Live in HARMONY with your dog

With years of practical training and studying, I have the skills and expertise to help you achieve this.

Clare Parker and her dog Alice at the beach admiring the view

Feeling FRAZZLED?

Wondering whether having a dog should be this hard?

I’ve been that dog owner (and I’ll be honest, there’s some days I still feel that way!)

I didn’t know it at the time, but my path to becoming a dog trainer started back in the summer of 2016 when we fostered a dog from a local rescue for the weekend.

Or so we thought…

Alice quickly snuck onto the sofa and into our hearts forever.

Originally a street dog from Bulgaria, she’s provided more than her fair share of challenges: growling at other dogs, barking and lunging at traffic, chasing rabbits and squirrels, stopping and freezing on walks, freaking out at random noises, the list goes on…

We sought advice from various trainers and behaviourists, and learning how to help Alice navigate our world led me down a rabbit hole of absorbing as much knowledge as I could about dog training and behaviour.

I also started volunteering at Dogs4Rescue in Manchester – the rescue that Alice had come from – and gained so much experience from walking and working with countless dogs before they found their forever homes.

Clare from Parker and Pooch Dog Training walking her dog Alice on a sunny day

I realised I didn’t just want to learn about dog training, I wanted a career in it!

THE NEXT STEPS

And so I began studying formally, working my way up to qualifying as a Canine Behaviour Practitioner by passing my Level 5 diploma, an OFQUAL regulated course from Animal Courses Direct.

At the same time, I started helping out at group classes and shadowing 1-2-1’s to gain valuable experience, which ultimately enabled me to pass my IMDT (Institute of Modern Dog Trainers) assessment with flying colours, gaining a distinction.

And so I quit my job as an accountant to join the world of working with dogs full-time.

I created Parker & Pooch, first to provide 1-2-1 walking for those dogs that needed a different environment to group walks, and then to offer 1-2-1 training too.

But back in the day, when I was first thinking about starting my own business, I had all these doubts: how could I call myself a dog trainer when I had my own dog that was still busy barking and lunging at the world? I mean who would want to work with someone who couldn’t even “fix” their own dog’s issues?!
Years down the line, I’ve come to realise that’s one of the things that people value most – that I get what they’re going through.

I understand the stresses and strains that come with living with a challenging dog, and the wondering whether those hopes and dreams of how life “should” be will ever come to be.

Clare Parker and Pooch offer solo dog walking and dog training

I share my back story so that you know that I get it.

I get it that you love your dog but you’re driven to distraction by them sometimes.

I get it that you absolutely adore them but some days you just don’t know what to do with them.

And I get it that all you want is to live a happy stress-free life in harmony with your dog.

So the good news is that with all my years of practical training and studying, I have the skills and expertise to help you achieve that.

And the even better news is that it comes with bucketloads of empathy, zero judgement, and maximum understanding.

5 star client review

☆☆☆☆☆

Calm and non-judgemental

“It’s been a joy to work with Clare – she is a rare dog professional who is just as skilled at communicating with the people involved as with the dog.

Coping with our collie’s anxiety and reactivity is emotional for us too, and I could tell Clare really understood this. She was calm, non-judgemental, and our dog loved her right away.”

MAXIE WITH NELL