Testimonials
Read our clients’ stories.
Use the search bar to find stories of dogs with particular issues or of specific breeds. Click on the tag above the dog’s name to narrow it down by service or breed group.
Dugs Paws Adventures and Training
As a dog walker and trainer I am always looking to better myself and learn as much as possible.
I completed a shadow programme with Linnea and she was so welcoming and happy to help me and pass on lots of her valuable knowledge. She is fantastic at what she does and her sim is to help dog and owner live in harmony. I have learned so much from her and even got to use my own dog as a stooge dog.
I also went out with Gregor for the day on his adventure walk and he is so passionate about his dogs and owners too, he puts so much into his walking and the dogs are so lucky to have him. I also learned lots from him also.
I always recommend them and will continue to do more shadow sessions to learn as much as possible. Thank you so much I appreciate all your help and advice
-Claire
Zebo
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
Ollay
When we were walking our dog, we felt uneasy as we felt he was unpredictable. We wanted to learn how to manage his behaviour, how to reduce his stress, reduce our own stress and eventually work towards him becoming a dog who is neutral to his surroundings. For reference, our dog is a 2yr old male neutered Border Terrier.
We have struggled with frustration reactivity, which is sometimes fear based. Our dog has history to biting other dogs too and we felt embarrassed that our dog was behaving badly. Linnea has helped us see that actually our dog just doesn't understand what is expected of him, especially in a situation that makes him feel threatened.
Since we have been under the guidance of Walk & Train Edinburgh, we have felt fully supported, and confident in our technique to manage our dog's behaviour. Walk and Train helped us to create realistic expectations and improve our relationship with our dog. We see a vast improvement in him, and ourselves, particularly stress levels, and we know under Linnea's guidance, although a long road ahead, we will eventually reach a stage in which we know and can trust our dog will be able to make good choices all by himself. I hate to think about how much we would still be struggling if it weren't for Linnea!
-Elizabeth
Merlin
I first got in touch with Walk & Train for help with my 1.5 year old Cardigan corgi Merlin, after being recommended them by a friend.
Merlin used to overreact to everything. He wanted to say hello to every person he saw, play with every dog, bark at every noise near our flat, and eat literally anything within grabbing distance on the ground. All of this was making him really difficult to walk and I felt like I'd missed something in that he wasn't able to be calm like other dogs.
In our initial consultation and 1:1, Linnea opened my eyes to the fact that he was actually feeling frustrated, and there were things I could do to work towards keeping him within threshold.
Linnea truly treats each dog as an individual. She saw right away that Merlin is high-energy (a real party boy) so showed me lots of games to make things like recall training fun, and different styles of rewarding to keep things interesting.
We regularly attend group classes and I can already see such a difference in Merlin. As we've progressed through the levels the pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place, from his basic lead walking and obedience to being calm around other dogs. I feel better equipped as a handler too, and am able to recognise and address triggers much earlier.
Another thing I love is the Walk & Train community. You are among likeminded people who want the best for their dogs, and are always ready to share a tip or meet up for some extra practise.
I honestly couldn't recommend enough, thank you!
-Bianca
Every Dog
As a professional dog walker, and owning my 2 dogs I felt I did have a fairly solid amount of canine knowledge so when I discovered Walk & Train on social media I was so impressed.
After a while I thought I would approach them to see if I could shadow them, and learn more - but I didn’t have anything specific in mind.
Linnea was so welcoming, so patient and so humble. Her outstanding level of knowledge and ability to adapt to suit every human client, not just dog is such a gift. Her goal is for each dog and their owner to thrive - not just manage undesired behaviours, which is so important.
I also spent 1 day shadowing Gregor on his group walk, and from that I have taken invaluable knowledge and applied it to my own work structure. The dogs absolutely thrive in his care, from the moment they leave their homes to the moment they return.
They both look at the full picture of each dog and owner, their lifestyle, the dogs lifestyle and breed needs.
I never hesitate to recommend them, and only wish that more dog walkers and dog trainers would honour dogs in the same way they do.
-Robin
Archie
Before contacting Walk & Train my walks with my 3 year old cockapoo Archie were STRESSFULL! He would lunge and bark at people, dogs and at times even his own shadow.
In my head I thought Archie was being aggressive towards everything which was rapidly changed after my initial consultation with Linnea. She helped me understand that Archie was coming from a place of fear, frustration and anxiety which then allowed us to put in place the right tools and techniques to try and reduce these elements.
We proceeded with follow up 1:1 sessions, working on distractions, building confidence (for both Archie and ME!), introducing fun interactions with nature and ultimately being able to read his behaviour so I could distract/correct before something becomes a trigger.
We also joined the group walk sessions which were an absolute dream and allowed me opportunities to put all the hard work into practice in a setting were other dog owners were understanding of owning a reactive dog.
Walks with my Archie are now a much better experience. He no longer reacts to people and I’m able to offer him reassurance if he’s showing signs of anxiety when passing other dogs. He’s now a much more relaxed boy both inside and outside and it’s all thanks to Linnea and her extensive knowledge and patience. Thank you from the both of us!
-Natalie
Flora
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
Esk Valley Dog Training & Walking
Many many thanks to Linnea for your support in the last year. The guidance you gave has been so supportive to myself as a fellow Dog Trainer and Walker. I still have the advice you gave in place now and it gave me massive support and confidence in what I was doing and how I was going about the job. I really cannot thank you enough in supporting me with the success and I now enjoy. Thank you!
-Nick
Luna
We would highly recommend Linnea - both for the one to one sessions she offers and also the group dog classes. Our pomsky Luna was a lockdown puppy who was always desperate to meet every other dog that went past and with very selective hearing on certain commands (mainly on recall!). As first time dog owners we have benefited hugely from Linnea's help and guidance - initially with a number of one to one sessions to work on keeping Luna calmer and long line sessions to work on recall. Since group classes were able to resume in early 2021 we have been through a number of blocks for social dogs and we can certainly see further improvement in Luna - whilst still full of energy her responses to commands and ability to move past other dogs has improved enormously. Thank you Linnea for all your help!
-Mike
Walnut
Our cocker spaniel Walnut is an intact male, who often draws unprovoked negative/ aggressive attention from unfamiliar dogs on our walks. After getting attacked by an uncontrolled dog, I was extremely worried about potential negative impact it might have on his confidence and interactions with other dogs. Not to mention the anxiety I was feeling taking him on daily walks due to frequent negative interactions. I have contacted Linnea and Gregor to take him on their pawsome pack adventures twice a week. I knew that they specialised in reactive dogs, therefore I trusted their supervision of any occuring interactions. Since joining the Walk&Train pack, Walnut's confidence improved massively and I am often blown away by how well he now deals with (and quickly recovers from) difficult social situations. His social skill repertoire has expanded and I see him interact with other dogs in appropriate ways without escalating the situations unnecessarily and listening to any social cues the other dogs are demonstrating. This in turn gave myself a huge confidence boost and I feel less anxious taking him on walks. On the adventure days Walnut is often found sitting on the stairs and staring at the door to be picked up, so I am sure he enjoys the adventures very much! Upon dropoff, Gregor always takes time to update me on how Walnut is getting on, who his best buddies are and who he plays with. Linnea and Gregor also often upload Instagram stories with snapshots from the adventures, which I always enjoy and follow even on the days our dog is not joining in! I could not be more pleased with Walk&Train and I wish I'd contacted them sooner!
-Daumante
Rhum
I have a young, very exuberant Dobermann who has from day 1 struggled with calmness and anxiety in general, especially around other dogs manifesting in frustrated lunging/barking, separation anxiety - all the good stuff. Echoing all the other reviews - Linnea is fantastic, and has given me a lot of confidence in my handling. Rhum came to Walk & Train when she was at the beginning of her recovery from a pretty scary and ongoing health issue. Linnea has taken all of this in her stride, her knowledge and experience has really helped us. I feel safe knowing that Linnea truly cares about Rhum's wellbeing and is considerate of her health when designing our training plan, looking at the whole picture with regards to her behaviour. We are loving the classes we currently go to alongside the 1-2-1 sessions which are building together nicely. Linnea's training style and techniques are genuinely addressing the issues and aren't just managing them endlessly. I'm hoping that we will also be able to join the GRC sport classes at some point to take her training even further! It's like a family, no judgement amongst other class members and so much support. Thanks so much!!!
-Rosie
Oscar
We contacted Walk & Train shortly after we adopted our 7 year old terrier Oscar from a shelter. He was very loud on his walks, barking at dogs, bikes, buggies, joggers, loud cars, you name it! We really had our hands full and began to feel a bit overwhelmed! I was so impressed with Linnea’s knowledge and understanding, and I instantly felt more relaxed knowing that we had her support. She has helped us build a really strong relationship with Oscar, and now our walks are much more enjoyable! We regularly attend the Sunday classes and it’s an absolute joy to see Oscar trotting alongside lots of other dogs in a polite and peaceful mood - something we thought would have been impossible before. I would recommend Walk and Train to any owner who wants the best for their dog.
-Lucie
Duffy
I initially contacted Linnea at Walk and Train Edinburgh to learn more about GRC dog sports and I could not be more pleased I did! Duffy is a rescue staffy who gets frustrated very easily. We started with a couple of 1-2-1 sessions and the skills we learned meant Duffy was so much more relaxed and happy to be out and about. He was able to switch from being full on and high energy in play to being calm and sniffing in busy areas! We started the sporty dog classes this summer, travleing over an hour from Fife each week, and they have proven to be invaluable to myself and Duffy's progress. Some people probably think I'm mad traveling so far for dog training but it is so worth it and I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else! Duffy is a much more relaxed and happy dog now and I can't thank Linnea enough!!
-Jodie
Katie
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
Hugo
We contacted Linnea initially after our 1.5 year old Staffy was becoming over excited and over stimulated very easily, not knowing how to set clearer boundaries and work with Hugo in a positive manner. He is also nervous and will jump at the drop of a hat, so we had many aspects to work on. We had two 1:1 sessions with Linnea which set us on the right path with our training. With clear guidance we started to see a difference after a few months. We then unfortunately had a series of incidents with another dog during lockdown which affected Hugos' behaviour around other dogs. We are now attending group classes which has really improved his attention and confidence around other dogs when out and about. Would highly recommend Linnea and Walk and Train.
-Alexa
Lonzo
We originally booked in with Linnea to learn more about the “sporty dog” classes at the start of the year and have been attending their classes ever since! My dog Lonzo is a Doberman and we have been working through some reactivity/ aggression issues. I had been searching for the right trainer for some time that would prepare us for “real life” and to help Lonzo actually overcome these issues. I’m so glad we came across the Walk & Train website! Linnea has been invaluable to our progress and her wealth of knowledge in dog training shines through in everything she does.
Lonzos engagement with me is much higher on our walks with all of the practice we get in the real life scenarios set up at classes and what I’ve learned about play & building strong relationships. We have now signed up to the level 2 reactivity classes for the next step in Lonzos training and we can’t wait to see where we can get to with the help of Linnea.
-Hannah
Lyra
Linnea and Walk and Train have been an absolute godsend for me and my worried young german shepherd. Linnea has given us heaps of really positive strategies that are totally effective in reducing her anxiety around things. Linnea is so approachable that I can ask her anything without feeling that I might be being a bit daft! Her in-depth knowledge always comes up with a plan to help manage issues that is always positive and confidence building for my dog.
I really couldn't recommend her enough.
-Sandra
Trevor
With her incredible professionalism and expertise, Linnea has given us the tools and confidence to train and help our rescue to deal with other dogs without becoming overly worked up. She has been an absolute lifesaver for us by helping our pup to become more relaxed and obedient. Highly recommended!
Marky
I cannot thank Linnea & Gregor enough for all their help and support so far in training our dog-reactive little rescue terrier!
We got in touch with Walk & Train Edinburgh shortly after Marky joined our family, when it became apparent a few months in, that he struggled with dealing with strange dogs we met on our walks, lungeing, barking, and generally being a little antisocial terror. Our daily walks became stressful for everyone involved: us, Marky and every dog who had the misfortune to cross our path!
We asked Linnea & Gregor for help, and we are so glad we did! Marky joined their training programme, a mix of solo training sessions, followed by group classes when they felt he could handle them.
The difference in Marky’s behaviour has been amazing! Thanks to Gregor and Linnea’s help and advice, we feel we can now communicate better with him, and support him in stressful situations he would have found difficult to cope with only a few months ago. They gave us some tips and exercises to practice so that we could safely introduce him to our friends’ dogs, and fast-forward a few months, he’s now got a little pack of doggy friends he loves to go on adventures with!
We are still regularly training with Gregor & Linnea, as we’re is only at the beginning of our journey towards being chilled around strange dogs. And we’re really enjoying the training - the sessions are fun, engaging and stimulating for both dogs and humans. It’s also really great to be able to meet other people in the reactive group classes who are going through a similar journey, sharing tips and stories on how to best deal with the off-lead, “he’s just being friendly” dogs and their owners!
I’d recommend Walk & Train to anyone who is struggling with their dog’s reactivity. Marky’s happier, we’re happier, the neighbourhood dogs are happier. The results speak for themselves!
Arthur
We are so grateful we found Linnea, and Walk & Train.
We have a Welsh Terrier called Arthur – he’s a typical terrier (he knows his own mind, and is a very determined chap) and when we first met Linnea we were at a bit of a low ebb. We felt overwhelmed and were struggling and unsure where to turn. This was added to because we found out when Arthur was a young pup that he has IBD and does not tolerate protein, which means he is on a very (very!) specialised and restricted diet.
Linnea has worked with us for almost 2 years now - and whilst we are still a work in progress - she has helped us understand Arthur so much better and has built our own confidence whilst also strengthening our relationship with him.
Training sessions are personalised, relevant, and solutions-focused and (when you put in the effort) they work!
As well as being a stellar trainer, Linnea has also been a huge support to us. She's helped us realise what's important (and what's not), has helped us put things in perspective, given us belief and we are in such a better place with Arthur now
Linnea really is a bit of a godsend. Arthur loves her - which helps too.
-Jayne
Click “Older Posts >” to read more stories.
Get in touch.