Cooper and his owner Gemma, have been attending Nicki’s puppy classes. Here’s what Gemma has to say about her experience:

Cooper is a 10 month old Lurcher who we rescued from the charities East Yorkshire centre last summer. He had already had 2 homes when we got him at 4 months and in the previous home he was disliked by the owner’s other dog and possibly attacked so when we came to meet him with our cockapoo Kingsley, we were unsure of how he would take to him.

However, they got on so well straight away and we fell in love with him. When we originally brought Cooper home, he was quite nervous, terrified of the rain, barked at any dog he saw whether it was far in the distance or close up and was quite panicky. He would also have quite reactive dreams which we would reassure him and wake him up. But in the 7 months of having him, he has really been amazing. He is such a gentle giant and really has taken to his new home. He now only barks at a couple of dogs if he is unsure of but mostly loves to bound around and play with new furry friends! We are so proud of him and even though he is very large and can be excitable, we wouldn't be without him.

Straight away from having Cooper, I knew that he would need to be socialised because of his past experiences so we looked in our adoption pack and noticed that training Cooper at our local Jerry Greens Dog Rescue in was an option with their trainer Nicki George. So I got in touch with Nicki and within a couple of weeks of adopting we started attending puppy classes.

They were fantastic, but Cooper was a lot larger than the puppies that attended so Nicki mentioned her other class which takes place in the evening for larger breeds and this was perfect for Cooper. We have been going ever since and he has come on leaps and bounds.

At the beginning, he was quite vocal because he was unsure but he has really settled in now and has a lovely group of furry friends he enjoys seeing every week. We attend these classes every Thursday evening but I know Nicki has many other options too.

Nicki has been fantastic with myself, my fiancé Jordan and Cooper and really understanding towards us having adopted a dog for the first time. She has shared experiences and guided us but has never made me feel like I was doing something the wrong way. Cooper has slight attachment issues in that he cannot do a 'stay' command so Nicki has supported us with this and taught us how to gradually build on this skill so Cooper doesn't feel any fear.

The benefits of training classes with Nicki, is having that place to go where you're not judged for having a dog who sometimes doesn't do as they are told, being able to have a professional who can answer any questions you have, having other options to some training your dog isn't quite getting or having a larger breed that can sometimes be mistaken for being 'scary' or different. The training class itself teaches lots of important skills such as basic commands, but also being able to walk and the dog not be distracted, loud noise training, socialisation, building on confidence and much, much more. I would definitely recommend Nicki's training classes and I know Cooper would too! Thank you to Nicki and Jerry Greens for all the support we have received.

If you would like some help from Nicki, please contact: 
07824 064242 
[email protected]