I am a dog trainer who comes to you. I provide bespoke 1-2-1 dog behaviour and manners training, serving North Shropshire and borders.
I aspire to strengthen your bond with your dog, enriching your life together
Let’s start something special!
I love dogs. I am a dog trainer who understands canine thinking and behaviour as well as your needs. You, your dog and your situation are always unique. Together, we can meet any challenge and improve your quality of life.
“Chris is very good with dogs and people. He is kind, caring and has a natural calmness about him.”
Ann P.
I come to your home for 1-2-1 dog training. We start with real life! And we start together, as training is all about your interaction with your dog. And we start with low distractions, gradually building these as our training progresses.
I founded Dog Citizen® as an independent family business. I am community spirited, supporting our local and wider dog community whenever I can. I am not franchised and do not work to a formula. Your dog is an individual so all my training programmes are bespoke.
I also offer a premium occasional dog walking and drop-in service around Whitchurch, Shropshire. As a dog trainer I know how to keep your dog safe, engaged and happy. I am insured and first aid trained. If you need a trustworthy, reliable professional dog walker for ad hoc or weekly walks, we can start something special together.
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.
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
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.
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’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 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
Can’t recommend Chris enough. Most professional and on-the-ball trainer we’ve had, and we saw great results immediately. Highly recommend to anyone looking to have a training sessions or at home visits.
We called Chris after Monty, our Bernese Mountain Dog, chased one too many dogs through the park with absolutely no recall. Being a large breed other dogs (and their owners) would be intimidated by our dope of a dog. It made walks stressful and frustrating.
We hoped after some training we could get him under control. What we didn't expect was the training would transcend obedience into building a stronger relationship with Monty that is fulfilling for us and for Monty.
Chris took the time to learn about Monty and adapted his program to allow for his size, his low food drive, and his elbow elbow dysplasia. Each week we would practice by doing, reverting back to basics and slowly building up.
If you're thinking of training I would just say this one thing: You will get back 10x what you put in. Chris gave us the keys but we have to take the wheel and put the miles in to get the returns. He's really training you, not the dog.
Today Monty is well on his way to being a well behaved dog, walks are much less stressful and much more enjoyable. We're working towards him being a therapy dog so he can bring joy into the lives of others like he has to us.
Chris has been working with myself, my husband and our wonderful teenage Bernese mountain dog. Chris has helped us so much in just 5 sessions, but we are eager to do even more with him to make our dog even better. Chris is patient, calm, professional and very knowledgeable. He came to meet us to chat through things before we started working together. He worked with us, training us in our dogs usual environments and walks. Our dog loved him straight away and we all really trust his advice. We are perfecting his recall and lead walking and as a teenager this can be difficult. Things have improved so much and we've even had successful recall!
Thanks so much for everything Chris and looking forward to continuing the great work.
I am writing this on behalf of my mum and Dolly.
Chris has worked with mum and Dolly to help them understand how to work together to train the both of them in a way thats fun for all.
Dolly has learnt the important skills of recall and stay, along with sitting before crossing the road and most importantly not to pull when on the lead.
Dog School has been an education for the whole family and Chris has been an encouraging and patient teacher. The lesson reminder leaflets are great for looking back on too.
Thank you for all your hard work.
Latest News
august 2025
We were delighted to be the joint sponsor of the Dog Show at the Countess of Warwick Show this summer.
july 2024
We shared the force-free dog training message at a fundraiser for East Anglia Air Ambulance!
Have a question? I would love to hear from you!
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“The Dog Citizen® Way”
covering what is force-free training ~ how dogs think ~ why dogs bark and pull ~ dogs and toddlers ~ toilet training and more…
Dog Citizen is coming to north Shropshire soon!
Dog Citizen offers bespoke one-to-one dog training, in person and online.
I have just moved to the area and will be re-launching Dog Citizen later this summer, when I will be taking on new clients. You can still message me and register your interest using the form below.
