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.
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
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!
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.
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 😊
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.
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.
Thank you so much Chris, you really have helped to train not only my dog Buddy, but me as well!
Before we met you I had a dog that was pulling on walks, stealing food and had no manners. With your guidance and help I have a dog who is starting to understand the rules, is a lot easier to walk and has stopped stealing food from the table.
We still have a way to go but I can’t thank you enough for steering us in the right direction.
We have a 2yr old springer and it’s been a frustrating 2 yrs trying to make him walk without pulling. Having heard about a local trainer, we booked a course of sessions with DC and Chris introduced a new calming routine for both the dog and us. It was completely different tact from previous trainers had asked us to adopt. Initially we were apprehensive of this calmer approach as our dog is nuts, very excitable and definitely not calm.
However, this new tactic allowed us to immediately be calmer and enjoy the walk and our Baxter was suddenly calmer and when let off lead he wasn’t so hyped up.
Having Chris walk with us he was able to see Baxter’s temperament and gave us home work to practice and apply during walks and at home.
Baxter is so much happier, trusting and more obedient.
We are also so much happier and calmer.
Thanks Chris, it all worked
Dotty,our10month old Border Terrier has become a more obedient and controllable dog with Chris's help.We ourselves have also learnt alot and will continue to work with Chris.
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!
you can say hello below!
and receive a free guide to dog training and ownership
“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.
