About

Welcome to Sapphire K9 solutions. I am a qualified and registered dog behaviourist with over 40 years of experience working with dogs. I had the privilege of being a qualified dog handler for many years. This together with my studies and diploma in K9 behaviour has given me the wealth of knowledge and hands on experience to help dog owners that are having behavioural problems with their much loved  dogs. 

In brief A dog Behaviourist is not a dog trainer although we will have much experience and knowledge of training and are as part of our training fully up to date with modern training methods using positive reward.  A dog trainer is tasked with teaching your dog to follow commands and perform tasks and will have a some knowledge of behaviour problems but they are there to train you how to train your dog. As a behaviourist we have the skills and knowledge to examine the dogs history and back ground and analysis deep routed problem behaviour. Using this diagnostics we can put in place a plan using such tools as counter conditioning ,desensitising  and positive reward to resolve the problem behaviour.  It is true to say that most behaviour problems that exist are our fault as humans so part of the programme is teaching humans how dogs think . Common issues that I deal with are sch things as food aggression, Separation Anxiety, Barrier frustration, Dog aggression, House training, Lack of recall, not travelling in cars , Fear based aggression etc. All of which can be corrected. With this in mind I offer a full range of services,including one to one training, puppy training  and a dog walking service which focuses on correcting unwanted behaviour such as pulling on the lead and dog on dog aggression.  

Why choose Sapphire K9 solutions.

I do not offer a multitude of canine related services such as dog walking, dog training as well as behaviour related problems . 

I only ever use humane positive reward based solutions . I understand just how important and loved your canine companion is to you and all meetings and behaviour work is kept friendly, enjoyable and positive. Each case is treated as if it was my own dog. I understand the frustration some owners experience as well as feeling they have failed when then need to ask for help. In fact asking for help is far from failing it is demonstrating that you are a caring responsible owner.

I also fully understand that although calling in a professional behaviourist costs money it should not be out of reach financially .I do not charge huge amounts and consider myself as very reasonably priced  

Once have made the choice to call , that is the most important step in helping to correct unwanted behaviour as you have taken on board that you need a little help. If a client does not accept and want to be helped  than the whole thing will become counter productive. After an informal chat I will arrange to visit you and your dog at your home where we will spend some time completing a behaviour diagnostics form , this is a very important part of the process as i need a full history of your dog and knowledge of everything surrounding the behaviour , we may then go for a short walk with your dog if needed in order for me to assess the dogs behaviour. By the end of my first visit we will have a programme in place to begin correcting the unwanted behaviour. I offer a full on line or  over the phone support at any time . You will never be left feeling you have been left your own.