Dog Training and Socialisation Support in South Manchester.

Hello! I'm Jess and I’m an experienced adolescent dog coach.

I guide dogs and their owners through the process of confidence building and socialisation — dealing with distractions to build trust, focus, and emotional resilience in the real world, not just in training sessions.
My approach is kind and practical. I support owners with step-by-step training and emotional insight, so they can understand what their dog is going through, stay connected, and grow together with confidence.

A badge indicating certification as a dog trainer, with a gold and white color scheme on a dark green background. The badge features a crest at the top with a dog silhouette, crown, and laurel wreath, and includes text stating "Certified Dog Trainer," along with checkmarks for 'Vetted,' 'Monitored,' and 'Reviewed.'

“Jess has been working with us and our bouncy one year old whippet Wilf and in just 2 sessions we are already seeing results. Our outdoor session has improved his recall and our home training session has made day to day life much easier. Jess is great to work with and we have learnt so much just from watching her approach and interactions with Wilf, we would 100% recommend!”

Dog Training Services

Initial 2hr Consultation | £89

Follow Up Sessions | 1hr | £69

Package Options Available!

Get moving on your journey towards stress-free walks! My 121 coaching focusses on growing your confidence as your dog’s trainer and guardian and helping you to work around the distractions of real life, so you can truly make progress. I will give you all the games and activities you need to de-stress your dog walks and enjoy the great outdoors!

More Info

Two people and a dog walking on a grassy path near green bushes and trees on a sunny day.

121 Dog Training and Coaching

45min | £39

Help your dog learn how to be around dogs! A big part of navigating life outdoors with your pup is dealing with other dogs. I have my own dog, Ernie (Irish Setter pictured above), who is a trained stooge dog and a great sidekick to teach your young one the one thing us humans cannot - dog body language and social cues! Come on a walk with us and practice your training around a dog distraction. These sessions will teach you how to safely socialise your puppy and more confidently navigate day-to-day dog encounters.

Two dogs sitting on green grass in sunlight, one large brown dog and one small white dog with curly fur.

Dog and Puppy Socialisation Sessions

Raluca + Ike

“I had no agenda, nothing that needed “fixing” but I knew I needed her incredible knowledge in my dog's life. Jess is probably the closest I’ll get to speaking English to my furry buddy, her passion for dogs truly shines through and is conveyed in a non-judgemental, fun manner. After only a few sessions I understand my dog so much better”

How it Works…

Fill out an Enquiry

I’ll get in touch to discuss your needs, make sure we’re a good fit and get you registered.

Book in for your Initial Consultation at a time that suits you! We’ll begin working towards your goals with a plan that is tailored to you and your dog.

Choose your follow up structure (pay as you go, or a 3 or 6 session package option).

Receive support from me between sessions and send me updates, videos and questions to make the most of your time with Walkwise.

Take your new-found skills and take on the world together!

Become an ongoing wisdom seeker and have me as part of your regular dog care team, I can help you every step of the way!

Check out my Instagram page

to get a feel for what I’m about, and for free advice and and training tips!

You've heard the phrase 'learn to walk before you run', right? In dog training, this looks like: 👂Teaching and reinforcing listening skills before training recall (I.e learn what a cue is to your dog, and how to teach it properly, before expecting them to follow one) 🫶 Building a bond before training loose lead walking (I.e learn what motivates your dog to spend time with you before expecting them to focus on you around distractions) 🫂 Developing trust and understanding before overcoming reactivity (I.e learn what triggers your dog's emotions and how to support them to feel safe, before putting them in front of what scares or frustrates them). It all starts with teaching the basics. Going through a learning process together, even with simple behaviours like middle, covers all your bases - your dog learns and becomes confident in their abilities, you teach your dog and become confident in your abilities, and you have fun engaging with one another to develop a trusting, reciprocal and loving bond. When you have these things, the rest can fall into place without you realising! Your recall improves, your lead walking improves and you're more able to connect with your dog around distractions and triggers. What skill will you teach your dog? Need ideas!? Get in touch! #dogtraining #listeningskills #bondwithmydog #trainmydog #strongbasics #trusttheprocess

Need I say...anything? I love silent communication with dogs. I love body language and non verbal cues and sign language when it comes to my human relationships, and all of it applies to dogs in a big way too. The best, most efficient way to teach a dog a verbal cue is to teach a non verbal one first- and then pair that cue with the new verbal one. This way your dog gets really confident in the behaviour in their own language and then can make the association between it and that weird noise (word) you make (say) 🙃 When you mix them together before your dog really understands its gets confusing and then you'll think 'well they should know what I mean' but they don't. And yes j sometimes incorporate my non verbal cues into an elaborate interpretive dance to make me feel like I'm on Britain's got talent, because life is for living. Maybe I'll post one of those one day. Have a go, it's great fun (dance or no dance) and very cool to see that side of your dog! #dogtraining #interpetivedance #nonverbalcues #silenceisgolden

So many skills to build, luckily we have lots of time! Indie has just started her weekly training visits and she's coming on leaps and bounds (sometimes literally 🫠). So far it's been a mixture of new activities to build patience, thinking and listening skills, long line walks at her local green space and lots of play time to bond! Today we moved some of our activities outside and she managed to focus really well, she finds the outdoors very overstimulating so this was great, to see her be her thoughtful clever self in that environment. She got in the car THRICE times, and each time totally on her own, this is a first! I can't wait to get her out for some varied enriching walks when her confidence builds up. She's a real sweetie and I'm loving working with her and her owner to build the skills she needs to be a happy socialised dog ❤️ #dogtrainer #goldenretreiver #trainingvisits #support #skills

You may have seen an earlier post I made showing my love for the silliness whilst taking Flo's training on the road. This is where we're at now - working around people, even those coming towards her and looking at her. AND in this area, which has historically been a hot spot for her reactivity. So proud 🥰 Underneath this is a message though, and that is: You cannot skip a step in behaviour change. I recently attended a networking event of dog professionals and one thing that came up was the experience of clients not following a plan of developing a behaviour through incremental levels of difficulty - and thus not seeing progress. Its like climbing a ladder and then deciding to jump up and try to grab the rung 3 rungs up. You loose your footing and you're much more likely to slip, fall and find yourself back at the bottom. Flo has displayed reactivity towards people for a long time. So I picked an activity that would make her feel good (impulse control and release - great for gun dogs) and I made it our go to fun activity - AT HOME. I'll say it again - at home. We did it loads at home, so that it was actually fun and not a distraction from something bad. Then we went outside. Yes she found it a bit harder to concentrate, but we did it when there was no one around. When someone appeared we stopped and moved away and had free time, because the enjoyment is what i want, not the behaviour at any cost. Then we did it in more distracting places, like in green spaces away from home, or at a distance from people. Short sessions, lots of wins, not a lot of pressure. And now we're here, in an area where she's shown reactivity before, with people walking past within metres, watching us train, and she is too busy focussing on our activity, feeling good and waiting for her release cue, to be worried what they're doing. People? No big deal. And thats the win 🏆 If you're trying to train your dog, or change how they feel about something, and you want help to make your dog's ladder - get in touch! #dogtraining #Reactivityjoumrey #behaviourchangeladder #makeminefun #Cockerpoo #bestgirl

Is your dog a social butterfly!? It's a great problem to have, in my opinion. I'll take confidence and curiosity over fear and apprehension any day. HOWEVER, it is, of course, not ideal if they're bundlng in to every dog expecting an involved interaction or equally keen response. This is why yes, it is important for social dogs to understand that they can't greet or play with all dogs. But if they can't meet or play with ANY dogs, for fear of them being 'too social', you will have a potentially unfulfilled pup who's simply more likely to bugger off to a dog the moment they're free. What I love to see in my local area are those social dogs who have friends at the park they meet up with regularly. They get their silly playful outlets as well as the experience of simply hanging out together. Getting to know the dogs in your area (and yes the people too 😅) means you can provide safe and fun social experiences for your outgoing pal by discovering who makes a good match and who doesnt. Advocating for those that would rather have their space and allowing your dog to interact with those that want to will teach them to be discerning adult dogs. Dogs are very much capable of learning the difference and the body language if given the opportunity, the social guys just need a little extra help to slow down and learn to read the more introverted individuals out there. I think the priority should be towards teaching dogs to be thoughtful and tolerant, to read one other, rather than ignore be isolated from another. Avoidance doesn't teach them how to be polite. We must accept the different personalities out there and show compassion and understanding to one another. Social dogs are not the devil, or 'a problem', they're just innocent animals looking for social fulfillment - as owners we're best positioned to provide it for them whilst respecting others in our local space. #doginteractions #safesocialisation #socialdog #discodog #dogtrainer #community

🧠The neuroscience behind dog socialisation Your dog's brain is full of neurons (a type of cell that transmits information). Neurons form chains called 'neural pathways' that convert sensory information into behavioural responses - such as seeing a dog and approaching for a greeting. To understand these pathways, here is a really handy analogy: Imagine an overgrown field and you’re trying to create a pathway across. It’s difficult - it takes time, effort, maybe even tools, to clear a safe path through. Now imagine you’re the 100th person to walk across that field - it’s easier, you can do it in less time and, most importantly, you’ll choose that path rather than carve out a new one. Now imagine nobody crosses that field for a few months, the grass and brambles grow back and it’s hard to cross again. It’s the same for neural pathways - they become strengthened with use even until they’re a 4 lane motorway. But they become weaker with disuse. The weakening and strengthening of neural pathways happens all the time and we call it ‘neuroplasticity’. So let’s bring it back to your dog’s socialisation. If your dog frequently displays an unwanted behaviour, such as rushing over to unknown dogs, they will continue to do so and they’ll get better at it. They won’t choose a different path because 'rushing in' is the motorway! To form a different response to seeing a dog, it is your job as their owner to carve out a new path, and help them practise so it becomes their new go-to move. To make this more effective, you also need to weaken the ‘rushing in’ motorway. In dog training we call this 'management’. You need to manage your dog rushing in, for example with the use of a lead to manage their pace as they approach, or by keeping them at a distance whilst they learn a new response. Without management changing behaviour is a real battle! This is just one example, but this principle applies to all of your dog’s behaviours. Management and prevention weakens the unwanted neural pathways, and teaching an alternative behaviour creates a more appropriate behavioural pathway that they can use for years to come! #dogtraining #neuroscience #dogsocialisation #safety

Stay safe guys ✌️

It's hella windy in Manchester at the moment. People often comment that their dog goes crazy in the windy weather - and it's because everything suddenly changed! The smells are all in the wrong place, and they're all mixed together and confusing. For some, that's exciting and novel, and for others, it's disconcerting - both of which can lead to things like zoomies, lack of self-control, and becoming more distracted from you. If you want to help your dog settle into windy weather more easily, give them time to sniff and take it in. They're doing a lot of processing, and that can make it harder to multitask - they might just need a moment to be able to respond. If they're not able to stand and take it all in you can provide scatter feeds to give them a task - the sniffing for a known scent will help them filter out the whirlpool of scent blowing around them. Now, don't forget it's also OK to just be a bit silly when they're feeling silly. Everything in moderation! But storms are becoming a part of life now due to climate change - these strategies can help your dog be themselves no matter the weather 🙂

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