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Working Canines

212 Reviews
Outstanding
Member 16+ Years
224904
Sherwood
South Street
Blairgowrie
Perth and Kinross
PH10 7DD

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07764 76****


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Member since : 30 Nov 2009
Manually reviewed : 6 Jun 2022
Last updated : 18 Nov 2024

About Working Canines


Have you experienced that food based training just doesn't work? Looking for training with a proven success rate? I have a no nonsense but kind approach to training dogs and do not rely on food treats. I keep the sessions simple and structured. I will explain what you have to do to achieve the desired reaction from your dog, and why it works. I do not do “sticking plaster” jobs. With your help I will get to the base of the problem and repair the regime, the dog, and more importantly in a large amount of cases, I will educate you.
I will not deal with fighting breeds unless the owner is having to have the dog put to sleep. If that is the case I will work with the owner and dog to resolve any problems, including aggressive behaviour. I want to see dogs saved, not continually re-homed or even worse, euthanized.
I achieved my Diploma in Canine Psychology in 2009. In all honesty it is not worth the paper it is written on. I now utilise my thirty five years’ plus experience in the gun dog world to offer a wide range of services to suit both the trainee dog and the dog owner.

General information.
Positive only force free training.
What exactly is that? Apparently, we reinforce the good behaviour and ignore the bad? This is reinfored with food treats which you are taught is positive reinforcement. If you choose to train your dog with food, you must make the dog work for that food. In other words, to get the correct result as many good handlers can do, you have to have the dog hungry, so it really wants that food. There are Police, Army and Prison dog handlers who have used that method in the past, possibly some still do. You then have the dogs attention because it’s very hungry! What sort of pet gun dog owner would starve their dog of food in the current situation? The fur baby brigade are watching but strangely enough, few have answers.
To reinforce what I am saying ALL my springers would leave their daily, evening meal if I was to open kennels and they knew they were to go walking/ hunting with me. Is it sinking in yet? It is what the dog/s actually want not what some former school kid at PAH tells you is the best treat to get your dog back?
Enter the dog training world, with no better knowledge you will be introduced to the “high value” treat. The dog is not hungry, it is focussed on something else, in the case of gun dogs, it is usually game.
The high value treat is meant to get your dog back to you. I have seen these types of answers on other FB pages Statement “there were pheasants in the next field that I always walk the dog in, and he/she was off”.
Answer from these new wave dog trainers: “have you tried a Kong with peanut butter?”.
Try it.
To have a spaniel or any other gundog breed do what you want you must give it what it wants. It is showing you what it wants, it wants to hunt and flush game. Giving the dog the hunt is positive reinforcement at the correct level. These trainers are trying to STOP that with food. NO CHANCE!
Positive reinforcement also comes in the form of attention, affection and praise, most give this freely and get nothing from the dog in return. These tickles, cuddles etc.
are being handed out for an action that is not wanted usually. Positive reinforcement for a negative action is being rewarded. I see this all the time with house dogs. You are making a rod for your own back. Give it affection when it deserves it. Make the dog work for it. Give it the hunt under control. All that is positive reinforcement.
If you really think about it, there isn’t any gun dog training. We purchase or in my case breed to get a dog that will do a specific job. It wants to do that job, it’s in the dogs’ genes but we need to use these attributes to our advantage. That is achieved by taking control. If you have no control, you have no order. If you cannot control a dog correctly at your feet, how do you expect to be able to control it off lead? Control starts with heel work not teaching your dog to run away from you by throwing dummies too early. We are talking obedience training.
I have been involved with dogs most of my life, certainly since the age of 10. I have been involved with shooters, hunters, gamekeepers and lots of house pet owners (All breeds). I have owned over 70 dogs in my life and I usually own up to six springers at one time. All of these dogs work at shoots. In 2008 I decided to take the online Dog Psychology Diploma course to see what it was all about: you pay money, you read a book, you answer questions, you write a thesis and when you pass a test and then you get letters after your name. You also get a nice certificate to say you have done everything the person that wrote the book has said. You’re then a dog trainer. What nonsense! I did it specifically to find out how bad the dog training industry really is!
Positive only force free training may be achieved with kids however, you can reason with a kid, you cannot reason with a dog.

We are on the move. New area New property The details to be disclosed soon. We are downsizing and will be selective of the type of dog owner we endeavour to help. There are no fur babies being catered for in the future. There will be PLENTY positive reinforcement of the correct type used and you as the dogs owner/s will be educated accordingly.
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212 FreeIndex Reviews - Ranked 2nd out of 134 UK Dog Trainers

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Emma Ingram
Kirriemuir
I contacted Mick to see if he could help me with my Working Springer Spaniel. She's a good dog but can be very soft and has selective hearing when in the beating line. He responded promptly, taking into consideration my need to get her sorted so we can enjoy our days out during the season. Mick dedicated two sessions to teaching me how to shift the balance from me and my dog being equal to me being her boss. By listening to his advice and following his training strategies I can honestly say there is already a marked difference in my dog and we are both so much happier and more relaxed. She also walks to heel beautifully, on and off the lead. Many thanks to Mick, I highly recommend Working Canines, especially for listening to me and helping iron out those problems we've been having. Thanks.
Lindsay Neri
Blairgowrie
Photo uploaded by Lindsay Neri
**Amazing progress with Collie dog - 5 years old - thanks to Mick’s guidance! **. We’ve seen incredible results with our dog, Glen, over the past few weeks and months since Mick helped us with training. Glen is much less anxious overall, and Mick’s training made such a difference. On a recent walk, Glen calmly sat at the side of the road as a car passed – no pulling or rounding up. He’s also stopped hauling on his lead and now walks to heel, which he never did before. Even when we encountered a tractor, he stayed by my side on command. Huge win! At home, we’ve been working on training with visitors in the house, and today, for the first time, Glen stayed calm and quiet when someone was in. We’re making great strides thanks to Mick’s expert advice. Highly recommend!
Neil Farquhar
Edinburgh
I've got a black lab and had all sorts of problems with him constantly pulling while on the lead. Nothing seemed to work. Took him to Working Canines and Mick for a days training. What a difference after this. Mick showed me the methods on how to have my dog at heel and how to have good recall as well. Through Mick's one day session and patience I can now confidently take my dog out without him constantly pulling on the lead.
Derek Ross
Dalbeattie
After using a previous local trainer with no change to dog, started looking for help again we thought Mick was local to us, however on speaking with Mick we were sure that he was the guy we needed to help us, although he had moved to Blairgowrie but we were willing to travel. So we went up with caravan and stayed local for a couple of days, met up with Mick and he watched us with the dog pulling us and not listening to commands. Mick took control of the dog and within 2 minutes the dog was under control, spent some time with Mick on dog pulling on lead and behaviour problems also recall. After a few hrs with Mick he is a totally different dog very pleased with amazing results already he is a pleasure to walk as well as his behaviour and recall. Can’t thank this amazing dog trainer enough. Highly recommended by us. Thank you very much Mick. Derek Shirley and Maddie. ,.
Ginny Jones
Blairgowrie
I was at my wits end with my beautiful but unmanageable flat coated retriever. He’s my third so I was struggling to understand why he was so hard to manage. The final straw was when he chased down one of my chickens and started jumping the garden wall to get to my lambs! I contacted Mick who instantly made me feel hopeful. I have been trained and I now have a wonderful dog! He is calm, walks to heel and his recall is instant. I spend hours walking him as suddenly it is relaxing and fun again! Even the lambs and chickens can chill! I cannot recommend Mick enough! His straightforward, direct approach left me feeling 100% sure about what to do and his understanding and love of dogs makes you realise and see where you have gone wrong!Moreexpand_more
Craig Grant
Blairgowrie
Yet another excellent experience from Working Canines! This is the second rescue foxhound Mick has helped us with. Very pleased to report after following Stages 1&2 (lead work and house discipline), Stage 3 was a complete success (off lead recall). I cannot recommend Working Canines highly enough, a really good refresher for me as the handler, plenty of sound advice and the proof is in the pudding: Skye (4yr old rescue foxhound) now walking on lead very well (as opposed to pulling while in kennels on a harness) and high recall (as opposed to a known escape artist). Our two rescue foxhounds are near model dogs . Credit where credit is due- thanks again Mick. Thoroughly recommend.
Julie Bateman
Blairgowrie
Photo uploaded by Julie Bateman
I contacted Mick after a recent addition to my gang of Patterdale Terriers became unmanageable for me, she had been in 5 homes by the time she was 9 months old. When off lead she was ignoring me completely and chasing deer, rabbits, etc with zero recall – I was forced to go looking for her on several occasions. Living in a rural area this was a real concern due to farm stock, etc. Mick has taught me how to make small changes at home, how and when she was fed, how I interacted with her and had been allowing her full access to everywhere in the house. These small changes made a quick and significant difference for us, she also seems more settled now that she understands her place in the home and has clear boundaries. I’m now working on our outside off lead walks using the techniques taught to me by Mick and can already see vast improvements, she very much focusing on me now rather than anything else that moves. I had tried other trainers and other methods and while I seen tiny improvements in controlled environments nothing was making any difference to my real problem areas with this little dog in her prey drive and dominance. I can’t thank Mick enough, he’s made my life with this little Terrier much more manageable and I’m seeing positive changes in how she behaves every day. .
Craig Grant
Blairgowrie
I can highly recommend Working Canines and Mick after a complete transformation of our rescue foxhound with results starting literally within an hour. I found Mick’s no nonsense approach refreshing and glad to have had the information explained so clearly. Personally, we found we were being as educated as much as our dog and by following the total system our dog’s behaviour quickly changed. This is a fantastic success story for Vinnie- as a rescue foxhound he went from pulling us like a train while on lead to now walking perfectly; he went from zero recall to us now being confident we have control. With these new skills, Vinnie’s world has opened and he now enjoys freedoms he never would have. Many thanks to Mick for the instruction and advice.
Beth Mackenzie
Blairgowrie
We took our border collie along to see Mick for some help on walking with a pram since our little girl came along. Within a session we had the correct tools and plan in place to take away and work on. The difference in our dog is amazing, we can now enjoyable walk both dog and baby on leaded walks and enjoy being a family. Highly recommend Mick and his no nonsense ways! The lesson was very much a lesson for me and my husband as well as our dog.
Elinor Bird
Machrihanish
From the minute I stepped out of my car in Mick's yard things started to change for the better for me and my year old Springer. Sadly, Robb was ruling the roost and was not receptive to my attempts at training a recall and as a result I was having to exercise him on a long line all the time. This was no life for an active Springer and no life for me getting pulled about like a sack of tatties! In desperation I searched online for trainers and thankfully found Working Canines. Mick also kindly provided info on self catering accommodation about five minutes drive from him which was ideal as we live four hours away. After assessing the whole situation Mick explained his proven system and set out the changes I would need to make in the home to ensure that I was in charge which is the foundation for successful training. He demonstrated effective lead walking to heel and helped me improve my technique so that I was in charge. Training Robb to recall to the whistle was next and although the changes to the home structure were paying off after only a couple of days implementation he was still very stubborn and not reliably responding. We therefore had a trial with an Ecollar after Mick described how to use it appropriately and it was a total game changer. We spent quite a bit of time at a local park with Mike instructing and allowing me to gain confidence with Robb off lead. I honestly can't recommend Mick and his training at Working Canines highly enough. I am now home and have a different and much happier dog, who has more respect for me and who is able to enjoy off lead time now to run and hunt and just be a Springer but in a safe and controlled way. The sessions with Mick have given me a good foundation to build on and continue Robb's training going forward. Mick's firm, no nonsense approach to training works, it is interesting, informative and peppered with anecdotes from his vast experience working with and training dogs. If you implement his advice totally (no cherry picking allowed!) you will get the results you want!Moreexpand_more
Aimee Rouse
Edinburgh
Absolutely brilliant. We were at our wits end about to rehome our beautiful pup as she was running away for up to 4 hours at a time and saw 3 dog trainers which were no help. Then along came mick. He transformed our pup - helping us understand her more, how to treat her inside and outside of the home. We needed up using beep training. She used this for a couple of years then we felt she was good to just respond to whistle. She did regress at times but just needed a reminder with the collar on for a week then she was good again. We also learnt a lot about the history of dogs from mick, such an interesting guy. We were sad when our classes were over with him. Would recommend him in a heart beat as we ended up having our girl for many years.Moreexpand_more
Terry Davison
Lockerbie
Took my English Mastiff Molly to Working Canines for an assessment after experiencing some behavioural problems. Mick had her walking to heel within a matter of minutes and after a detailed discussion with me diagnosed the problem as fear aggression. After a couple of sessions and a new regime being imposed at home the difference is amazing. Molly now understands that I am in charge and she has nothing to fear, and she and myself are much more relaxed and happy as a result. Many thanks to Mick and Mandy. Highly recommended.
Dr Kristina Rebecc...
Edinburgh
First day off leash in a park with plenty of humans and other dogs. In over a year, due to pandemic pup challenges and aggression to other dogs. I’d love to say her behaviour was all situational but as Mick said within moments of meeting her and I, ‘you know what the problem is don’t you’. Hanging my head in shame, I knew it was me which he had no hesitancy in telling me with a wry smile on his face! Laska spent 3 weeks with Mick and despite having made no guarantees to make her into the perfectly well behaved pup, he has revolutionised her behaviour. Well thought tactics that make complete sense and put owner in charge of their dog. Rather than the other way round! I can’t begin to tell Mick (and Mandy, who was a fantastic host) how much I appreciate the time spent teaching Laska and myself. We are an ongoing work in progress but I’m following his rules rigidly and what a difference. Happy dog (with the correct instruction) definitely means happy owner! Finally I’m going to be top dog in my home - rather than being controlled by a rather beautiful but dominant pint sized furry female! Only negative. Sorry Mick, you’ve done such a good job that we may be back in future for re-inforcement and development of new skills ? Really delighted, and highly recommended. Thank you. .Moreexpand_more
Una Jolly
Newton Stewart
Photo uploaded by Una Jolly
From training a young dog to reaffirming discipline in an older dog Mick’s guidance is invaluable. He trains with knowledge, respect, kindness and patience. If you continue with all he has taught you then you and your dog will not fail to succeed, all problems can be easily resolved with his guidance. The time and money spent on training with Working Canines is 100% invaluable.
Ben White
Newton Stewart
A straightforward and common sense approach to dog training that gets instant results. The transformation was incredible - highly recommended.
Will Reid
Bishopton
Our 2 year old working cocker spaniel had poor recall, was excitable around visitors, and fearful of other dogs and traffic. After experiencing some risky situations because of poor recall we became reluctant to let her off the lead. I tried a week's residential course with Mick as a last attempt to sort these issues. Now several weeks on from the training week our spaniel responds well to recall and is less nervous of other dogs. Both owners and dog are getting so much more out of our walks. I can therefore vouch for Mick's training and recommend the residential week as a great way to both get the training and then practise in a beautiful part of the country. .
Fiona McKinlay
Glasgow
We have just returned from a week long residential training course with our collie, Seumas, which we extended by a few days just to get things right. We couldn’t walk anywhere easily with Seumas as he pulled on the lead, was terrified of cars, and wanted to chase runners, bikes, prams, etc. By this morning, we were walking him calmly to heel on his lead in Castle Douglas with cars passing by. We know it’s not perfect yet and we have a lot of hard work still to do but we’re confident that by persevering with Mick’s methods, we will get there before too long. Thanks also to Mandy who was very welcoming and helpful throughout our stay.
Tina Goldsmith
Taynuilt
Photo uploaded by Tina Goldsmith
‘We spent a week with Mick having our two 6 month old Springer Spaniels trained. Not only was it a lovely break in a different part of the country, it meant we could focus on everything we were being taught. If someone had told us both dogs would be walking to heel within the first morning we wouldn’t have believed them, but they were! We all benefited hugely and both of us feel confident with the dogs whether they be walking on a lead in a town, or off lead in the countryside. A Huge Thank you”.
Maryjane Maclachla...
Inverness
Before we even start about the training, I must thank Mick and Mandy for their fantastic hospitality and friendship. To say that they made us feel like one of the family is an understatement. The residential weeks training was very informative and it showed us exactly why Mac was actually the pack leader! I would recommend that you do this residential as you need to watch and understand your dog and be given the tools to work on all areas. It’s also very enjoyable and you get the best results. Mac is a collie that we thought had the basics. He would recall with no distractions some of the time, walk to what we thought was heel and would sit etc. The problem was that when dogs were around he blew us all out and ran to them. Mick set the base training in. 1+2=3 which he explains really well, but Mac still had issues with recall the day we were due to leave. Mick asked us to stay another day so he could work all day on this area! We all did what he advised and after a few sessions that day we saw a vast improvement in Macs attitude and he was less focused on the dogs. We still have a morning session to go today as I write this review, but we now know that it can be done and we know what to do!We can’t thank him enough and will stay in touch with both Mick and Mandy. I would recommend him to all. Straight talking, no gimmick or food based training which gets results. The bonus is that the cottage is amazing and has everything that you need to enjoy your stay. In hindsight, I think I should have asked for Mac to be placed in the kennel so we could gain control again quicker, but hindsight is a great thing. Thanks again Mick and Mandy, a nicer couple you will never meet and they went out of their way to make our stay amazing. Mick- look forward to hearing you telling the story of Mac the collie with the nearly un breakable desire to chase other dogs! You will not forget him quickly. Kind regards and stay in touch. Iain and Maryjane MacLachlan.Moreexpand_more
Edith McWhirter
Dunvegan
Mick really helped me with my young wayward labrador, his structured approach made perfect sense and it works, thanks Mick.
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