From Overstimulated to Outstanding – Archie’s Training Journey!

Archie was the third dog to join my Training Walks when they launched, and he’s been with me since June 2024. I first came across him when his owner posted on Facebook, mentioning that he had been through a couple of dog walkers but hadn’t found the right fit. As I later discovered, this was no fault of Archie’s—he just needed the right approach!

Archie is your classic bouncy, happy-to-be-alive Labrador! At 11 months old and full of energy, he was a big, strong pup who needed some guidance. However, he proved to be incredibly smart and eager to learn. With consistency and patience, he quickly picked up loose lead walking and recall, and thanks to his dedicated owners reinforcing the training at home, everything started coming together beautifully.

When Archie first joined, he was easily overstimulated, distracted, and prone to pulling on walks. But with structured training and the right exercises, he transformed into a calm, focused, and well-mannered walking companion. As he progressed, I introduced him to my own dog, Kaiba, who is just a month younger than Archie. The two quickly became the best of friends, and now they enjoy training walks together, working on recall, loose lead walking, and impulse control as a team.

While they love the occasional playful chase, their favourite activity is a calm sniffing session (all while narrowly avoiding peeing on each others heads). Walking them together has been a fantastic way to keep them engaged while supporting their training and overall well-being.

I’m so grateful to have met Archie and his owners and to have the opportunity to help guide him and his owners on their training journey. He’s come such a long way, and I can’t wait to see him continue to thrive!✨ As an added bonus, I’ll even be Archie’s date to his owners’ wedding in August! 💛 It’s such a special honour and a testament to the wonderful relationship I’ve built with Archie and his family.

Archie's owners review written in July 2024: "Alice has been looking after our very hyper 11 month old Labrador for the last few weeks and I can honestly say she is the best we have had! Following a pretty poor experience with a different walker, I was very anxious about allowing another person into my home and around my dog. Alice was very thorough and quickly assuaged my fears. My dog loves her and she treats him with so much love and respect. She is understanding of his sometimes naughty behaviour and is able to quickly and effectively redirect him. We get a detailed run through of what Alice has done with Archie on his walks as well as any relevant training guides so we can continue his training the rest of the week, as well as pictures and videos, some of which I have attached to this review. We are so thankful to Alice for her continued hard work and we cannot wait to work with her throughout Archie’s life. Thank you Alice, for all the love that you show our boy! We know he is in good hands and I don’t have to worry when you are coming to see him."