian and Pauline. Our GWP Hugo came to us 2 years ago. His first three years of life spent being moved from pillar to post, various owners, rescue and fostering. His reactiveness was off the scale. Despite being a lovely dog, life with Hugo was restrictive. Although he had full run of the garden and meadow his high prey drive, barking and wild reaction to everything including neighbours dogs was seemingly beyond our control. Local beaches and walks were off limits.

After Ian’s initial assessment he felt 9-10 days would be needed, but with only 5 days of patience, calm, praise and extraordinary skill, Hugo’s world has changed for the better. We misunderstood Hugo’s behaviour. What we thought was potential aggression towards everything, Ian’s observation and assessment revealed a different pattern of a highly scared and anxious dog that couldn’t control his own emotions. Not only did Ian and Pauline work with Hugo, they worked calmly with us also. They taught us and gave us the tools to open up Hugo’s and our world.

We cannot thank them enough. We highly recommend them both and rest assured, you can put your trust in them.

My 7yr old cocker spaniel had boarding and training with Ian and Pauline who both did an amazing job with Reggie as his transformation in recall around distractions, reactivity with other male dogs, focus and discipline after just 5 days were much improved, Very impressive!

Not only did reggie receive amazing positive training throughout, the location was perfect for him, acres of land and a river on the doorstep, he loves a swim!! But also being able to work around and socialise with other dogs too.

Ian and Pauline kept me updated with videos daily of Reggie’s progress which I was very greatful for.

Ian and Pauline took their time at the end of the week to help me to train my dog too. Which was very beneficial.

Reggie will definately be visiting again very soon!

My dog Moka is a 18 months old GSP cross Vizla, she is a very loving and sweet dog but I have been struggling with her prey drive and despite all the obedience and gun dog training it still wasn’t able to safely let

her off the lead as we didn’t have a reliable recall.

We were stuck using the long line everywhere we went. Moka was getting frustrated as she wanted to have a run around and a sniff and I was often stressed as she was either pulling me constantly or if I dropped the long line I would be scanning around waiting for the next squirrel or bird to appear. We had a few instances when Moka went missing in the woods or over a road and it has been so terrifying that I was not prepared to take any changes which meant that we were fully dependent on the long line all the times.

I was recommended Ian to help us with our training and I can say that it has been the most amazing experience for both of us.

As I am based in Derbyshire it was a very long drive there and back to drop Moka off (all in a day and with car issues in between).

Ian was lovely and explained to me how the training would be structured and I was kept updated with videos whilst Moka was there for a few days on her own.

I then went back to the farm and stayed for three days to be trained myself.

The change in Moka was unbelievable, she was focused on me and I was able to walk her on a long line without being pulled but the most amazing achievement was that we were able to walk in a field or cows and sheep on the farm without her even taking notice of them. The following day we had the biggest test for me as we went out in the woods which I have been avoiding for a very long time. Moka’s recall was amazing even if she was busy pointing or following a scent. We also came across a deer which was very close to us and Moka came back when recalled and sat next to me calmly whilst my heart was racing from the experience.

I am so grateful for the help and support I have received in particular from Pauline who was absolutely amazing with Moka and very patient with me.

I had a great stay at the farm and the cottage was so comfortable and cosy. I was sad to leave as we had such an amazing time and I could see that Moka was finally happy and I was getting more relaxed and confident.

Looking forward to practice everything I have learnt and have a lot of amazing adventures with my dog.

We’ve been having weekly training sessions for our six-month-old chocolate Labrador Dougal and couldn’t be happier with the experience.

They’ve given us the training, knowledge and practical tools we need to help Dougal grow into a well-rounded, well-behaved and very well-loved dog. Their approach is friendly, patient and tailored to Dougal’s personality, and it’s been fantastic to see his progress week by week.

The sessions have also given us so much more confidence as owners and helped us understand how to get the best from Dougal as he grows. Ian and Pauline are knowledgeable, supportive and clearly passionate about what they do.

We’d highly recommend them to anyone looking for friendly, effective and supportive dog training. Thank you for helping give Dougal such a great start.

Our week with Ian and Pauline (and Dora our 4 month old WHV) was amazing. So much so that we are going again in a couple of months in order to continue the excellent training they gave Dora. But, more importantly, to ensure that we do not regress with our management of her! And to enjoy another stay in the beautiful Mole Valley with Ian and Pauline. We arrived with an adorable puppy who seemed easy enough to train but had issues with biting and jumping up. Ian soon assessed her as being high drive and to be treated accordingly. We had to learn to be leaders and control freaks not adoring parents. It is still work in progress but we are confident we will succeed especially with the support Ian is continuing to give us. We cannot thank Ian enough

Ian is absolutely brilliant – we first met him when he lived up north and we did some 121 training with our bold, demanding lovable rogue Wilf – a teckel with a big personality but high prey high drive and reactivity around other dogs. We did several morning sessions in the field with Ian where he trained both of us – Wilf absolutely loved it and both of us were knackered after each session! Ian is very knowledgable and gives very practical advise – If you have any behavioural issues with your dog – I 100% recommend you seek out Ian. This summer both our dogs also boarded with Ian at his farm in South Molton – they had amazing time – they will be back next summer!

Second visit to Ian with our 2 year old GWP ‘Dave’. The first visit had been a very steep learning curve and we were pretty happy with Dave. Just looking to strengthen and improve

Well thats what I thought. Very quickly it was obvious Dave could be hugely better ! .

Cannot believe how much we covered learnt and took away the second time. More intense but more rewarding. Retrieving dummies off lead in a field of sheep and cows was an incredible way to finish.

Ian (&Pauline) really are a different level The whole experience for dog and owner is a joy

We spent 4 days with Ian and Pauline and it was a life changing experience. Our English Setter rescue, Lucy was frightened of everything and, whilst not reactive with dogs, would bark at pretty much anything else, police sirens, children playing etc. We struggled to walk her at all for the first 5 months we had her, so walking her off lead seemed like an impossible dream. Ian had her off lead by day 2 and we have continued his good work since we arrived home 5 days ago. Lucy is now walking perfectly off lead through woodland full of deer, and always, always comes back to us. We cannot recommend Ian’s common sense, gentle method of training enough, ably assisted by the wonderful Pauline. Very grateful we found Anvilstone!

I have just come back from a week at Anvilstone with my 4 year old rescue GWP that i have had for 7 months. I arrived with a dog that was reactive to other dogs ( i now know he is anxious and nervous) wanting and had escaped from the garden over a 6ft fence and had never been off the lead on a walk as he would chase anything and not come back. Thanks to the amazing Pauline and Ian i now have a dog that is off the lead every walk comes when asked and is relaxed in the garden. He can still react to other dogs but i now know how to deal with it. Their training is always very calm with lots of positive re- enforcement (take plenty of treats with you. We got through a LOT of sausages) I cannot recommend them highly enough it was worth every penny.

My 18 month old Labrador x Chesapeake, Barkley, had become very reactive to other dogs and simply wouldn’t listen to any commands so any attempt at training was futile. Letting him off the lead was unthinkable and I had tried every harness and lead to stop him pulling – of course, all had failed. He also jumped at us which we thought was a “greeting” – we now know it wasn’t. I was at my wits end.

The Anvilstone method will restore your dog’s factory settings and download the latest software, with bug fixes! Ian explained that, as a cross-breed, he had the drive of both breeds in his DNA and was also another dog who thought he was the leader and needed to be re-educated.

As stated in the other reviews, within minutes, and with seemingly no effort, Ian had Barkley under control and able to be close to his dogs without reacting. By day 3 we were in the woods inhabited by deer, squirrels, badgers and foxes, off lead and relaxed. Pauline’s reassurance throughout was invaluable.

Five days with Ian and Pauline and I have a chilled relaxed dog who I can confidently walk by myself, calmly (both of us!) and without pulling (him!), and I can let him off the lead knowing he will come back – even near water!

Ian and Pauline have given me the tools and the confidence to deal with any situation so we can live our best life and I couldn’t be happier!

I simply cannot recommend this enough and I’m only giving 5 stars because I can’t give more!