Your Trainer & Your Dog

Who Will Train My Dog?

The simple answer is, you will. Your relationship with your dog is the most important thing, once that bond is established, you will have a dog that will do anything for you. My job is to help you to develop that strong bond and to get the most out of your dog.

I am Damian Barson and I have been involved in dog training, canine behaviour and dog psychology most of my life. I'm based near Preston in Lancashire and have my own kennels where I work and train my own pack of gundogs, including Springer Spaniels, Cocker Spaniels, Labradors and Flatcoat Retrievers.

I started dog obedience training at the age of 18 and this sparked my passion to work with dogs and study canine behaviour so I could help to create balance in the relationship between owner and dog. I work with all breeds of dogs and their handlers to provide general obedience, group classes, one-to-one and behavioural training. I also offer specialist gundog training for working dogs through Tessleymoor Gundogs.

I hope my passion for dogs is infectious and encourages my clients to see what can be achieved with consistent training. I love to see happy dogs and owners and as a family man, welcome younger owners to my classes who often make excellent handlers.

Why Does My Dog Do That?

Canine behaviour and psychology is about understanding the pack structure. Your dog’s behaviour is affected by factors going back thousands of years, so to understand why they behave as they do, it becomes necessary to go back to the wolf and beyond.

Dogs began their association with humans well over 10,000 years ago. Since dogs came into our lives they have filled a number of roles; in modern times, breeds have been developed for specific purposes, such as herding, retrieving a hunter’s kill and pulling a sled. Although there are behavioural variations between breeds, the core behaviours of the domestic dog are very similar across breeds and can be traced back to their closest relative, the wolf.

While thousands of years of selective breeding has changed behaviour, dogs still communicate as the wolf does, through energy within the pack. As owners we like to humanise our dogs but their instinct is that they are part of the pack – in a domestic setting this is your family – so where they stand in that pack is very important. In order to get the most out of our dogs and ensure a happy relationship, we have to train ourselves to use our bodies, eyes and hands to communicate, rather than our voice. The gentle brush of one's hand on the dog's head should be regarded as a reward. As much as training the dog, I use my years of experience to train the owner to understand their dog's needs and create a positive environment for both domestic and working dogs.