Reviews & Testimonials For Kelly McClelland
Back to Trainer3rd November 2024 - Kelly McClelland
Kelly dealt with Digging, Hyperactivity, Pulling

Your dogs are so wonderful! Having a dog that is storm phobic, and panic escapes, is terrifying for the owner (and how ironic that our first lesson was in the middle of a thunderstorm LOL!). Thank you for allowing me to assist with Hudson's training, he responded like a dream. Being a herding breed, if you don't get given a job, they will make one, so working his brain to allow him to relax was very important. Lesson 2 was literally perfect, you have both followed through with consistent training, and his road walking was amazing! Go you! The plan for lesson 3 is walking with distractions and dog part entry manners, which I am looking forward to. Well done to you both!
27th October 2024 - Kelly McClelland
Kelly dealt with Aggression, Chewing, Puppy management, Recall, Separation anxiety, Sibling rivalry, Toileting
What an amazing dog owner you are! So much knowledge, and so much applied skill, has made Tilly (Labrador) so well behaved! Bringing Winnie (Poodle x Border Collie) into the mix absolutely changed the dynamics, and when the owner gets caught up in a dog brawl, confidence goes out the window super fast. Recognizing where Tilly was (passively) pushing the point, and then balancing that with gaining Tilly's trust, was our main focus at lesson 1. Being a rescue, Tilly was a blank slate for education and by the end, her fear of me had subsided and I was able to show her all the positive pats that come with being such a good girl. We understand that having dogs that pull on lead on walks makes that exercise time incredibly frustrating, so we fine tuned that at lesson 2 - it was so rewarding to watch your confidence grow instantly, once they walked with you, not dragging you! Congratulations to you both for your consistency and hard work with training - I can't wait for our lesson 3 walk around the block and to the dog park :-)!
24th October 2024 - Kelly McClelland
Kelly dealt with Aggression, Barking, Chewing, Digging, Hyperactivity, Jumping up, Pulling, Separation anxiety, Toileting
Your family has been so wonderful to deal with, you are all so lovely, and it was very clear to me from the second I arrived that you all love Boss dearly, but that his behaviour was almost pushing you to the point or surrender / rehoming. Correcting his visitor reactivity at lesson 1 was the main aim, positive crate training had some fine tuning, door answering solutions were presented and we started on his door work. Lesson 2 was just WOW! What a change! Even with incredibly difficult time restraints (work, kids, etc) you have all done a superb job, and his improvements were absolutely noticeable. Even road walking, stays and having him standing so close to me, a visitor, without reacting? Very rewarding indeed, and I was thrilled for you all. Huge well done!
10th October 2024 - Kelly McClelland
Kelly dealt with Hyperactivity, Puppy management, Other

Thanks Brian! It was so lovely to work with you both, and gaining and understanding of how we could get the behaviour of Benny, your Cavoodle, to work in better with your requirements, was crucial. Teaching in to walk nicely near the mobility scooter, without getting tangled, only jump up when asked, barking, and recall. In both lesson 1 and 2 we focused on all of these, as well as setting kitchen boundaries and positive crate training, and starting his obedience journey towards a PAT. Well done, great job!
26th September 2024 - Kelly McClelland
Kelly dealt with Barking, Chewing, Hyperactivity, Jumping up, Recall
Thanks Michael! Lily is a gorgeous little girl, but wow, what a screaming bark she had LOL! When the owners have a home office, a barking dog is a major issue, and of course a high balcony over-looking everything is a perfect set up for a dog to over guard. At lesson one Lily responded like a dream - she was so keen for someone to take the leadership role, it was wonderful to see how quickly she picked things up. And WOW, lesson 2, what a change! No barking as I walked up the driveway, she was polite at the door, no jumping, and so so calm and relaxed. Massive well done to you both, your consistency and the way you have applied the training to your day to day regime has made all the difference. Lily now has 2 FOC sessions of group training to attend, and I'll see you when you're ready! Super job!
26th September 2024 - Kelly McClelland
Kelly dealt with Aggression, Barking, Hyperactivity, Jumping up, Puppy management
What a cheeky and happy girl you have! Groodle's can tend to be a handful during adolescence, but she responded like a dream to our gentle and easy training methods. The aim of all training is to have a happy, balanced and well behaved dog, and as your parents care for her regularly, even more so, so no one gets accidently hurt from her being too rough. We focused on jumping up, recall, walking politely and barking, and at the next lesson, we'll show how to control public manners like lunging, dog excitability and pulling on lead. I can't wait to work with you all again soon!
25th September 2024 - Kelly McClelland
Kelly dealt with Hyperactivity, Jumping up, Pulling, Recall

Thanks Allana! Working with rescue dogs, especially when one is terrified, has to be done slowly, calmly and with confidence. You had your girls responding within 5mins of us stepping into the yard, which was wonderful to see. Over the course of your lessons to date, we have shown how to control unwanted barking, fence running, jumping up, door manners and overall confidence - no food, no yelling, no shock collars, just direct and clear training that is easy to implement. Park manners are our current focus, working on coordinating corrections, getting their focus and timing for back lead training to manage dog to dog issues. I can't wait for our next catch up, massive well done, they are so much more relaxed!
17th September 2024 - Kelly McClelland
Kelly dealt with Digging, Jumping up, Pulling, Recall

Ahhhh, the joys of an adolescent Golden Retriever! Poppi is such a sweet girl, but had certainly worked out how to push everyone's buttons and not in a good way! Gaining control over the door (to prevent rushing and racing), lead manners (pulling), obedience and barking were all covered at the first session. Your family are all on the same page, and Poppi loved the attention and boundaries provided. The shining moment for me? Watching your daughter being able to handle Poppi's lead for the first time, comfortably and without fear - absolutely perfect! Be nice and consistent and we'll work on manners in public and road safety at lesson #2 :-)
27th August 2024 - Kelly McClelland
Tobi is an absolute pocket rocket, and I can certainly see how his at home manners were causing so much stress, especially with a new (human) baby! Controlling barking, recall, door answering, door racing and lead work has certainly gotten you on the right path, and I am looking forward to starting at the door @ lesson #2, and doing walking with the pram manners. Excellent work!
18th August 2024 - Kelly McClelland
Thanks Belinda, it was great to put some measures into place to ensure your boy is happy and safe, and being able to control the barking, door racing and on lead work, especially taking your injuries and mobility into consideration. We will work on walking with the mobility scooter at your next lesson, as well as dog to dog confidence - you've done am amazing job!
14th August 2024 - Kelly McClelland
Stella is just so loveable and divine! But at 9 years old, the concern for her child safety and control was absolutely needing some fine tuning. Working breeds (Kelpies) like to work, and nipping is in their nature, however, teaching her when it is and isn't appropriate, and that it's not her job to take care of it all was necessary. And didn't she learn so quickly! Al of your family have been so consistent, and the changes in her behavior from first to second lesson was night and day! Well done, and the countdown to the baby arrival begins, with the tools in hand to make everything safe :-)
11th August 2024 - Kelly McClelland
One puppy is hard, but two is a tornado! Both Golden Retrievers and Australian Cattle Dogs benefit from early training intervention, and from sleeping on the lounge next to the dog, to calm crate trained pups that don't toilet inside, was exactly what you were after! Seeing the improvement in both boys between lesson 1 and 2 was incredible, and now that they're fully vacccinaated, we are off to the park for heeling work, recall with distraction and fear management (ACD) with people and dogs. Massive well done, it was a pleasure to work with you both!