Thank you for visiting! My name is Cheryl, I have owned and ran Big Dog Little Dog; a small, local business dedicated to providing professional, kind and fun dog training since 2012. 

​

I live locally in South Somerset with my little family, which includes my Poodle x Parsons terrier; 'Wilbur', my rescue cockapoo 'Fidget' and my Kromfohrlander 'Jumble'. 

 

Up until very recently I also shared my life with my beautiful mastiff 'Nellie', who we miss dearly. Along with Wilbur, she was the embodiment of Big Dog Little Dog and the inspiration for the name: as well as being the models for the logo!

 

I adore training with all of my dogs, and they are often used as my 'guinea pigs' when coming up with new exercises to use in classes! I take great joy in attending training courses and workshops with them to learn new skills. Fidget has a huge number of behaviour issues that we have been working through since rehoming him, and has been a great teacher for me. He will always be 'special', but we continually work hard to make his life less stressful for him.

 

Because of Fidget, scentwork has become a huge part of my training life, we have developed and enhanced our bond whilst working as a team searching for various odours (gun oil, cloves, Kong and truffle oil) in a range of amazing locations such as old prisons, farms and football clubs. I have seen first-hand what a difference this can make to a dog's confidence and focus, so much so that I have undertaken copious amounts of CPD in scentwork, and it is with great pride and pleasure that I can now call myself a fully qualified Scentwork UK Trainer and offer scentwork training to clients.

​

I am fully qualified, experienced and insured, using only up-to-date, kind and effective training methods. I am a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and registered as a registered Animal Training Instructor with the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC), both of these associations require assessments and regular monitoring of my skills, knowledge and methods of training to become, and remain, a member. As well as this I am a fully qualified Puppy School Tutor, and Accredited Hoopers Instructor.

​

I have qualifications in Animal Management, Dog Behaviour and Body Language at level 5, as well as a teaching certificate. I regularly attend Professional Development seminars and courses to ensure I am up-to-date with the latest training and behaviour practices.

​

My training classes are designed to be fun for all the family to attend and take part in; there is no pressure to 'get it right' and I encourage everyone to give it a go. The exercises are easy to follow, but very effective. The classes are purposely kept small to ensure I can devote plenty of time and attention to each dog and their family. The exercises are effective, but easy to learn and to use in every day life.

​

 

 

​

​

​