Testimonials

We were having trouble with our Cavapoo Maple who is now 18 months old. We bought him over lockdown, when it was difficult to go to dog training due to the restrictions. After a particularly nasty ear infection, Maple's behaviour became difficult to manage and we knew we needed help. His guarding of toys and other such items became worse, and he became aggressive when we tried to take them from him. A friend of ours, who was having similar difficulties with her dogs, recommended Amy and we haven't looked back. We have seen such improvement in Maple's behaviour since we started training with Amy. Friends and family have also commented on his improvement. His guarding has improved massively, and he largely seems calmer and is quicker to listen. He loves many of the games and learns quickly. He is always very excited to see Amy, and Amy, herself, is always quick to respond with help whenever we need it. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Amy to anyone who needs help training their dog; she is helpful, professional and offers fantastic training. Worth every penny.

Six months ago, we adopted a two-year-old English Pointer from a rescue centre. We have named him Percy. At the time we were told a little of his history. He was born in Devon and at 8 weeks flown to Malta whereby 10 months later the breeders found him tied to a fence as he was not suitable for hunting. He returned to Devon but was kept in a run with two older and overpowering dogs for the next 14 months of his life. He arrived in our lives with zero confidence and little expectation, and this was demonstrated with neither of us being able to touch him and only one of us being able to put a lead on him. It was also apparent that he did not like the house and once inside he would pace around the kitchen table up to 30 times before he would settle. He became especially anxious about me (Sarah) and took to barking and lunging whenever I entered the kitchen or sitting room. After having Percy for one month we realised that we needed professional help and a Dog Walker friend of ours recommended Amy Lacey. Upon meeting Percy, Amy recognised that he was very traumatised and frightened of everything from noise, movement, confined spaces but most of all the interior of the house and all the accompanying sounds of domestic life. She recommended an intensive 1-2-1 Behaviour and Training Programme that would build Percy’s confidence, and this would be achieved through playing a variety of specially designed games. On each visit Amy arrived armed with lots of different doggy games and tools as well as a plan. The games are all treat based but varied and can involve cardboard boxes, a paddling pool, skittles for dogs as well as plastic cups! Amy encouraged Percy to explore the games using lots of praise, funny voices as well as laughter, all of which Percy adores. Over several months, she has also introduced and showed him all the aspects of living in a household. After each session he is genuinely a much happier and more relaxed dog. It has been a complete revelation to us that this is achieved through playing games, engaging his interest, and making life fun for a dog. We are now at the stage with Percy of him entering the house of his own accord, taking him for walks without being on a lead constantly because his recall is excellent, travelling in the car and generally being relaxed in our company. Amy has provided us with the tools so that if something unexpected occurs his ‘bounce back’ or recovery is almost immediate. We still have a way to go, and we still need Amy to show us the way, but we could not have done it without her. Amy and her training technique are worth her weight in gold.

We adopted Teddy when he was a year old and immediately noticed he had several behavioural issues. For the first year of Teddy’s life, he was kept indoors and as a result he wasn’t used to the big wide world and was very afraid of everything. Our biggest challenge was Teddy’s resource guarding, which was getting increasingly worse over time. We knew we needed help and support – not just for Teddy but also for ourselves. After some research we found Amy from Wild K9s, and it was the best thing we could have done. Amy came to our house to assess Teddy and get a feel for the situation. She helped us understand how dogs’ minds work and how to read Teddy’s body language. Amy developed a personalised plan for Teddy and slowly introduced different games to him which meant the learning became fun for us all. Amy explained how the games would grow Teddy’s confidence and optimism. We also had problems with getting Teddy to eat his food. Again, Amy addressed this with games that he loved. Amy arrived at the house with lots of props for us to use when playing the games and loads of helpful resources and handouts. As time went on you could see that Teddy’s confidence was growing and our confidence also grew as we had a better understanding of why he was behaving the way he was, and we now had the tools to help him. Amy was always on the end of the phone if we needed further advice and support or if we felt we needed an extra session. She is a real animal and people’s person and will make you laugh with some of her weird noises and actions, but it works! Now we are so much more confident, and Teddy knows that he is part of our family. He plays nicely with other dogs, likes to swim in the river and is no longer afraid of the outside world. I can honestly say that Amy has changed our lives in so many ways. We now have become one very happy family and pooch. Thank you, Amy, for all your time and patience and laughs!

We’ve been working with Amy Lacey to help Indy, our pup, with anxiety and fear which had been exacerbated by a few unfriendly encounters out and about. She was very reactive around noises in the house and men. Amy’s approach has been exceptional, using really fun games and emotional intelligence to increase Indy’s confidence and resilience and help Indy develop a more optimistic outlook. Within a few minutes of meeting, Amy had gained Indy’s trust and by the end of a one-hour session they were BFFs. It was remarkable to watch. We still have work to do, but with Amy’s help we have seen some HUGE improvements and changes in Indy, particularly with reactive barking at strangers. As a result of Amy’s help, Indy is happier, more chilled and we have much more fun together. If you have a fur baby and are looking for support, I’d highly recommend Amy.