Our 2.5 year old dog Charlie is a lurcher (saluki x) who has been struggling with dog interactions from about 7months old, when his social over-excitement and intensity turned into reactivity towards stranger dogs. He gets quickly overwhelmed and unsure in new social interactions.

We had Charlie on a chemical castration implant to assess whether hormones were a factor. While we had made good progress with training Charlie in that time, when we initially approached Walk & Train, we were missing opportunities to regularly practice dog neutrality, get feedback on our handling and be supported in real-life scenarios. In all the intense dog reactivity training work we no longer enjoyed walking our dog and walks were a source of dread. We were frustrated, and he was frustrated!

After a year with Linnea, Charlie is more balanced, our bond and communication has improved, and we both get over set backs much quicker. Going for walks is fun! Now, we were even able to go travelling with him for 6 weeks to Norway and back and everyone had a great time! 😊Through Linnea’s training we have gained a deeper understanding of our dog and can meet him where he’s at, rather than projecting our own feelings onto him.

Being part of a group of people who ‘get it’ has also been really beneficial - Walk & Train is such a supportive community!

I would highly recommend Linnea and Walk & Train ❤️

-Selma

We got in touch with Linnea last summer after our whippet Zebo started to show signs of anxiety/aggressively during our walks. Nine months in and Zebo is a happier and more confident dog- it’s like his internal happy light has been turned back on!

Linnea arranged an initial discussion with us so that she could fully understand Zebo’s history, typical routine and the issues we were experiencing and put together a plan to address these issues.

Through our individual one-to-one training and the group classes on a Sunday, Linnea has helped us to “open back up the communication line” with him which has made the world of difference to us.

Zebo was not food driven at all so we were worried that the training would be difficult but from the start Linnea gave us tips on how to handle this (only feed him during his walks/using high quality salmon paté mixed in with his kibble which he loves), we also changed our lead to one that has given us more control yet a more relaxed walk for the dog. The group walks have also been so helpful- you meet other owners who are in the same situation as you and you can work together on the new ways you've learnt to handle situations.

Linnea’s been really great at explaining all the cues that we didn’t pick up on before and helped us massively in being active and involved dog owners who “get their dog”.

We are currently working on long line training with a view to having Zebo off lead for walks in the near future.

We’re all much happier (the dog and the owners) so thank you Linnea for making a fantastically positive impact on a massive part of our lives.

-Mark

I am so grateful to Linnea of Walk & Train Edinburgh for giving me a better understanding of my sweet whippet Flo and her particular behaviours. She worked patiently with us, building our confidence and providing me with the ‘tools’ I needed to handle difficult situations when my dog was feeling unsure and frightened. She also helped me to gently modify some of my dog’s unwanted behaviours in our home. As a result, my dog is much more relaxed, confident and happy and I can definitely say the same for myself! Thank you Linnea!

-Elizabeth

We rescued Katie (Greyhound) when she was 6 and 1/2 years old. After a few months we reached out to Linnea (Walk and Train Edinburgh) to help us with Katie. It was also a difficult time as we were in lockdown.

Katie had separation anxiety, she would howl and get distressed when my husband left the room or house even though I was with her. She would often bark constantly especially early hours of the morning. Walks were stressful as she would frequently "freeze". She would also lunge and snarl at other dogs.

After an initial consultation followed by 1 to 1 training lessons we saw a huge difference in Katie. After 2 weeks we could go for a walk without any "freezing". With the training from Linnea all the other issues improved greatly and I believe we now have a happy dog and owners.

I continue with training and go to group classes as this proves to be a positive experience for both Katie and I. We were initially in the reactive dogs class then progressed to social dogs classes. On our last few classes Katie has walked off lead which has been a huge achievement .

I would never have had the confidence to do this without expertise advice, training and guidance from Linnea.

- Allyson

Before beginning training with Linnea walks with our lurcher Margot were often stressful. She would become fixated on chasing and playing roughly with other dogs and would also chase joggers and cyclists given the opportunity. One to one training sessions with Linnea have helped us bring Margot's focus back on us rather than on what is around her. Training and daily walks using a longline have really helped her impulse control and now she no longer chases after things she shouldn’t. Thanks to the socialisation sessions with Linnea’s dogs we understand our dog's behaviour much better and she is more calm and respectful around other dogs. Margot's recall has drastically improved and we can now even recall her when she is playing with other dogs. As a first-time dog owner I feel much more confident as a result of our training sessions and have an understanding of my dog’s body language and drives. I feel my bond with Margot has grown stronger as a result of learning new commands and games and we always look forward to our training sessions. Thank you, Linnea, for all your help and support!

-Amy

I cannot recommend Walk and Train Edinburgh enough! If you are reading all the glowing comments and thinking about contacting Walk and Train... do it! Linnea has given us so much helpful advice and activities to help improve our dog's behaviour and wellbeing. I was really struggling with my dog's stealing balls , sometimes being a bully and sometimes getting super scared and fleeing, reactivity on the lead to some dogs and generally mistrust of many people, guarding of resources and our house. We generally had a pretty fraught relationship and I was living a pretty limited life! Linnea has made me feel so much more confident and clearheaded about recognising and working on bad behaviour. With Linnea's advice, my dog and I have much more fun on walks and generally are building a better relationship all the time. If you are considering contacting Walk and Train Edinburgh, do it! You will get so many good strategies for whatever you are hoping to achieve!

-Cindy

Late last summer I welcomed an Italian Greyhound puppy named Luca into my home. Luca was my first dog and I was really keen to make sure he (and I as a newbie dog owner) got off to the best start.

Walk and train (Linnea) has been fantastic at helping us get all the basics right. From general obedience training, to confidence building, to how to behave around other dogs and why he reacts (and how to deal with it), Luca and I have learned together. It’s of course so true that much of a dog's behaviour is influenced by it’s owner and Linnea has helped me understand how I can best help my little boy, working with and training me as much as the pup.

While there’s still work to be done he really is a good boy and our latest success is off lead walking - something I honestly thought we’d never achieve, and I would never have dreamed of attempting without the pre-work Linnea helped us put in.

I’d highly recommend Walk and Train to any new puppy owner - the 1:1 sessions are hugely valuable.

- Fiona

We called Walk & Train after two previous dog trainers had failed to help with our re-homed lurcher who had become reactive to dogs and people, and was generally out of control, making our walks hugely stressful. Linnea firstly came to our home for a 3-hour session and what struck me immediately was her ability to look at the whole dog and her routine and so get to the root of her problems (us!). Her insistence on putting our dog back on the lead and starting her training from scratch, as well as giving us the ‘tools’ to recognise and prevent her aggressive lunging and barking, helped us get back in control. It also felt like we were growing a new and better relationship/partnership with our dog. We started attending the brilliant weekly walks for reactive dogs and have seen Cassie’s behaviour improve hugely over the last year. Walk & Train clients form a little family of dog owners who are respectful of each other’s dogs and their issues and help each other out - it’s great to know you’re not alone! We have found Linnea and Gregor at W&T to be very professional, enthusiastic, caring, extremely hard working and hugely knowledgeable (Linnea is writing a PhD related to dog/human relationships) while at the same time being friendly, approachable and non-judgmental. I would highly recommend them on every level, and I honestly don’t think we’d still have our dog Cassie if if it wasn’t for them.

- Lindy

We adopted an ex-racing greyhound Iana, she's an amazing dog with the sweetest temperament but used to freeze constantly when walking - sometimes at dangerous times like when crossing the road. There were times we had to carry her home, not an easy feat, she weighs nearly 30kgs! Linnea taught us how to take charge and walk Iana well on a lead. She also gave us strategies for dealing with her freezes and prey drive. Our walks went from being a total nightmare to fun overnight. We later progressed to long-line and recall training and now even walk and play with her off-lead when in a safe environment. My morning walks with Iana have become the highlight of my day, I'm so grateful.

- Mia

When I first met Linnea and Gregor I had already been to several dog trainers. Ruby was always well behaved in training classes and could easily manage all of the ‘tricks’ but was becoming increasingly reactive towards other dogs on our walks. She had been in a few fights at that time and would bark and lunge towards any dog. Walking her, especially with two kids in tow, was incredibly stressful. We were all worried that she’d really injure another dog.

Over the past year Walk and Train have supported me to build a relationship with my dog. I’ve learnt how to keep her calm in situations and to look to me for guidance. We’ve had one to one sessions in the park, group classes with other reactive dogs and play sessions with their own walking pack. Throughout it all Linnea and Gregor’s knowledgeable and gentle approach has taught me so much about how to manage her behaviour and keep us both calm. It’s not a quick fix and she’s definitely not the perfect dog but I’m pretty proud of how far we’ve both come. Thank you both.

- Clare

We contacted Walk and Train Edinburgh 6 months after we welcomed our rescue greyhound into our home. He loved other greyhounds but had no idea how to socialise with other breeds of dog and would get himself worked up into a frenzy, jumping and spinning on his lead, whenever he came across other dogs - particularly smaller breeds. Linnea was fantastic in our initial session - giving us advice and tips and tactics which we have been building on ever since. We were also able to attend some of the group classes which really helped with my confidence in handling Chris around other dogs.

Chris is like a different dog now. He's not perfect! But the difference is amazing. He can be calmly introduced to other dogs and is content to 'walk on by' almost all of the time. He no longer tries to jump four feet in the air when he sees something he thinks is 'chase-able', and our confidence in being able to cope with any of his antics if he does decide to get 'interested' in a smaller dog has grown immensely. We can't thank Linnea and Gregor enough - everyone is seeing such a difference in Chris, and ourselves and our dog walker are continuing to build on the great start that we made with their help. We would 100% recommend Walk and Train Edinburgh to anyone.

- Kirsteen