Dog Citizen

Chris is very knowledgeable, kind and patient with owners who are not well-trained. He only uses positive techniques which enhance an owners relationship with their dog. My dog is reactive and Chris taught me strategies to implement. It does take months, but once a few sessions with Chris are done, you have the tools to keep working on the issue.

I contacted Chris when i needed some help with my 12 month puppy who was reacting to situations where she felt overwhelmed. He took time to get to know us and understand what the triggers were. Chris came on walks with us and gave me tips and training to do. Everything was followed up after our sessions with a written update and training videos . I feel I now have a much calmer dog who is learning to deal with life and to start to enjoy new experiences rather than react to them in the only way she thought was appropriate. Chris also provided feedback and help in between our training sessions when needed. . I would definitely recommend Chris and Dog Citizen

Chris has made such a positive difference to our family. Our rescue Westie was so reactive to other dogs it was always a worry walking him. Chris’s knowledge and calm manner have helped tremendously with training both Ralfy and me. Walks are now much more pleasurable and though we still have work to do we are able to enjoy our time out together more. I would not hesitate to recommend Chris, his kind and easy to follow training methods have forged a stronger bond between myself and my dog.

I urge anyone whose dog needs any kind of training to use Chris. My 2 year old labrador pulled so much every time we went a walk that my arms were about 8 feet long! Chris sorted that out within our first lesson before working on Recall. Chris's lessons are always fun and he provides so many useful strategies that, for the first time ever despite previous training, we feel we actually know what we are doing! His training really works.

Chris gave us great advice & strategies to overcome some issues we were suddenly having with our dog. Walks have become an enjoyable experience for us all again! Would highly recommend

After 4 sessions with Chris for my anxious dog, I can already see a lot of difference. She no longer pulls on her lead anywhere near as much, and we’ve learned how to control where her limits are and what to do in a number of situations. Thanks!

Chris is the Dog Whisperer! We couldn’t rate Chris more highly. From the very beginning, he approached training with incredible care and professionalism—starting not just with our dog Ernie, but with us as owners. He took the time to go back to basics, helping us understand Ernie’s behaviour and how to build a strong foundation for change. Each week, Chris followed up our sessions with detailed write-ups that explained the reasoning behind Ernie’s actions and gave us step-by-step guidance to gradually correct them. His insights were always clear, thoughtful, and tailored to Ernie’s needs. Chris has had a huge positive effect—not only on Ernie’s behaviour but on our confidence as dog owners. He really is the best at what he does, and such a genuinely lovely person. Ernie absolutely adores him, and we think he’s pretty fab too!

Chris was brilliant for us. Helped develop a strategy which was tailored for our dog and gave us a really helpful program to follow. Gave a lot of time to support us and was extremely personable. Would recommend 100%

Chris has been fantastic with helping us train our golden retriever puppy. We started with Chris shortly after bringing her home and it has been pivotal in bringing her up the right way. Chris is super nice, helping and patient. He is always on hand to give advice and answer any questions even after we finished the training. Chris also travelled out the usual area he cover just for us, which was greatly appreciated. We would highly recommend Chris to anyone looking to train their dog.

Great working with Chris, not only teaching my dog, but teaching me. Friendly confident manner, very much at one with my dog, nice to see results as we continue our journey

I recently had the pleasure of working with Chris, and it was brilliant. From the very first session, it was clear that he has a great understanding of dog behaviour and a natural talent for connecting with dogs. Chris took the time to assess my dog’s needs and created a personalised training plan that was both effective and easy to follow for our family including our 5 year old son. What I appreciated most was the positive reinforcement techniques he used, which made my dog feel comfortable and motivated to learn. Chris was patient, kind, and always willing to answer my questions. He made the training sessions enjoyable, informative and I saw remarkable progress in just a few sessions and we have learnt the skills to take forward as our furry tornado grows. I highly recommend Chris to anyone looking for a knowledgeable, compassionate, and effective dog trainer. The results speak for themselves!

Chris came to help us with some issues we were having with our spaniel. He chatted with all of us so see how best he would be able to advise us. He asked that we be honest with him, no judgement. He made a real fuss of our dog and took time getting to know him and us. Chris came up with several "exercises" for each of us to practice with our spaniel he also spent some time alone with him. He was very patient and softly spoken with our dog and we could hear lots of encouragement and well dones. Chris came several times to follow up and suggested other things to help. We continue to use the techniques that Chris taught us to keep our pup engaged. Chris is a lovely person with an obvious love for his job and especially his pupils, the woofing type. I would not hesitate to suggest contacting Chris if you need help with your dog's behaviour. We now have a spaniel that is so much better behaved most of the time on the odd occasion he needs reminding it's almost like he is testing us.

Chris is very knowledgeable, kind and has been such a help to us with your new puppy. I can’t recommend him enough. We will definitely use him again in the future for any other issues we encounter.

Chris is a fantastic trainer - really welcoming, totally understanding, patient and absolutely thorough with his training methods from first observation to writing up detailed guidance for ongoing support. I have a 3yo fear aggressive rescue, I booked 3 lessons and Chris brought it back to basics from understanding behaviour to obedience and so on, showing how positive training methods can work, making walks a lot more pleasant, especially if you cook little burger treats (recipe courtesy of Dog Citizen website alongside many other great blogs to read!). By implementing Chris’s guidance and over time ensuring consistency, I continually see progress not only for my dog but my handling too. Highly recommend, thank you!

I've been having training sessions with Chris with my young springer spaniel. My dog was pulling and lunging on the lead, which made walks quite hard going. His recall had also gone downhill as he got older and with so many exciting distractions going on. Chris came out with us on walks for the training and explained everything to me clearly and showed me what to do to improve things. He followed up the training sessions with a comprehensive summary with recommendations and things to practice. Recall is so much better now and lead walking is definitely improving all the time with practice. I feel much more confident with knowing how to deal with things. Chris is very knowledgeable, kind, understanding and patient. He obviously has a natural empathy with dogs and my dog was always very excited to see him! Thank you Chris from both of us 😊

Chris was absolutely amazing. He gave me all the tools I needed to make a fantastic improvement to our newly acquired and ‘re-homed’ spaniel. He totally understands dogs and their motivators and he translated this in a way which enabled us to really engage and improve our dog’s behaviour. I would hugely recommend him to anyone thinking of training their dog.

I asked Chris for help with my adult, but fearful and reactive, English Springer Spaniel back in July. Walkies was not a pleasant experience for myself or my dog! Well, it’s the best thing I could have done! We had a meet and greet to begin with, followed up with a detailed programme that Chris tailored around my dog’s specific training needs. I didn’t hesitate in booking my sessions straight away. Chris taught me all the things I should be doing, and also what I should NOT be doing, to help my dog, and to better understand his behaviour. Chris covered everything by going back to the basics of loose lead walking, through to my dog’s fearfulness and reactivity. Chris taught me about the underlying causes of my dog’s behaviour, and how to deal with it, and manage it effectively. There is no miracle cure, but now, with the right training from Chris, I can see light at the end of the tunnel. Unlike some trainers, it was so good to have Chris actually accompany me out on walks, where he could see what problems I was experiencing, first hand. Every session was followed up with written summaries and tasks to practice. Chris welcomed updates between sessions to ensure everything was going well before our next lesson. Chris is calm, trustworthy, very professional and reliable. He is very quick to respond to messages and any concerns. Overall, extremely likeable, caring and helpful. Our programme has now completed, and my training continues. Practice is key. Chris genuinely cares about the work he does and continues to welcome future updates on our progress. I couldn’t recommend Chris highly enough and if I still experience difficulties, he’s the ONLY trainer I will be booking again. It’s been a pleasure working with you and we’ll keep you posted, Chris! Thank you from Kym and Vinny 🐾🐾

We contacted Chris to see what could be done about our schnauzer/poodle cross, Ruby. She had developed a dreadful habit of barking and growling aggressively at other dogs when she encountered them. We were concerned that at the age of 3 it might be a bit late in the day to be looking at training it out of her. However, Chris very quickly explained what he felt were the issues and how we should go about resolving them. The training included a lot of focus on where we were going wrong and what we, the owners, needed to do to help the situation. Each lesson with Chris was a great learning experience and it was helped by him sending us notes afterwards to outline what had been discussed at each lesson. We are now in a position where Ruby is really enjoying the company of other dogs without displaying any unwanted behaviour. It's made walking her so much enjoyable, as previously it had become a real nuisance to be constantly apologising for her.

We’ve had three training sessions with Chris, and it’s been absolutely brilliant! I’d highly recommend Chris to anyone wanting to train their dog! He is so calm and reassuring and has such a lovely manner with the dogs. We’ve worked on jumping up, recall, basic obedience, and Nala has made huge improvements in all of these areas. It’s been so good to get a basic understanding of what works and how to be consistent with it all to ensure Nala understands. I’ll continue working on the things Chris has taught me and all being well, I’ll have a very well behaved dog!! Thank you Chris for your kindness and patience throughout.

Chris was great helping us with our training of our 2 year old Labrador- great hints and tips and excellent follow up. To be fair our lovely dog needed less help than us !! I would definitely recommend Chris to anyone needing advice and help turning their dog into a good dog citizen Thank you 😊

Chris is kind and understanding with both humans and dogs 🐶, he worked with me and my complex little Patterdale to work towards overcoming extreme reactions to dogs and people and has shown me how to encourage calmer responses and build a stronger trust bond with my dog. We have made great progress since our sessions with Chris. Highly recommend

Chris did a fantastic job with my rescue cocker spaniel, Lottie. After a traumatic start to her life, she developed an intense fear of men which resulted in unwanted barking and growling. Chris was calm, understanding and built a good relationship with her in only 4 sessions. Lottie was also a strong lead puller and had no recall. Chris was so patient in training both Lottie and myself. Chris has given me the tools and understanding of canine behaviour I need in order to continue with Lottie's training independently. I feel like he's given me my dog back. I can't thank him enough.

I can't recommend Chris from Dog Citizen highly enough. I thought I knew how to train a dog until I met him! The training is fun and it works! Highly recommended.

Chris helped us with Maggie, a cocker spaniel.It unsurprisingly turned out we needed as much training as our puppy. Brilliant advise and excellent results. Thank you Chris.