Meet Some of our Tutors
"Joining Puppy School provided a neat structure for developing my skills as a trainer"
Amanda Childs
Amanda Childs lives in Surrey and has been a Puppy School Tutor since 2016. She runs a successful Dog Training and Dog Walking business called Happy Buddies and runs Puppy School courses in Lower Kingswood, Reigate and Dorking. Amanda is also a Regional Manager within Puppy School and looks after a team of Tutors across Surrey, Hampshire and Wiltshire.
"I love being a Puppy School Tutor! I can honestly say the best decision I have ever made was to leave my career in Human Resources and finally follow my dream to work with dogs. It was a scary leap of faith but one I have absolutely no regrets about making!
I initially started dog walking but realised that I had so much more to offer and this is when I looked into joining Puppy School. I currently run 6 Puppy School classes a week and also offer the SuperPup course, my own Canine College course and Canine Hoopers courses too. I run my classes during the day, in the evenings and at weekends alongside my dog walking services and 121 training consultations.
I have two wonderful dogs of my own and love spending time walking and training them. I love the way they make me laugh each day with their little quirks and personality traits and how enthusiastic they become when 'mummy's treat training pouch' comes out.
The best thing about being a Puppy School tutor is seeing how far the puppies and owners (they are a team afterall), come within six weeks. It is so rewarding to see how my input, guidance, support and knowledge can help owners and their dogs bond, develop and learn together in such a fun and enjoyable way. I receive some lovely feedback from my clients and this is wonderful positive reinforcement for me! The support team within Puppy School is amazing. It really does feel like a family and one that is great to be a part of. Here's to many many more years of being part of the Puppy School team!"
"Being fortunate enough to be welcomed into the family has quite literally been a life changing experience for me and I might be a bit biased but I think it’s fair to say that I really do have the best job in the world!”
Imogen Haley
Imogen Haley lives in Walton-on-Thames with her two dogs Albert and Rita. She founded her dog training business ‘Lady & the Hound’ in 2017 which is also home to Surrey Puppy Schools in Walton, Sunbury, West Molesey and London Puppy Schools in Richmond and Hampton. Imogen is registered as an Animal Training Instructor with the ABTC and is also registered with the APDT.
"I decided to join the Puppy School family as a tutor after training in classes with one of my own dogs when he was a puppy. I fell in love with the whole ethos of the company, from the emphasis on kind and reward based training to how welcoming our tutor was to me as a novice dog owner at the time. Our classes were warm and friendly and I thought how wonderful it would be to be able to share all of this with other owners but for a living - and I have never looked back!
Lady & the Hound runs a daily schedule of Puppy School classes at five different indoor venues across Surrey and London and has a team of additional Associate Tutors, all of whom also love what they do. Our aim is to make what could be a daunting experience for both puppy and owner an easy and enjoyable one and we are delighted that most owners often decide to come on and further their training with us in one of our follow-on Juniors classes too. We particularly welcome families to join us in our classes and love that our junior handlers often end up being the most committed!
Lady & the Hound also offers pre-school classes and private one-to-one tuition as well as a variety of online behaviour consultations including help with separation anxiety and general puppy advice for new and first time owners."
In a moment that changed my life, I was offered the job and started my career working with assistance dogs
Hannah Liebeskind
I'm Hannah Liebeskind and I ran Horsham Puppy School but recently relocated and am hoping to continue my Puppy School work in my new area. I joined Puppy School back in 2015 and, if I hadn't been a qualified tutor, I would never have got my first, full time job working with assistance dogs and doing what I do now 8 years later.
I saw a job advert for Canine Partners in 2016 and didn't think I'd get the job but thought I'd give it a shot as I ticked a fair few boxes having been trained up with Puppy School in positive reinforcement training which was a prerequisite for the work. In a moment that changed my life, I was offered the job and started my career working with assistance dogs.
The dogs are taught skills such as opening doors, tugging off clothing or picking up dropped items. Each task can be difficult to achieve for a person independently if, for example, they are a wheelchair user or perhaps have a dexterity impairment. I learnt so much from both the dogs and the people and last year, after 7 years at the charity, I took the leap to develop my career and move to an international assistance dog charity supporting people with visual impairments as a Training and Behaviour Advisor. My work here is to support the dogs for perhaps more complex needs that will support their journey to support someone with a visual impairment.
I completely credit Puppy School in getting me on this career path. Having learnt my foundation skills at the initial training I attended every CPD event they provided and was encouraged to continue learning with other experts too. Puppy School is so generous with knowledge and its network, the culture of development is amazing and it offers a safe environment to learn without fear of asking a silly question. In 2021 I passed my APDT assessment and would never have had the confidence or skill to do it if I'd not attended the Puppy School prep weekend. Being a member of APDT (or having an animal behaviour degree - which I don't!) was an essential tick box to getting my new job so, without it, I wouldn't be sat here.
I fell in love with dog training after putting my first dog, Digby, though Puppy School and Puppy University
Vicky Clifton
"Having never owned or trained a dog of my own before, I didn't know what to expect going into classes; but I loved the supportive, friendly and reward-based environment that Puppy School provided. I eagerly signed us to up to every other type of training class my tutor provided through her own business as well as trying out anything else that came our way. Safe to say I was addicted and it became my new favourite hobby!
When I got a new puppy, Newt, I was quick to sign up to PS classes again and we also did SuperPup and Puppy University. This led to my tutor asking if I would be interested in joining her as an associate tutor. I leapt at the chance of turning my hobby into a job and for the opportunity to provide owners with the skills needed to help their puppies get the best start in life.
It was good to have the first part face-to-face so we could meet each other and get the foundations for the rest of the course in place. Going forwards from there though; the online lectures were perfect for me to be able to fit in around the varied shifts of my day job.
I really enjoyed broadening my knowledge of training, behaviour and learning how to successfully be a good tutor. When it came to the practical training in April, it was good to have the opportunity to work with a wide range of puppies and put all the theory into practice. We were all very nervous when it came to leading a class, but we were all buzzing afterwards and it was great to have the chance to practice in a controlled way. I am looking forward to the future and all the lovely puppies I get to meet and train!"