Experts in dog behaviour and training in the North-East

Trainers Adam Wilson, 29, and Jonny Richardson, 28, have already seen a great response since starting their dog training business in October 2021 with many satisfied customers – as their Facebook reviews testify.

Their grounded and relatable approach has helped many dog owners get the best from their pets: the pair specialise in problem behaviour, reactivity and aggression, based on their own experience as well as their dog training careers.

And they’ve recently launched a subscription-based online learning library to help dog owners learn at their own pace that offers Adam and Jonny’s characteristic common sense insights as and when you need them.

“We try to make training very simple,” says Adam. “Our biggest skill is how we put the information across to our clients. We work at a pace that people can understand using honest and relatable analogies.”

With seven dogs at home between them, Adam and Jonny understand the stress that a dog with behaviour issues can cause.

“The reason we got into dog training was because we had problematic reactive dogs and understood how taxing that can be – it makes your life a misery. The motivation for us is to help the dog but also the owner,” says Jonny.

“Most of our clients have an issue with their dog that is creating an imbalance in their lives,” adds Adam.

“Having a dog should be something that makes you look forward to finishing work and coming home, but some people dread it if they have been given bad advice and it then becomes a daily stressor.

“We have had people crying through the sessions. The reality is that within a couple of sessions, the dogs are turned around.

“At the end of the day, you want to go for a relaxing walk in the sunshine with the safety and the knowledge that your dog is reliable. We are here to help people restore that normality.”

As the pair explain, thanks to the surge in dog ownership during by the pandemic, around a third of households in the UK now own a dog – and this has also sparked an increase in the number of dog trainers.

With a plethora of new approaches, it can be difficult to choose the right trainer but, as Jonny says, “you can’t beat good old-fashioned dog training – which is why we offer effective, realistic and affordable training that can be applied by anyone”.

"There is a tendency to make dog training appear more complex than it really is, often leaving owners feeling hopeless and deflated. With many clients having worked with multiple trainers before they find us with little to no results, when in reality their dogs behavioural problems were actually fairly mild and manageable with the right knowledge. Nothing beats honest dog training for the real world."

And it’s important to bear in mind that your four-legged friend is still a dog and should be treated as such. “We have to treat dogs as dogs,” Adam adds. “Loving a dog and understanding dogs are two completely different things.”

Their tried and tested methods don’t offer a quick-fix solution, though, for the right reasons. “Dog training, especially if you have got a problem behaviour, takes time and commitment and consistency.

“We only spend a short time with the dogs themselves, so it’s as much about training the owner as the dog.

"By getting owners to truly understand and enjoy training, the dog thrives as a result."

Find out more about how Valorant K9’s leading experts in canine behaviour and training can help you and your dog at www.valorantk9.co.uk