About Us - Sophia Taylor and On The Scent
Stop Press! Guinness is a Grandad!Some German Shorthaired Pointer pups still available. |
About On The Scent
Classes are held at our outdoor venue in the village of Great Ashfield, near Bury St. Edmunds, off the A14 at Junction 47.
All training carried out is achieved through play, praise and food reward and all clients are assured that even after the training session or home visit is over, they have the option to contact us by telephone or email should a query or problem arise before the next time. After encouraging results with our own dogs, we also teach 'clicker' training in our classes which is proving more and more popular with our clients.
All classes are held outdoors in an enclosed meadow where there is plenty of space with lots of scents which may be encountered on a walk and having the space we are able to set up "dummy walk" situations for recalls away from other people and/or other dogs. All dogs are welcome to our classes, but it may be of interest to know that the hunt, point & retrieve breeds are our speciality.
My local veterinary surgery Swayne and Partners hold puppy socialisation parties one evening a week and invited me to take one session a month to talk about the importance of dog training. I am delighted to be asked and do my best to cover the following: Positive reinforcement, as well as controlled interactive play times between dogs, why we give rewards of praise, food and play, the importance of good recalls, reasons for training dogs regardless of size, basic training commands including the look or watch me, the importance of good timing and consistency, play biting, jumping up and collars and leads.
May I just add by saying a huge THANK YOU to Teresa, Pauline, Oliver and my husband Paul (who wishes not to be pictured on the website!) for all their ongoing help and support. We all work well together as a team. I do appreciate all their help. With them on board ‘On the Scent' has been able to grow.
About our pets... We currently share our home with our three dogs, Guinness, Otis and our new addition, Spider. We sadly lost Oscar our Lhasa apso at the age of 14 years. He was a miracle as he had a liver disease and it was thought he wouldn’t see his fifth birthday! In addition, we have two cats, Enzo and Lucia, and six hens, Cordelia, Mary, Martha, Olivia, Octavia and Busty Bertha. We did have a hen named Stephanie but she met an untimely death with Otis !!
Thank you and God bless you all. Sophia
About Sophia
KCAI Scheme Member working towards accreditation. Associate Member of the PDTE.
As a child I was brought up with dogs, cats and horses and always felt I had an affinity with them. My father and mother always encouraged my enthusiasm for animals and as I grew up I started to concentrate more on the dogs and the training that could be achieved through food reward and praise like teaching simple tricks and tasks around the home rather than the horses.
Back then dog training was mainly check chains and formality in the classes I attended and play was not incorporated in the class situation. We didn’t know any different then. Thank goodness training has progressed since then and I am delighted that the majority of clubs today now use play as well as food reward and praise to achieve results from the dogs being trained, whether for obedience competitions, gundog trials or agility.
Having had a variety of work placements since leaving school, my heart was always with animals, especially dogs and slowly as time went on I started to help friends to train their own dogs as well as my own, eventually helping me to make the decision to start training other people and their dogs on a one to one and finally starting up the classes. I am a member of the KCAI scheme, working towards accreditation. The full title is ‘the kennel club accreditation scheme for instructors in dog training and canine behaviour’. Click here to find out more: http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/482, or email sue at sue.evans@thekennelclub.org.uk.
I am a Member of the Kennel Club KCAI Scheme working towards accreditation and Associate Member of the PDTE. Click here to find out more www.pet-dog-trainers-europe.com.
I am married to Paul, who is extremely supportive of the work I do and the fact that we have a house full of animals. We currently share our home with two German Pointers, a cat and our elderly Lhasa Apso. However, by the end of the year who knows what other four legs may have joined us - or two legs when the hens arrive! Click here to see some photos of our dogs!
Since starting up ‘On The Scent’ I am meeting some wonderful people and one of them, Teresa, has proven to be a real asset. We hit it off straight away and discovered we have the same desire ‘to promote responsible dog ownership’ in a fun way. Since we first met Teresa has now gained her certificate in Canine Behaviour and feel that between us we will continue to make a great team.
I feel I would like to mention that for me personally if it wasn’t for my Christian faith my path may have been very different.
Thank you for visiting the 'on the scent' website. We hope you enjoyed its content and will want to tell your friends about us.
Visit us again soon!
About Teresa
Certified in Canine Behaviour and a Student member of the KCAI Scheme. Associate member of the CFBA.
As long as I can remember I have been surrounded by animals - as a child I rode horses and have always had dogs. After leaving school I went to work in breeding and showing kennels and later went onto college after having my family to obtain a certificate in kennel and cattery management. Through this course I completed short work placements at rescue kennels, vets and boarding kennels where I became interested in dog behavioural problems.
A few years later I went onto do an Advanced award in Canine Behaviour. I am Certified in Canine Behaviour and am a Student member of the KCAI Scheme. I'm also an Associate Member of the CFBA (canine and feline behavioural association). This led me to meet Sophia, and we have since become great friends. We both share the same ideas and promote positive training methods and responsible dog ownership. Through our combined experience we make a great team in helping owners train and overcome any problems they may be experiencing with their dogs.
I am a great believer in letting dogs be dogs and working with their natural instincts as every dog is different. I keep an open mind and I am continuously learning from them and get great pleasure in helping those owners who feel that they have nowhere else to turn. I currently own two dogs a laid back Labrador and a feisty terrier who sometimes help us out in the classes.
As well as working alongside Sophia i run my own business - Feisty Fidos - devoted to dealing with behavioural and aggression issues.
For Dogs with Behavioural and Aggression Problems, contact Teresa: teresa@feistyfidos.com, or 01359 252 320.
About Pauline
Sophia says: "Here at ‘On the Scent’ I am delighted to welcome on board as a volunteer Dog Training Instructor a dear friend of mine of several years, Pauline. She only joined us recently and I believe she will be a real asset to the team."
Apart from my family, my greatest love is animals ~ and dogs in particular. For more than 40 years I have shared my adult life with them and couldn’t imagine ever being without a canine companion. They give us so much; sense our every mood, react to our most subtle body language and enrich our lives. In return I feel we owe it to them to make their lives as fulfilled as possible.
I can’t offer any formal canine qualifications but over the years I have gained knowledge and experience studying at the canine university of life! Beginning with the old style of formal training right through to the modern approach of Clicker training, plus a taster of most things in between. I have a special interest in canine psychology, as I like to understand why dogs do what they do. I believe there is no ‘one correct way’ to teach every dog. Like people, they are individuals, so if one approach doesn’t work, there are always others to consider. Everything I do is done with kindness, compassion, verbal and physical praise and food rewards.
As with humans, dogs need to know our guidelines for living happily together so my ethos is the 3 “Cs”:
- Be Concise with your instructions – don’t use six words when one will do, it only confuses your dog
- Be Consistent with your training – always use the same word and tone of voice for the same instruction, and
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Be sure to give plenty of Cuddles as rewards.
I share my life with two Labradors, Willow and Jasmine. They are trained in Obedience, Agility and as Gundogs, but first and foremost they are my best friends. I am never happier than when I am sharing my enthusiasm and experience with other dog owners, helping them to get the same happy, loving relationship with their own dogs as I have with mine.
About Oliver
My name is Oliver and I am a hobbyist trainer and a student member of the KCAI scheme. I have always had a great interest in animals of all shapes and sizes, but have a particular fondness and love of dogs. I currently own a German shorthaired pointer and it was through my love of the gundog and HPR breeds that led me to meet Sophia and the team at "On the Scent".
I am a great believer in using positive training techniques and methods, incorporating play, praise and reward to really bring out the best in our dogs, it’s great to train and have fun with them at the same time!
Since my time at "On the Scent" I have learnt that there are many ways in which we can train our dogs and that dogs learn at different rates, what might work for one dog may not for another. I do believe however that by being consistent and fair in our training, a dog can truly be "man's best friend!"
What Sophia has to say about Oliver: I first met Oliver in 2006 when he came along to meet my German Shorthaired Pointers. Oliver and his partner Hayley were very interested in the breed and wanted to know more about them before they made their final decision.(only wish more people would do this). Despite me giving them the negatives as well as all the positives of the breed and that they would be taking on the Ferrari of the Gundog world it didn’t stop them taking the plunge, as not long after our meeting I got a phone call asking me when they could enrol in to my puppy classes.
To cut a long story short, over the months that followed I could see that Oliver was a complete natural with the dog and had this rare gift of just being able to get the dog to do what it was asked to do without seemingly little effort. He also had this gift of being able to handle some of the more difficult dogs in the class. This is quite rare and with this in mind I asked him if he would like to be part of the 'On the Scent' team as a Volunteer Instructors Assistant. He said yes and as the saying goes the rest is history and I am looking forward to watching Oliver grow both in his training knowledge and in his confidence as an instructor.
Sophia & Paul's Dogs, and other animals!
