That’s possibly the boldest heading I’ve ever written but, it’s with good reason.
I’ve dedicated the last 17 Years of my life to improving the lives of dogs and people around the world and on that journey, I’ve helped more dogs and owners who were struggling to get real and lasting success than any other dog trainer.
I’ve always found that it’s not until you realise how little you know that you can begin to make a real difference and that’s certainly been the case when it came to developing a dog training service which would get ANYBODY, with ANY DOG, with ANY PROBLEM unbelievable results in record time.
I believe we stand head and shoulders above all other trainers because of some very unique insights that we have had. Some happened completely by mistake, others happened by careful planning. All of them have been integral to our success.
The journey started with learning how to train my own difficult and highly reactive dog.
Then I started to help others do the same for free when I saw them struggling on the street. Next, I began charging a very small fee to help people, then I started a residential training service.
After Five or Six Years of the above, I decided it was time to take the plunge and start offering consultations. Up until that point, I wasn’t really happy to charge somebody unless I could get them the same results as I could get in the same amount of time it would take me.
I learned more than I could ever imagine when we started doing consultations. The demand for our money back and results guaranteed sessions was so high, I was training three owners a day, for three hours at a time nearly 7 Days a week. It was exhausting.
There were also issues with the consultations. Whilst they were great, they didn’t work quite as well as I thought they could. The problems weren’t occurring when the client was with me, but rather when they got home.
The owners either wouldn’t bother keeping up the training or they’d forget what they had learnt. I believe this is something that all trainers suffer with but, I wanted to make sure we weren’t going to carry on that way.
I needed to come up with something else, something that worked better and faster.
Here were the things I needed to resolve
Not all dogs would perform at WKD as they would at home –
It’s almost impossible to know if you’ve solved an issue unless the dog displayed the issue in the first place during the training session. Not all dogs will perform in a strange environment how they would in a familiar one. If you’ve ever taken your dog to a trainer and it’s been immediately well behaved, this is why!
We needed a way to ensure we were training the dog in it’s usual state of mind rather than behaving in a suppressed manner because it was in a new place
Not all issues could be resolved away from the clients home –
Whilst our consultations typically deal with on lead reactivity issues, most owners have other issues at their own home such as stealing food, mouthing, separation anxiety and guarding the home or jumping on visitors. These issues are environment related and can’t be solved anywhere other than in the owner’s home.
Clients only retain a small amount of what they are taught –
During a consultation, we cover lots of subjects, both in theory and in practice. Typically, the bits of training that make the most difference happen at the start of the session but the clients remember the bits that happen at the end. SImply put, solving reactivity for example is done by first getting a very high level of attention on the handler. Once you have this, you can begin dealing with the reactivity itself. Unfortunately, because of the way it works, that’s the last bit we do in a consultation, the client forgets the techniques that got them there in the first place and it all falls apart.
Most Dog owners don’t want to be dog trainers
I love training dogs and as a result, I train my dogs all the time I’m with them and I’m with them at any opportunity.
Most owners want to get the result and then enjoy their dog rather than keep on training. This in itself is a huge problem. The smallest slip in handling technique or reverting to previous handling errors destroys all the good work done under a trainer’s guidance.
In order to be successful, the handler must retain what they learnt, not revert to previous handling and maintain their dogs training in an efficient manner.
If dog training was simple, you wouldn’t even be reading this page.
I’m not sure what you’ve been trying so far but I imagine it’s based around distracting your dog with food or toys, trying to increase how interested you dog is in you instead of distractions and teaching commands like ‘watch me’ mixed with standard obedience such as sit and stay/wait.
If you’ve read this far down the page though, I have no doubt in my mind that you aren’t getting the results you are looking for from what you’ve been doing so far.
Dog training really isn’t as simple as people make out. That’s why you’re struggling. It is easy though, especially when you have an approach which mitigates the multiple issues above.
That’s why so many people see different trainers, even sending their dogs away for prolonged periods of residential training but don’t get anywhere.
Most trainers don’t have the depth of experience to realise how lacking their services are.
We only found out because we always put ourselves in a position to get real feedback and then tweak what we do based on what our clients tell us.
For example, when you charge what many would consider a relatively large amount of money for a service, your clients tell you when they aren’t happy.
Most trainers though are charging lesser fees and as a result, they never find out. Their clients simply disappear when it doesn’t work for them without complaining because it isn’t worth the hassle.
So, what was my thought process when it came to solving the above issues?
I needed to develop a training service which allowed people to train their dogs in the state of mind which was causing them issues, this couldn’t always be done at WKD.
I needed to ensure we could deal with behaviours that occurred in the client’s environment or home but at the same time, be able to help people from all over the country and later the World.
I needed to drastically improve client knowledge/skill retention or allow them to recap their lessons on a regular basis. Or even better, do both.
I needed to make the training as fast, easy and efficient as possible and use an approach which lasted whilst also being able to let the client enjoy their dog but prompt them to top up their dogs training as and when it was needed.
After much deliberating, brainstorming, many failed attempts and much heart ache, I decided there was only one thing for it.
I was going to have to embark on a journey to solve my biggest problem to date. I was going to have to find a way to develop an online training platform which gave owners infinitely better results than they could get face to face elsewhere, faster than anything else on offer, which would allow them to re-watch short and convenient lessons just before a training session and remind them when they started to slip.
I’d also need to give them full trainer support so, if and when they hit a problem, which some inevitably would, we could tailor our lessons and advice to suit them and their dog as individuals.
I’m over the moon to announce that we have achieved it. On a level that far surpasses my wildest dreams.
To date we have tens of thousands of active users all who are living a drastically improved life with their dogs. They all have two things in common.
- They joined because what they were currently doing wasn’t working and 2. None of them ever believed me when I said that online training would work!
We also still offer, across all our services, our full money back guarantee. If you follow our approach and it doesn’t work, you don’t pay!
. How’s that for a show of our confidence in what we have created?!
Read on to find out exactly how this revolutionary training solution works and how you and your dog could be living the life you dream of in record time just as soon as you decide to take action!
Designed in a linear manner
Like with anything that is complex, approaching the task in the right order leads to success. If you don’t have the correct foundations your house will fall down.
Likewise, if your training isn’t built upon the correct understanding then you won’t see the results which are possible.
It’s human nature to want instant gratification, the problem is, it means that people skip the important bits.
When working with a client face to face, the client’s goal may be to stop reactivity or teach a solid recall for example. My goal is to teach them and their dog all of the skills required in a simple and efficient manner. If you don’t get the first part right, the last part won’t be correct either.
In order to get exactly the same results with a client anywhere in the World our solution must ensure that each step is completed effectively before you move on to the next step.
For this reason, at various points in our lessons and courses we have installed barriers which don’t allow you to progress to the next stage until we have first checked that you and your dog are the best you can be at the step before it. This replicates exactly what we would do in person.
For example, if you are looking to solve your dog’s on lead reactivity issues, the first thing you need to do is get your dog paying a high level of attention and walking very well when there are no distractions. We check this by asking for a short assignment video of you performing the lessons for around 60 seconds with your phone propped up somewhere and you working in front of it (no need for somebody to help).
We then check your assignment video and either approve you to move on to the reactivity lessons or we tweak your approach further with a number of short and easy to understand videos.
Once you have the attention on lead, you are ready to move on to the reactivity lessons and the process begins again.
Before you can do any of this though, you need to understand how your dog learns, why it does what it does, how to change the motivation (even if your dog doesn’t like treats or toys) and how to become a very good handler/trainer very quickly.
To get you great, you must first complete our foundation course. This is where we share, through 6 short and easy to understand videos, exactly how to hack your dog training ability so you can perform as well as us, very quickly.
So, using reactivity as an example (we cover all problems with different courses) your journey would look like this;
Foundation course – Pulling on lead course – Reactivity course
Access anytime, anywhere
I said above that one of the biggest barriers to success is that owners don’t retain the majority of what they learn in a face to face training situation. Unless they are doing things correctly, they will never achieve or maintain their dogs behaviour over the long term.
Even if you saw me every day, unless you then put everything into practice at home in the same way I had shown you, you wouldn’t be successful.
The beauty of our online solution is that at any point, no matter where you are or what device you are using, just before you go out with your dog, you can recap on exactly what you need to be doing by watching a short and simple 4-5 minute video at any time, 24 Hours a day.
It’s literally like having a permanent trainer there to assist you but without the extortionate amount of financial investment that would require.
Short, simple, easy to understand reminders which keep you on track, your dog performing well and allow you to move on or take a step back at any time, safe in the knowledge you are doing it right.
Full trainer support
Dogs, owners and the issues they face are individual to each and every partnership. Whilst we have found that there are many commonalities between dogs and owners which has allowed us to give 90% of clients success without ever needing our help there are obviously times when a more tailored approach is required.
It could be to tweak your handling or it could be to change the approach because of how your dog is responding. It could be for something completely unrelated to the courses you are working on but something you need an answer to. Whatever it is, we have you covered with our full trainer support.
When I was doing all of those consultations, whilst I tried my best, there was no way that I could give each and every client specific, tailored advice in a timely manner. In fact, any dog trainer worth their salt will be so busy that they don’t have the time to help you immediately as and when you need it.
To solve this issue, I decided to go all out and offer full trainer support, either by message, email or live chat 18 Hours a day, 7 Days a week.
I’m extremely fortunate to have a team of 17 dedicated and skilled staff who have worked with me for long enough to answer questions in exactly the same way that I would. It allows us, collectively, to help thousands of dogs and owners a month.
With a library of videos, articles, examples and skilled knowledge, our training support team are ready and waiting to assist you as and whenever you need it with any issue you are experiencing.
Complementary courses
Most owners are looking for the answer to a specific problem.
For example, most owners I see face to face are dealing with reactivity issues.
In almost all cases though, there are other things going on which need resolving in order to move forward with the main problem.
If you are dealing with reactivity outside of the home, there is a high probability that you are struggling with reactivity in the home towards guests also. You could also be dealing with separation anxiety or over attachment issues which means your dog feels the need to protect you.
There is a limit to how much can be covered in a face to face training session. If you see me for Three hours we are likely to get your reactivity sorted but can’t even start looking at other issues.
With the online platform, you can access all of the courses and lessons you need to at any time so as you begin working on reactivity, you can also check out the separation anxiety and in house reactivity courses.
Or we may advise you to work through a particular problem by having a look at a specific lesson in our puppy course.
What I’m really saying is, with hours of lessons, across multiple subjects our online clients gain access to everything I know or could ever explain face to face at their disposal whenever the need may arise.
I can’t even begin to imagine what I would have to charge to impart the knowledge contained within our online platform to you on an individual basis.
In fact, I don’t think you or I would have the time to make it happen even if the cost was agreeable. Being shown something once face to face cannot, in any way be compared to having access to the exact same information, on a video and in written text available to you each and every time you are going to train your dog.
This is where our online platform really outperforms any face to face training you could access.
It amazes me, how, through watching training videos, I’ve realised how much I forget to share during a face to face session. When our time together is limited and you want a specific result in a certain amount of time, that is where my focus goes.
Getting you the result you are paying for – I’m not going to spend time explaining the relevance of great timing in a specific exercise when we need to focus on teaching your dog to pay attention to you.
The online platform has allowed me and my team to study each and every minute detail, get feedback from tens of thousands of clients, tweak our approach to suit the majority and know exactly what to advise when you and your dog require something different.
There is also one thing I didn’t realise it would do, but it does so very well.
It allows me to share my knowledge, demonstrate exactly what you should do, allows me see your training in many more environments than I ever could face to face and most importantly, it means I don’t forget anything that’s important.
When you’ve been training dogs for 17 years and have transformed so many lives, it’s easy to forget everything you know. As with anything, the more we learn, the more likely we are to stop sharing things that we discovered years ago. In terms of face to face training this is a real risk but, with online training, we will never forget and you will never miss out. It’s all there, on video, in exactly the way I described it.
Now though, as we develop, we can add to it, tweak it, enhance it all for your benefit.
There are still reasons why a client may think that face to face training is the best way forward and some of them are valid however, because of the way we have developed our money back guaranteed offerings you can get the best of both Worlds.
We suggest that everybody starts with the online platform
Even if you are going to get together with me, one of my staff or another trainer from elsewhere, the further on you are with the basics when you arrive, the more time they/we will be able to spend actually dealing with your issue.
For example, if you are struggling with reactivity inside the home there are some really quick fixes that work for most owners and dogs.
There is absolutely no need to see a trainer face to face because using the online training ‘In the home reactivity’ course will almost certainly solve your issue.
For those it doesn’t work for, the next step involves teaching your dog how to go to a bed. If you can’t control your dogs position in your home you can’t even start working on in house reactivity. Teaching your dog to go to bed is also on the online platform. Once you’ve done that, solving the actual reactivity is easy.
If you didn’t have access to the online platform and just came to see me, on the first session together, I would show you how to teach your dog to go to bed when you asked and then I’d send you home to practice.
The second time I saw you, once you had practiced going to bed, we could then start working on the actual reactivity.
If you were an online member before coming to see me, the first time I saw you we could work on the in home reactivity because you would have already taught your dog to go to bed when asked. This approach not only gives you the chance to solve your issue in a much more cost effective manner but it also reduces the total amount of time you need to pay me for in person training. It’s a win win for you.
The same is true for on lead reactivity. My most successful consultations arrive with a dog who is already paying a high level of attention to them after working through our pulling/attention on lead course within the online platform. When they get to me, we have the whole session to focus on the reactivity.
If they came to me having not done some online training first, the majority of the time we spent together would be teaching their dog to pay a high level of attention and walk well with no distractions and only a small percentage would be spent actually on reactivity issues.
So many owners solve their reactivity using just the online platform and trainer support that to not give it a go, at least for a couple of weeks is financially very wasteful.
But you don’t want to pay twice?
It’s understandable that you’re concerned that if you buy the online and it doesn’t work for you then you’ve got to pay even more to see a trainer face to face?
Not with WKD you don’t. All of our training services come with a full money back guarantee. If you try the online training first and have given it a good go, decide you still need face to face training, we will deduct the investment you made for the online training in full from your face to face fee.
There really isn’t anything to lose but everything to gain from first trying our online platform.
For all of the reasons listed above it’s the best, most well proven, owner reviewed route to success.
We aren’t suggesting it to take advantage, we are suggesting it because it’s been built, developed and enhanced to give you the quickest, cheapest, most supported route to success.