Dog training and behaviour in and around Winchester

Karen has been fantastic in helping us to work on some changes on Loki’s behaviour after he reached 1 year old. He began barking and lunging at every dog we would see on a walk and then this soon turned into the same for every car also! Karen’s approach helped us to use positive techniques which he quickly picked up and working with her also helped us to rebuild our confidence in being out with him. Loki has improved and we continue to work with him each day to build on what we have learnt. We also know that we can call upon Karen in the future at any time and would definitely do this if more issues arise. We found Karen when witnessing her working with other dogs whilst on a walk at Hursley park ourselves and a quick search onto her website was very impressive and Karen did not fail to live up to this. Thank you for all of your help once again!

We first contacted Karen 2 years ago to get some guidance from her for some issues that had arisen when we introduced a new Border Terrier puppy to our 11 year old Border Terrier. The advice she gave then was such a brilliant help that we approached her again without hesitation to seek her support with our younger Border Terrier, Phoebe, who had become increasingly lead-reactive when meeting other dogs. This was making the family very stressed and everyone had a different way of dealing with the situation, which we were sure wasn't helping. Karen's approach is wonderful, she has such empathy and understands dogs (and their owners) like no other! She was calm, caring and reassuring during all our sessions, providing clear, practical advice that was really easy for us to implement as Phoebe loves the mental stimulation and the training felt like play-time to her. Karen explained to us how to recognise a dog's body language and anticipate how Phoebe might react to certain situations, enabling us to decide which distraction method to use. We've also worked hard on improving Phoebe's recall and even introduced whistle training. We are now confident that we have a wide variety of positive reinforcement tools that the whole family can use consistently and that are a real game-changer when it comes to dealing with Phoebe's reactivity. I cannot recommend her highly enough - thank you, Karen!

Karen speaks dog like no one else I've met. She really helped me to understand my rescued scent hound, now we work together cohesively as a team. Her methods are easy to follow and she delivers training in piecemeal, easy to understand steps. A huge thank you to Karen from team Pluto

We first got in contact with Karen after needing some help with our puppy working Spaniel specifically, loose lead walking, recall in certain environments and how to have fun using the normal Spaniel instincts. Karen’s help and advice has been priceless for us and we’re definitely going to be booking another set of sessions going forward! Couldn’t recommend highly enough!

Karen has been an amazing support to us in learning how to build a good relationship with our new puppy, our first family dog. She is very positive and friendly, but clear and practical with the advice she gives. Our puppy Olive absolutely adores her sessions because she shows us how to make training into a wonderful game! We feel far more confident in handling and training Olive, and it is a huge boost knowing that Karen will be there to answer our questions carefully and thoroughly, however silly they are! Thank you Karen and looking forward to working with you on adolescent and pet gundog training!

Working with Karen has been genuinely life changing for my partner and I, and our 9-month-old Corgi puppy Brock. When we started working with Karen, Brock was 6 months, and had just had a major operation on his stomach. This meant that, on top of his adolescence kicking in, he had developed some worries around being picked up, and we'd had some really challenging moments. We were all blown away by Karen's positivity, and how positive we immediately felt about the job we were doing with Brock. Her knowledge of specific breeds is incredible, and we were quickly able to bring the best out of Brock by engaging his herding instinct and stimulating his brain. When we work with Karen, it's somewhere between an amazing, fun and engaging learning experience for Brock, and a really support driven therapy session for us. We always come away feeling positive and enthused. We couldn’t recommend Karen highly enough. We’re really proud of Brock and how far he’s come, and we hope to continue our sessions with Karen long into the future.

Otis & I attended Karen's Happy Gundog Training and had a great time! Otis struggled with keeping his attention on me during walks, his recall and his excitement reactivity towards dogs. Karen provided all the tools to help us work on these areas plus additional fun games and tricks to teach Otis to help work on his engagement overall. His recall improved straight away and is continuing to get better every single day, as is his reactivity. We work on Otis every single walk and continue to practice the different tools Karen has given us.

Without Karen I’m not sure our first year with Buddy the energetic show cocker would have been so fun or manageable. Buddy’s very first time exploring outside was to see Karen for a training session, and he’s as excited to see her now as he was then! We started with puppy training learning lots of invaluable training exercises, which we are reaping the benefits of now such as walking on and off lead. One of the key things we continue to learn is how to understand Buddy’s body language to ensure he is comfortable in various situations from at home to being out and about and meeting other dogs. We loved the puppy training so much we continued on with pet gundog and scent detection sessions all of which Buddy has loved and these skills have become part of our daily routine. Karen is so knowledgable, has such a lovely training style and really cares about each individual dog - we couldn’t recommend her enough. We’re not sure who loves the training sessions more, us or Buddy!

Initially I booked a group of pet gundog training sessions to do something fun with our first rescue dog, Spike, but these sessions quickly turned into so much more including improving eye contact during walks, learning an emergency stop, general proofing of cues, a reliable "this way", food motivation, behaviour modification for alert barking and even scentwork with Iris whom we adopted during the course of these sessions. Spike and Iris had so much fun during their individual sessions eagerly returning to my side to learn more whilst Karen provided clear and detailed instructions via Zoom. As Karen & I live on opposite sides of the UK I'm so grateful that Zoom was possible and I can confirm training absolutely works via Zoom! When we fostered Iris, I discussed her prey drive with Karen and by exchanging videos she started looking at underlying reasons and explained the emotions that Iris was experiencing in certain environments. Karen came up with a plan of action which contributed to us adopting Iris a few months later. Throughout the last few months I've found it invaluable being able to describe a behaviour and Karen would immediately have an idea to prevent rehearsal by managing the environment, working on changing the default behavioural response whilst simultaneously reassuring us humans as well. I was in utter despair at Spike & Iris' alert barking when we moved house as this was a new behaviour we hadn't anticipated. It's still not perfect, but it is infinitely better and the "Thank you" protocol that we learnt specifically for this works wonders. Karen is accredited with IMDT as a behaviouralist which my vet is very happy about as it demonstrates that Karen is formally qualified, completes Continued Professional Development, only uses positive reinforcement methods and, it goes without saying, is very knowledgeable and experienced. I highly recommend Karen and will definitely be booking further sessions!

I initially took my Cockapoo puppy, Ted, to train with Karen to teach basic skills. He has come on leaps and bounds as Karen is so patient and trains in such a gentle manner which I absolutely love. Ted is now learning whistle cues and loving life! His recall, socialisation, eating and separation anxiety have all improved massively and he is a much more confident dog……and I am a much more confident ‘Pup Mumma’! Ted and I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy our classes and we will carry on doing so!

Karen has helped me so much with my boy Marley. Marley is a very fearful puppy and scared of new people even though I have had him since 12 weeks. He has come along well with his training and this is only thanks to Karen. She is so dedicated and truly loves and cares about all the dogs she trains. I fully trust her with Marley and her training techniques. Looking forward to booking more sessions as we need more help and I know she is the only one who can help me

I was recommended Karen by Underdog international as we adopted Dale our 1 year old cocker through the charity in Dec 2021 and had been told how much work Karen had done with rescues. We had our first session with Karen in Jan 2022. We booked 5 Pet Gun Dog sessions as although I knew nothing about Dales first year of life (aside from the fact he was Cypriot and already house trained!) I discovered quite quickly he LOVED to be trained and would do anything for a treat! Our first in person session with Karen confirmed his love of training - her positive reinforcement methods were exactly what we were looking for, something for Dale to get mental stimulation and enjoy! We did a mix of in person and Zoom sessions which worked brilliantly. After each session Karen gave in depth notes and homework to do with Dale (something I continue to do post completing all 5 sessions) to continue proofing each behaviour. The only 'problem' area with Dale is reactivity towards bikes/skateboards - he is quite clearly scared of them but Karen gave me lots of options on how to redirect his attention. This is definitely still a work in progress for us but we have seen him improve so much in this area all thanks to Karens methods. I will look to book Karens scent detection course in 2023 - I think Dale will love putting his Spaniel nose to work!

After trying with another dog training facility and finding their methods unsatisfactory, Karen was recommended to me by a local dog walker. My German Shepherd mix age 16 months needed help with his recall when we were out around other dogs and wildlife. I booked a block of training sessions with Karen and achieved in 4 lessons what I tried and failed with another trainer in 4 months. Her approach of safe, proven and caring training methods put me instantly at ease after a horrible experience of sliplead and aggressive training implemented by my previous trainer. We were given a summary and helpful feedback after every single lesson and homework to do in-between sessions. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Karen to all dog owners. She really is a great find and a very genuine person who has owner and dogs very best interest at heart.

I was referred to Karen 2 years ago for help as I had recently adopted a second dog, a Romanian rescue Collie x Spaniel who was fairly feral. She regularly escaped from our garden, she was lead reactive to other dogs, couldn’t settle, and I had no idea what to do. Karen’s knowledge, patience, and infinite amount of wisdom gave me the tools to help Cora. My mind was blown because of the amount of useful things I learned, and still practice today. Karen inspired me to further my knowledge around positive, force free, & ethical methods, which lead me to completing some of the courses she has done. My relationship with dogs has completely evolved since meeting Karen, and I couldn’t be more thankful for booking that 1st ever session!

I went to Karen with our 1 year old bouncy working golden retriever. Being a working breed, my dog is very motivated by the environment and I needed help with building focus and engagement around distractions - especially other dogs! Karen has taught me (and my dog!) so much over the lessons we have had, and she gives you all the tools and knowledge you need to succeed. Karen is a wonderful, kind trainer, and really takes into consideration your unique situation, and always considers the dog’s needs and why they might be behaving in a certain way. Each lesson is followed up with extensive notes and links to resources which is really helpful and keeps you motivated between lessons. I would highly recommend booking some sessions in with Karen, my only wish is I had found her sooner!

I cannot recommend Karen enough. Karen helped us with our rescue Collie, Fern, who was extremely anxious / noise sensitive and would barely leave the house without shaking. Her kind, sensitive, and patient approach both with Fern and myself was brilliant during this stressful time. Karen also really helped educate me as an owner on how I can best support Fern (e.g reading her body language, not walking her if she's stressed etc). Fern now goes for two walks every day and absolutely loves them - she won't ever be a gundog but she doesn't need to be and it's so lovely to have seen her blossom into such a happy little dog!

Cannot recommend Karen enough! When we got Rolo, our rescue dog, we were thrown in the deep end and I knew we'd need the extra help. That's where Karen came in...she gave us the basic tools and information to teach us how to understand and educate ourselves to help Rolo in the long run. Using modern and positive training methods we got a dog that's a joy to be around and living his best life. I'd recommend Karen all day every day because she's just that amazing! Thank you!

We came to Karen because we wanted someone who used positive techniques to help with our dog's resource guarding and separation anxiety. I'm so pleased that we chose Karen - she is hugely knowledgeable, patient, caring and understanding. We found it really useful to understand why Bertie was doing what he was doing and this, along with Karen's behaviour modification plans, means that we now have a dog who is totally happy being home alone, very rarely resource guards and, ultimately, is a pleasure to be around. Thank you so much for your help Karen!!!

Karen was recommended to me by a handful of people who couldn't speaker higher of her services, I am sooo happy we took their advice with taking our GSP puppy to her! Within 4 sessions with Karen it's as if we have a completely new dog, he is SO much more patient and we have learnt so much as owners. Karen teaches you everything on a level where you don't feel like a complete idiot, and is always on hand to help. I couldn't recommend her higher, and I am now that person telling everyone to take their dogs to Karen, no matter how old they are! We are still using the resources and notes Karen provided on a daily basis for training, although finishing our training a few months ago, everything continues to be extremely useful! We have one happy well behaved dog and two very happy owners, Thank you so so much Karen x

Maher & Hound is phenomenal! It is hard to not write an essay on just how monumental Karen has been in our training journey. I recommend her to anyone who will listen! Our "pet gun dog" has transformed with the advice Karen gave us. We had our sessions over Zoom and Karen gave such clear, structured, and -most importantly- tailored advice. We had lots to work on but never felt overwhelmed as Karen was a pillar of support. Having a rescue dog with a working dog mentality meant that the more traditional training methods just didn't cut the mustard. Maher & Hound's Pet Gundog Training is a testament to how a working breed can learn incredibly well through positive reinforcement methods- all while having fun! Karen reshapes the way you think about training and provides training methods that you can easily incorporate into your everyday. Although we signed up for the Happy Gundogs course, Karen helped us with other behavioural challenges we were facing which helped to shape the entire experience. The only negative is that there is only one Karen as really you want to clone her so all the dogs in the world can benefit from her knowledge!

Karen is fantastic with Cooper. We are constantly complimented on how he is 'such a well behaved dog' and this is down to Karen's way of teaching us how to work with him. She has this knack of talking through a particular thing, and before we know it, Cooper is sitting or lying nicely, dropping or leaving tasty things or running around an indicated tree. We've recommended her by word of mouth to many people that we've come across. Cooper loves going to a training session and has a great time, followed by a wonderful long nap to take it all in! Thank you Karen!

I just would like to say if you are looking for a dog trainer, I cannot recommend Karen enough. I first took my rescue dog for training sessions with Karen last summer and she helped me firstly understand my dog, as she is highly prey driven, and taught us techniques to work towards desensitising her. I learnt so much from Karen, I am now able to 'read' my dog and understand her. Since working with Karen and practising the techniques she taught us, my dog has greatly improved. I know this will be quite a long process but without Karen's help I would by no way be this far. Karen also goes beyond training sessions. She is truly interested in your dogs progress, gives additional advice, has always been at the end of an email and I have never felt alone with my dogs training. I cannot say enough good things about Karen and highly recommend her.

I literally don't have enough wonderful things to say about Maher and Hound. As a first time puppy parent to our black labrador Cosmo I am firmly of the view that training sessions have been as much for me as for him! From Day 1 Karen was absolutely brilliant: she took the time to really watch Cosmo and used this to create a highly personalised training plan that would set him up to succeed. I learnt, through her understanding, what makes Cosmo 'tick'. Cosmo's main challenge was - is - impulse control around other dogs - surely all dogs want to be his best friend?! Cue... pulling on the lead, lunging, unwanted and overexcited humping. Being quite literally pulled over on Stockbridge Down was a particular low point. At a pivotal point where I was really struggling in terms of strategies and confidence, Karen gave me a lightbulb moment. She helped me to understand that Cosmo is hugely driven by his nose and taught me how to use his strong nose drive to redirect his attention and energy away from other dogs via tracking. She also gave me practical strategies to encourage beautiful loose-lead walking, and steps to take to improve his impulse control. Through gentle communication of her science-based modern training approach, she empowered me, and for this I will be forever grateful. As a now 30+ kilo 11 month old, Cosmo still needs a good deal of daily training and his progress is far from linear (!), but... as with children, that is ok too. And whilst there is a lot that Cosmo - and I - still have to learn, one thing I do know is that I couldn't have got to this point without having the absolutely brilliant Karen guiding us through this first year. We feel like we stumbled upon a one in a million dog trainer and feel so very grateful. Thank you so much Maher and Hound! I recommend you to everyone

My dog is a 5-year-old corgi who has never bitten another dog but of course has some very reactive behaviour towards other dogs. I reached out to Karen because I was impressed by seeing how a dog we knew has been making progress with Karen’s help. During our first session, Karen told me Odie was not aggressive but was a bit scared and worried. She taught me how to recognise the point that I need to move him away from the trouble and take him to do something fun! She also corrected some of the advice from our previous behaviourist such as not letting Odie come to bed and sofa with evidence-based knowlegde. I felt that Karen’s approach was holistic and dog-centred as she provides support that looks at the whole things around us, not just Odie’s behaviour. It's so pleased to see Odie has been getting better and better everyday and we definitely couldn’t have made it happen without Karen’s help. I highly recommend Karen as she is not only a brilliant behaviourist but also a caring and supportive human therapist:)

Leia’s natural breed drive instincts were very strong and we wanted to find a way to work with them so walks could be more enjoyable for all of us (particularly as my husband and I love hiking and we have so many adventures to do with Leia 🐾) You honestly wouldn’t recognise her on walks anymore! She stays near us and checks in, she hunts and retrieves Gundog dummies for us to use up that drive instinct, and is working steadily towards not pulling on the lead anymore (Leia is very submissive and yet strong willed on this one!). Karen has completely transformed our doggo and we couldn’t be happier with her progress. We’re still working on it and I think we always will be with a Gundog breed because they’re so smart and full of energy, but I’m super proud of how far Leia has come and so incredibly grateful to Karen for her guidance and support. 11/10, would totally recommend her training to a friend! 💜 thank you thank you Karen!

I can't say enough good things about Karen. I was looking for a trainer/behaviourist when our regular one (who we loved) moved away. Karen listened to my struggles and was happy to help with my toy poodle. We do the gundog training, I couldn't wrap my head around why he wasn't tired after heavy exercise, but now I have games to play with him and he's finally tired. This also helps with his yapping problem, after he's seen Karen he is evidently calmer. It is also worth mentioning that Karen has a kind, gentle and compassionate persona. She is never frustrated or "short" with my dog. I feel really lucky to have found her and her approach to giving my poodle a game/job rather than just forcing him to be obedient/oppressed. I would highly recommend her services to anyone, especially hyper vigilant poodle mix owners. We look forward to continuing the training

We came to Karen with some challenges with our boisterous Beagle, mainly around barking and recall (or lack of!). Karen provided brilliant, realistic advice and as a result we have managed to calm our boy down on walks, reduce his barking and improved his recall massively. Karen is very easy to get along with and the sessions were fun for everyone including us. Her support is excellent not just at the sessions themselves but overall. Perhaps the best thing the training we had with Karen is that it was not a rigid programme and it did not feel commercially driven, Karen genuinely wanted to help us and help our boy be happier! A really positive experience and we know where we will go for any dog training/advice going forward. Thank you! and a woof from Barry!

Karen has been with us from the start as our behaviourist since I rescued Brodi nearly a year ago…rescuing a dog has been a roller coaster. But Karen has been there providing invaluable advice and support. Her positive encouragement, patience and kind words have helped both me and Brodi, who is such a happy and confident boy now...and as it turns out it was me who really needed the training 😉

Having not had a cocker spaniel before I wanted to ensure that I got the training right so that I had a dog that would fit into our life and be part of the family. I originally took Lexi to group classes but she got bored and the group sizes were so big it wasn't specific enough to what we needed. Karen has lots of experience with working breeds so knew that she would be right for Lexi as we needed to ensure that the training kept her entertained. With Karen's help Lexi was focused in every session and picked up the different elements really quickly. Karen helped me learn what surroundings Lexi would be able to train in and how to not set Lexi up for failure. Karen provided detailed and helpful notes after every session so that we could keep training everyday and building on what we had learnt. Lexi has loved all of her training sessions with Karen and we now have a spaniel with brilliant recall!

I have a high energy Working Cocker Spaniel. She is amazing and she loves life but like any working line dog, we have our struggles. We have been working on her arousal levels outdoors and we were looking for an activity that would keep her occupied as well as nurture her working nature. Karen’s Pet Gun Dog training has given us exactly that! We drove all the way from London to find her, as we are aware that some gundog trainers can be far from force free. I asked for recommendations from my local trainer and we were not disappointed. We were so happy with the knowledge Karen gave us - in the most kind and reinforcing ways to both the dog and the owner. I always came back with a smile and Nara always had sparkles in her eyes after every class! I cannot recommend her enough.

Karen is a brilliant trainer, who goes the extra mile to not just demonstrate general techniques, but also to provide breed-specific advice. Our Border Collie went from being a bit of a lead-pulling neurotic to a more docile dog who sleeps in our bed. Our bond grew stronger as his behaviour improved, and I recommend Karen highly.

We are so pleased we found Karen and can’t explain how helpful she has been. We rescued a pup from Cyprus & really wanted to give him the best chance in life. We’ve previously had dogs from puppy age and we weren’t sure how to support our Tom with him being a rescue. Karen understood his background the type of breed he was and ways of getting the best out of him. Tom has settled in nicely since we’ve worked hard on his training and 6 months in he’s a lovely kind caring dog. The thing we liked the most was that the training was kind, treat based and understanding to the dog. We were able to touch base with Karen in-between sessions incase we had questions or concerns and found ways to change things if we needed to. I would highly recommend Karen especially if you have a rescue and want to do well by them.

Karen is a phenomenal dog trainer and her gundog sessions and puppy advice have been invaluable to my Labrador pup, Edie. Gundog training can be seen as quite intense, however Karen has a super fun approach, which takes the pressure off of young pups who like to do things their own way (eg. Edie prefers to lay rather than sit) which means your pet can enjoy and learn Gundog techniques without being "perfect” Karen’s bespoke, force free, calm and patient approach to her training sessions means dogs can take sessions at their own pace and have some homework to do for the next session to reinforce everything they’ve been learning and practice new exercises, that are beneficial to both Edie and I. As a professional dog walker myself, I have learnt some amazing training techniques from Karen’s Gundog training that have become a daily ritual in my dog walks and with Edie. Karen is my absolute go-to when recommending a dog trainer to any of my customers when any training or behavioural help is needed. I wouldn’t recommend anyone else. Thank you Karen, you are a star!

Karen has been great with helping me, and my adorable chocolate Lab Louie, we found Karen through word of mouth from a friend of mine, Louie comes from a gun dog background, but we've never really ventured down that route, however we do find Louie can be easily distracted by prey scents, and will run off chasing birds, or hunting for wildlife, this matched what Karen described she could help with, as in "Pet" gun dogs. Karen has really helped us to gain Louie's attention and focus, with fun games, patience, and laughs, and after every session Karen has always sent through extra notes, with things for us to practice on along with diagrams and videos for us to refer to. Louie has definitely become calmer, and more focussed throughout our sessions, and I think he's really enjoyed the training process with me and Karen, Karen was even happy for my older dog Harvey to join a couple of sessions (as he didn't want to be left at home on his own). Karen has been so helpful, friendly and understanding, she's improved our confidence also. Thank you so much

We recently adopted a 4 year old lurcher, we are experienced dog owners but with Marley being our first rescue dog we thought it wouldn't hurt to find a behaviourist to help us with him. We were very happy, she did amazing work helping Marley build his confidence and we learnt some new techniques to carry on with him - it has been amazing to see the change in him. I would highly recommend Karen, she got us off to a great start and we feel even more confident that we can provide Marley with a happy forever home. Thank you so much

I was recommended to Karen through a friend. Our dog Coco has been quite anxious on walks recently and I'm not sure lockdown helped much. She was becoming quite reactive in certain situations and I was struggling to understand the problem. Karen's training has given us both the confidence and we're loving our walks again! Karen comes highly recommended, she is brilliant and Coco loves her!

Karen has been instrumental in helping us understand and train our Springador in a way that was tailored to her breed. Being 1st time dog owners, Karen was patient (mostly with us Hoomans) and incredibly helpful as she watched Luna’s reactions over the past year and guided us as to how to get the best behaviour out of her. Karen’s guidance goes above and beyond ‘just training a dog’ and we are incredibly grateful! Thank you!

I contacted Karen because of her expertise in working with pet gun dogs. My 4 yr old cocker spaniel has a very strong scent / chase drive and walks had become really stressful. Luca & I both really enjoyed our sessions with Karen. She is incredibly patient and helped me to better understand Luca's behaviour and reactions. She taught us positive methods to increase his focus and calm him during walks. I have also learnt to accept that he will always be more excitable in new places with different people. I now try to adapt walk to Luca rather than getting frustrated, and the sessions have really increased our bond We'll definitely be back again for some top-up sessions!

Karen has helped us immensely and made training Milo enjoyable and this has made the transition to having a dog as part of the family stress free (so far!) Karen is definitely worth her weight in gold!

Karen is brilliant, after 6 sessions we now have a well behaved pup that listens to me . Walks to heal, recalls well, retrieves, settles whilst we eat and waits and goes on command …. What more could you ask for! If you are thinking of dog training I can highly recommend Karen’s one on one dog training’

Karen worked brilliantly with my young Red Fox Labrador boy, he responded so well to her training and has consistently continued with his programme. Karen oozed knowledge and was so very reassuring with us as a family. Karen has a really friendly, warm approach with her advice and my dog responded beautifully to her plan for him. I would thoroughly recommend Karen. It took me a long time to find someone I felt would fulfil what I as an owner wanted, and my dog benefitted from. Karen is very thorough and keeps in contact with you after your training session with advice and encouragement. You can’t really ask for anything more when looking for training with your beloved dog.

Remy, our Fox Red Labrador had done her basic puppy training, however I wanted to fine tune and keep the momentum going on what she had learnt. The focus areas were running off to greet other dogs and lead walking. During a number of 1-2-1 sessions, Karen observed her behaviour and was able to make recommendations to help with these. We saw progress immediately even within the training sessions and we are now continuing to work on these. I will pick up with Karen again in a couple of months to review progress. I would highly recommend Karen for that personal touch and knowledge sharing. Many thanks Karen.

Working with Karen and our Collie x Saluki dog Millie was a dream! We have had problems on and off for years with what we thought was ‘aggressive behaviour’ towards other dogs. We had seeked help from training sessions and behaviourists previously but nothing seemed to really help. Karen soon reassured us that Millie’s behaviour wasn’t aggression at all and just a fear of other dogs and that we just had to manage our walks in different ways. Since the training we now feed Millie in a ‘fun’ way and do lots of reward training as well as making her walks more fun with ‘hunting for treats’ to keep her distracted. Within a week we saw a real difference but as the weeks have gone on she is coming on leaps and bounds and really enjoying her walks again! We still have the occasional episode but now we are able to deal with it so that we are all happy and comfortable. We cannot thank Karen enough and for all the continued support via txt and email. We would highly recommend!! X

Karen has been the most caring, patient, and knowledgeable trainer. Instantly puts you and the dog at ease. Straight away you can see her compassion and understanding of rescue dogs and their behaviours. Lou, our rescue dog, was a bit of a "free spirit" whilst out on her walks to say the least, once the nose went down the ears seemed to switch off! Karen taught us an amazing "tool kit" of simple techniques that focus Lou and allow her to continue to improve her self-control. Cannot recommend highly enough, Karen's love for her work shines through every time. Even in the rain........

Karen has helped me get on the right track with my 5 year old rescue dog. Karen fully explained how my breed of dog works and how she needs to be brain exercised as well as physically exercised and I have seen the results for myself after just a few days. She has separation anxiety and already we are seeing her accept staying with my partner or my friend without getting too worked up. I can leave her downstairs with the door shut whilst I am upstairs for short periods. She has stopped scratching the door, she just cries quietly and I just tell her I am still here and she doesn’t shake and pant any more. Her recall with the look and watch command is instant and she is doing it with my partner now as well. Off lead she comes back to her name as a treat or if she can see me holding a ball she is instantly back. I can keep her attention to me completely when another dog goes past. I am amazed how quickly she has picked this all up. Karen has really helped me to go in the right direction with Ruby.

I genuinely cannot recommend Karen at Maher & Hound enough! My husband and I have a beautiful but quite wilful Springer Spaniel puppy, Dotty, who around the 6 month mark started to become more of a handful. We booked 5 sessions with Karen and after session 1 it was like we had a different dog! Karen made it easy by meeting with us at home and also at other locations that Dotty spends lots of time. We started with a puppy that knew a few basic commands, now we are armed with all sorts of techniques to get Dotty to settle, return to us and walk nicely with us. What makes me recommend Karen so highly though is that she tailors sessions and training to each dog and most importantly has been able to explain the root causes of Dotty's behaviours to us. She has helped us to understand Dotty's breed and what works for her. We are so glad we contacted Karen when we did, it has been worth every penny for such expertise.

Karen’s knowledge of dog behaviour and teaching is fantastic! She uses the breed characteristics which make sessions fun for your dog and easy to learn and understand for the owner! We have had six sessions now from our puppy being 8 weeks old and the results are immense!

I rescued a miniature poodle through Underdog international and was given the opportunity to connect with one of their dog therapists. I was put in touch with Karen and offered 1 to 1 guidance. Karen responded immediately and went above and beyond with follow up calls and emails. Karen's advice was very helpful and reassuring and I would recommend her to anyone with a rescued pup.

Karen has been a fantastic support to me and the rescues I have fostered. We often take in dogs with behavioural issues and Karen has guided us through the process of managing separation anxiety, guarding, aggression and fear/reactivity. Not only has she helped our dogs settle but she has also helped us cope as dog owners. She’s truly wonderful and we are extremely grateful.

Karen is an amazing source of knowledge who gently guides you through your training. Karen gave us a comprehensive guide to our Puppy and really tapped into all of his behaviours to help un pick our issue. She left nothing to the imagination and really dove in. Karen made sure to reassure us the whole way through which really helped as first time dog owners. Even during a time when she couldn't physically work with us Karen didn't let that stop her. She gave us amazing tips, guidance and recommendations and has checked in with us multiple times, she really does go above and beyond. We will definitely be using Karen again and again just to tap into her wealth of information. Thank you so much Karen!

ince the first time I met Maggie I knew she would make a great therapy dog if she wanted to be. Thankfully we found a charity that not only uses the healing power of dogs, but also teaches the importance of animal welfare. Me and Maggie went to meet with her assessor @maherandhounddogtraining she flaunted her stuff and gave it her best go and she PASSED. I know what happened to Maggie was horrendous but if her story can educate and inspire others to do good then at least we can do our part to make this world a little brighter

Karen has been so supportive and kind during our training with our rescue Bentley. She is so knowledgeable about dogs and their behaviour. She has taught us techniques that really work and are easy to put in place. She has been a huge help to us, I don't know what I would have done without her! Thank you Karen!

Our whole family loved working with Karen. Her gentle manner and the time that she takes to get to know each dog and their owners enables her to give a tailored service recognising the individual nature of each dog. Her advice is practical and makes complete sense - helpful given that we as owners are being trained as well as our dogs! Karen really knows and loves all the dogs she works with. She has helped us understand all elements of our dog’s behaviour, right down to simple cues from his body language - that have helped us support and train our dog in all settings. We would thoroughly recommend Karen and her approach.

Karen was recommended to us by Team Dog, who walk our Cockapoo Woody. He needed help with some guarding issues, freezing on walks and boosting his confidence. After our first session with Karen, we had so many new tips and new things to work on with him, it was fantastic. All of which were tailored to his breed, and we now have a much better understanding of his issues and how to deal with them. We are now much more aware of what his breed drives are and the games we play with him tire him out mentally as well as physically. We have seen such an improvement with Woody, he is much calmer and much happier with us. Her help has been so valuable to us so far. We look forward to carrying on our work with Karen in the future and would recommend her services to anybody.

I own a beautiful Romanian rescue dog. I got her at 4.5 months old. She is lovely and smart but was reactive, especially with men and when on lead. I have been working with Karen for the last few months and she has provided me with the confidence to help my dog and has been invaluable. An added bonus is that my dog loves her! Walks with my dog are now calm and enjoyable and I can see my dog’s confidence and ability to calm herself growing every day. Thanks Karen!

I just want to say that Karen was so helpful and lovely to work with. Our pup arrived in lockdown so socialisation early on had been sparse and I was struggling with my training. .... she was so encouraging, knowledgeable and had a wonderful way of teaching our pup. One to one and outdoors working in a real life environment ....In my opinion so much more effective than group puppy classes. After only a few lessons he responded really well and we both learnt a lot. I would not hesitate to recommend Karen ... I am sure I will be back again for a few adolescent tweaks !!

Bennett is a friendly, lively 10 month old Cavapoo. I haven’t had a puppy before and I’m sure I was giving him mixed messages. We were both confused 🤷‍♀️ After the first session with Karen we were both calmer and had a better understanding of each other’s expectations. We both thoroughly enjoyed the one hour sessions and are now enthusiastically reinforcing what we have both learned. Bennett really wants to please and friends can’t believe he is the same dog. Still mischievous but so much calmer. Karen is gentle, relaxed, but firm with her training. She is knowledgable and respectful of the animal and bases her training on positive reinforcement for dog and owner! Karen provided written information following each of the four sessions outlining the key points and providing links to additional information. I can’t thank her enough and thoroughly recommend her. What a find.

Moving and lockdown seemed to have a hugely negative impact on our already nervous dog Jaffa. Karen helped us understand Jaffa’s behaviour and gave us tools to create a more relaxed/happy dog when we were out and about. What really helped was that Jaffa absolutely adores Karen (I think she might actually be a dog whisperer). Thank you for all your help and look forward to working with you again soon.

I contacted Karen because our 2 dogs had become very reactive to other dogs when we walked them on lead. During our first session she was able to identify the reasons for this behaviour and give us the confidence and ability to start to work on it. Karen is so calm and reassuring and Teddy & Beau love her, which might be something to do with her bag full of treats!!! We had a total of 3 sessions and for us this was enough to get us on the right track. We have seen a huge improvement when we walk the dogs and would highly recommend Karen.

Our lovely 20 month old Cocker was starting to display a few minor behaviour issues that we felt might escalate. She'd started to bark excessively at people outside our house or at the door and would occasionally bark or growl at men in particular when out for a walk. She'd also shown aggression to my sisters dog and I was starting to worry that this may eventually lead to her biting someone or attacking another dog so we looked for a behaviourist that could help us put her back on the right track. I asked my friend who'd worked for several years for a spaniel rehoming charity and she recommended Karen. The whole process was very professional and our initial lockdown zoom chat gave me great confidence that Karen would be able to help. We implemented some of the feeding ideas straight away and then I met Karen for our 1 - 1 training. Karen's lovely, it was like wandering around the park with a friend. She taught me some very simple techniques that have made such a difference and gave me advice on how to reintroduce her to my sisters dog. We now have a much calmer little cocker who walks very happily with my sisters dog and also greeted some male house callers with a waggy tail recently, no barking or anxiety. Such easy to implement training and it all made so much sense too, I would definitely recommend anyone who has concerns about their pooch to Karen, thank you Karen for helping us stop the issues before they became a real problem!!

I wanted to thank you for the amazing work you did supporting myself and Sandy. When I came to you I was a little unsure what to expect but you put me at ease straight away. You really observed Sandy before you started to advise which reassured me all advice was tailored to us. Sandy was very dog reactive, so you explained the potential reasons behind this which allowed me to understand things from Sandy's eyes. You were honest, in that rather than stopping Sandy reacting the aim was to identify her trigger points so I could take action before Sandy went into crazy mode! The techniques you showed me have really helped me get Sandy's attention when I need to. The change in her is amazing. She actually looks at me now for instructions, she would never do that before. As a result both Sandy and I are much more confident in public parks now. Thank you so much for your help, it's made such a positive difference!

We adopted Paddy, a lovely working English Cocker through Spaniel Aid UK. We were fortunate - Paddy settled right in and within days it felt like he had always been a part of the family. However, we soon discovered that he suffers from severe anxiety, so much so that he would often freeze on the spot for up to 15 minutes. Following such an episode, Paddy would be lethargic for 2-3 days. We were put in touch with Karen through Spaniel Aid. Karen was very prompt and professional during consultations. She provided advice and recommendations and followed this up with a write-up after each consultation. Often the write-ups included supplementary leaflets, videos etc. which was very useful. Initially, we had no idea how to support Paddy, however, Karen was always reassuring in her guidance and feedback. Karen has a wonderfully calm, in-control demeanour which not only had a positive effect on Paddy, but his humans also felt less anxious after each session (fortunately, there was no extra charge for this 😉 ) Karen helped us to identify situations that may contribute to Paddy’s anxiety. She demonstrated excellent knowledge of both psychological and physiological factors of anxiety. It helped us to understand what was happening to Paddy before, during and after freezing episodes and how to best support him. It’s now nearly 10 months after the first consultation with Karen and we have made immeasurable progress. I feel that Karen’s advice and guidance helped us to nurture a calmer, more confident Paddy. This led to a deeper bond being formed and a better quality of life for our handsome boy. We will forever be grateful for Karen’s help.

I was sceptical at first, questioning how Karen would be able to help me via zoom with Reggie. Reggie was a super reactive Hungarian Puli and walking with him was no pleasure . We spent more time apologising to other dog owners than we did walking and it caused a lot of tension in the family. Through calm and practical advice , Karen has helped us understand our dog and has transformed our relationship. We can now have largely calm walks with the odd outburst and know what to do if things don’t go to plan. Thank you Karen!

We had several remote sessions with Karen, which were completely invaluable. Karen advised and supported us on working through some new and unexplained behaviours. This enabled us to make excellent progress with our dog and equipped us with lots of information and new skills. Karen was professional, empathetic and incredibly knowledgeable throughout the process. In our house we refer to her as the ‘dog interpreter’! Dog training is an ongoing process - we will certainly work with Karen again in the future if the need arises. Thank you for your help!

Karen is brilliant. Not a dog trainer that just barks out instructions – she really listens to the particular problem you have with your pet. Then she finds a way for you to alter behaviour, etc. – taking into consideration the temperament of your dog. She engages properly with one’s pet, thereby gaining an understanding of how he/she operates. Our Cavalier King Charles is now 14 months and we have benefitted hugely from Karen’s one to one visits.

I am so grateful that Karen taught us many different cues, some of them are a lifesaver for walks, accidentally dropping food (OMG) and getting my puppy’s attention when another dog is around. All of the techniques I’ve learned from Karen have helped me to be more confident walking my puppy in the park and knowing how to get her out of the situation when she’s not feeling good with off-leash dog’s around. Thank you!

Karen has been a great help for our puppy Martha. Initially our concerns were over puppy biting and we were given advice and tips on how to deal with this. Karen has been calm and reassuring in our sessions and easily contacted by phone when we had questions between sessions. She has helped us focus on the main issues rather than being overwhelmed and not knowing where to start! As the sessions progressed we have had help with recall and distraction techniques along with many other ways to cope with a challenging puppy! Thank you Karen 😊

We worked with Karen to help us with our Hungarian Vizsla’s separation issues. From the first session it was clear to see Karen knew how to take on board our issues and relay solutions back to us. After 2 sessions we are now leaving him for 2-3hours. We most certainly weren’t with a bad pup, we just needed expert advice to help steer us in the right direction. I wish we had met Karen 6months sooner, if you are looking for someone to guide you in a professional and kind manner, Karen really is one of the best!

I generally cannot recommend Maher & hound enough! Last year I rehomed a jack russell terrier. The first few months of having Reggie everything seemed fine. He was then attacked in a field and became very reactive!!!! I was recommend Karen by a friend and honestly cannot thank her enough for her hard work and dedication. Karen is so calm, patient and made me feel at ease. I had video consultations/face to face training (when locked down eased) they were both very beneficial. Karen is very knowledgeable especially with rescue dogs. Reggies behaviour has definitely improved since working with Karen. I definitely have a better understating of him and how different techniques can help him with his reactivity. Thank you for everything Karen, you are amazing 🌈⭐️

Skyler would lunge at and fixate on other dogs. We had no recall when around them. Karen’s work has helped as walks are less stressful because Skyler is no longer lunging towards other dogs. Karen was so easy to speak to, she helped me to understand Skyler’s behaviours and reactions, which made training easier. After reading the reviews and seeing the work Karen had done it was clear she had a real passion and knowledge. Also part of the training programme was that she would always be there for aftercare, or if any other issues were to develop. I was very satisfied. Even if we had a small slip up, it’s the knowledge and understanding of what to do afterwards, or just to know to keep at it. There’s been such a change in Skyler and I’m forever grateful for all of your help!!

Ralph, my 7 year old Italian Greyhound is a very anxious dog with serious Separation Anxiety. Having had multiple surgeries on his legs I was very concerned that after lockdown (and everyone being at home) he would find it very stressful when normal life resumed. During the last lockdown we, as a family, decided to get a puppy in the hope that it would help Ralph with the transition of us all going back to work and school. However, the week before the puppy’s arrival I thought I had made the worst mistake and I wanted to back out, this is when I contacted Karen. So, from this day on she changed my life - she prepared me in the best possible way for the puppy’s arrival, from what to buy and how Ralph might react, to what to look for in Ralph’s behaviour. She taught me how to read Ralph’s body language and his responses to the new puppy . The new puppy, Vinnie slotted into our family with great ease thanks to Karen and not only that but Ralph has a best friend. Vinnie is now 8 months old and not only did Karen help with Ralph and Vinnie’s relationship and my anxiety, but she carried on to help me with Puppy training. Vinnie and Ralph walk off of the lead and run freely in London’s busy parks - both have great recall and I feel I am totally in control of them both. But the best news is Ralph (having slept on our bed for 7 years) now has the confidence to sleep in the kitchen with his best friend Vinnie! THANK YOU Karen

I had a couple of remote sessions with Karen and a couple in person. She has really helped me with my dog Raffy, particularly in getting her to calm down and channeling her energy in a more effective way that doesn’t leave me tearing my hair out! Raffy has absolutely loved the sessions (particularly the ones with toys involved) and has come on so much. I couldn’t recommend Karen highly enough. Her sessions are well structured and she always follows up with really detailed notes so you don’t forget what you’ve covered. It is clear to see how much she loves animals - thank you so much Karen! X

Karen was amazing! Really personable, friendly and extremely helpful. Tailored each individual lesson depending on where he was in his training journey and what we wanted help with. Karen always followed up each lesson with detailed notes and other options/ideas to explore further. Not only did I find Karen really approachable (no question was a stupid question!) our pup Shackleton adored her and wagged his little tail every time he saw her! He thoroughly enjoyed his lessons - despite the hardcore training! ❤️

My 10 month old fox terrier cross is in a good place with her training. Karen’s help, advice and reassurance has helped with my confidence and understanding of puppy training and development. None of the training sessions are over complicated and are easy to continue between sessions. With Karen’s encouragement I have continually repeated training on a daily basis of short durations. I am so happy to have found Karen as a trainer and strongly recommend her for her calm personality and her extensive knowledge.

We did a brilliant training programme with Karen with our Cypriot rescue. Karen is so experienced in working with these types of dogs and taught me how to work with Hetty (it’s all about the sniffing!). I feel that I understand the breed so much more now. Thanks to the simple, manageable yet effective techniques we now have a much calmer dog. I would highly recommend Karen to anyone who is navigating their way with a rescue.

After being recommended by another local dog trainer, Karen has been really helpful in building my rescue dog’s confidence and reducing reactivity. Nothing has been too much trouble and she quickly sends through useful resources after sessions. Very knowledgeable and supportive in educating me around rescue’s ‘quirks’ and her advice on reviewing food and routine has made a noticeable difference. Karen has always been on hand to offer advice between sessions, and I will be recommending her to any friends in need of support.

Thank you, Karen, for all your help. You really understood my dog and what he needed and in turn he was obedient and totally focused on what you were asking him to do. Look forward to finishing off our training in the New Year. Thanks again for everything, I’m feeling much more confident with my dog now.

Karen is fantastic! She is very knowledgeable, particularly about rescue dogs and helped me understand a lot about my dog's behaviour. Karen has given me lots of exercises to help with recall and my dog has been a lot more focused on me during walks since. Karen is brilliant with dogs and is so passionate about what she does, would absolutely recommend!

Karen stood out from other local trainers because of all the work she does with rescue & therapy dogs. Existing excellent reviews prompted me to email her and we set up 3 sessions (2 at home and 1 in the park) for my Staffy puppy, who is very confident and food orientated! The bond between myself and my pup is incredible, and the reward and praise based consistent approach which Karen advised, has cemented this. My dog isn't a troubled rescue, but I wanted to invest in our future together as a partnership in the same family and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Karen to do the same for you!

was put in touch with Karen via my dog walker. She came highly recommended and her advice and support did not disappoint! Karen clearly has amazing knowledge and experience of working with rescue dogs. My dog Flo is a rescue dog (a scent hound) from northern Spain. Since Karen came to see Flo, her advice has helped me to settle Flo more easily when our cat is around. Flo has calmed down so much and her recall and obedience has improved. Karen also recommended a great natural dog food and this has also helped Flo to be calmer. Thank you Karen! You’re amazing!

Karen’s support and input has been invaluable in terms of helping us with Beagle x Poodle Tilly. Since meeting Karen, Tilly’s recall has improved. We have altered Tilly’s diet to help with her energy levels and the distraction techniques recommended by Karen to help Tilly whilst she is at home alone have made a huge difference. We can’t recommend Karen enough; we’re so grateful x

Karen really helped us understand our Husky girl, she can be reactive, so knowing what she needs in a stressful situation is invaluable. The face to face training and help were excellent plus good written guidance too.

Highly rated, Karen has a clear understanding of dog behaviours and has a great diversity of techniques with regards to resolving behavioural issues with dogs. I adopted two Shepherd Cross Romanian street dogs three years ago, and with great help and advice from Karen they soon settled to become the most beautiful family companions imaginable.

Really helped us understand our dog’s behaviour & offer practical solutions. Highly recommended x

Karen is so in tune with dogs, especially rescues, and I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for support or advice with behavioural issues. She's a natural with animals, always keen to help, and very easy to get along with, which of course makes the experience better for both the dog and the owner in question. Highly recommended!

I had a very useful consultation with Karen for my German Shepherd Cross Collie's behaviour issues and have seen improvement after changing her diet and other suggestions made. Highly recommended.

Karen is an amazing trainer & behaviourist and we are so grateful to know such an inspiring, impressive lady in the dog world. Not only is she incredibly informed & skilled, she also takes a wonderful holistic approach to dog training and helps improve all aspects of dog welfare. Karen is kind, calm, super knowledgeable and a very safe pair of hands