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Adolescent Dogs - Award Winning Dog Training has been invaluable for Pumpkin and I.
As someone who lives with C-PTSD the idea of having an Assistance Dog was non existent when we picked up Pumpkin. I was familiar with certain techniques that can be used like Deep Pressure Therapy, but found a lot of places for teaching that technique and other helpful tasks were behind charities or large paywalls. It wasn’t until I came across someone with an Adolescent Dogs vest that I looked into who they were and saw other owners had the same condition I did. At that time I was working with Pumpkin to begin training her as a Therapy Dog for personal use (with a lovely local trainer!)

The more I investigated the more I saw that this might be a good fit for us both as they utilize Games Based training, which is what we were already used to. It’s a fun style of training for both the dog and the trainer, so I looked forward to training each day, as did she.

The online academy itself is wonderful. For myself I’ve had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) so remembering things is difficult on the best of days, but the way the information is laid out is simple, clear and I can watch it back over and over again if I get stuck, or don’t quite comprehend the first time around what has been said.

The academy is much cheaper than -other- dog academies out there by larger companies and I feel the quality is better without the constant waffling on about things that aren’t related to the task, however the quality of the content is absolutely invaluable. When you have a question it is not the community answering your questions, but the trainers themselves - and they host a Live Q&A weekly by both Zoom and Facebook. (The after party on Zoom is quite fun to be apart of!) Mike says there is never a silly question, so I’ve asked all sorts of things that I’ve been curious about with dog ownership.

The best part is there is a separate section for Assistance Dog Training within the Academy. I had to get a letter from my GP stating my diagnosis and then was able to send that off before being accepted into the Assistance Program. I quite liked that, where some may find it too personal, however it means the dogs that go into the program are for people who actually would benefit from them, not just to obtain a vest to gain an ”all access pass” with fake assistance dogs or those who are actively training.

The funds that the online academy makes goes back into the Assistance Program as they occasionally offer residencies and will work with a dog from the start to gift to someone in need. It doesn’t feel like the program is a money gram, they genuinely want to help as many people as they can.

You also have access to booking your dog into their residency program where your dog goes into board and train. While that sounded terrifying to me, the quality that Adolescent Dogs offers with their trainers is second to none. Pumpkin has been in residency for 4 weeks to help me get through some of my issues with training - my CPTSD means it is incredibly difficult to go into public spaces without constantly scanning a crowd, but trying to focus on Pumpkin and keep an eye on our surroundings has made it difficult without an assistant with me. Residency has meant she has had a lot of interaction in various environments and has been working on disengagement which is a massive area we needed to address. While residency levels of success vary by the dog, we are very happy with how she has handled herself and the amount of love that has been poured into her. I know that she has been loved as much as she is while at home, so my worries quickly left as she settled in incredibly quickly.

We have learned so much in our adventure with Adolescent Dogs and the best part is it’s been such an enjoyable experience. Joining them is one of the best choices we’ve made, and knowing that they now have a partnership with PTSD UK is even better.

Training our 15week puppy has been such a pleasure using the videos proivided. Great advice and all round amazing service. 10/10 will recommend to friends and family

Cant reccomend adolescent dogs enough! They have helped me navigate puppyhood feeling supported with their wealth of knowledge and professionalism. Their training videos are super easy to understand and very informative and if you have any troubles they are happy to chat and guide you through!

Adolescent Dogs Highly Recommended

I do not know what I would have done without the help of Mike and Jenny at Adolescent Dogs.

I have a very reactive nervous Mini Schnauzer who I rehomed in 2019 I joined Adolescent Dogs in 2020 and have not looked back. The knowledge and skills I have learnt to help both my dog and myself through this time have been invaluable. I know there is still work to do but I know that should I have any questions Adolescent Dogs are there to help.

They have put together and amazing portal of training videos and courses you can work through for specific elements of training you might want to work on and there are also monthly challenges everyone can join in and work on with their dogs to.

I would always recommend Adolescent Dogs as a training academy to anyone who would need it.

I have taken part in quite a few challenges and thoroughly enjoyed them.
They were fun, I had lots of helpful feedback and even won some fantastic goodies in the competition.
If you need help with your dog or just want to have fun, I would highly recommend Adolescent dogs.

Me and my puppy started to train on the assistance dog program. This program has so far changed our lives for the better. I have autism and really struggle to leave the house and communicate in public. I am going to start university in September, which wouldn't have been without star. I would have had to wait for at least 5 years to receive a charity or privately owned assistance dog. But because of Mike and jenny brilliant idea of opening the assistance dog academy, now means I will be able to join my peers and gain the education I truly want. So thank you very much to jenny and Mike you guys are amazing.

I knew that an assistance dog would make a huge difference to my life but sadly had ruled it out due to the extremely long waiting lists for many assistance dog organisations. Then, I found Adolescent Dogs who have truly transformed my life. I’ve been able to owner train my puppy as an assistance dog with the support of Adolescent Dogs. They have an online training academy with so many videos which you can access anywhere, not only learning the foundations to train a well behaved dog (like lead walking, settling and boundaries) but the tasks needed for many disabilities, like interrupting anxiety attacks and fetching objects. You can also request specific videos and they have a weekly live Q&A where the trainers answer your questions. On top of this, my puppy had a residential stay with the most amazing trainer, Bekki. I thought I’d find it very hard being away from my puppy but I felt completely reassured by Bekki. Bekki sent me lots of updates and videos throughout the residential stay, and I couldn’t believe all that they achieved in just two weeks. After the residential stay, we’ve had 1-2-1 lessons with Bekki to help me transfer all of the training learnt on the residential stay and work on areas I struggle with on my own. With my disability, it can feel exhausting at times doing the training on my own but I don’t feel alone with the support of Bekki and Adolescent Dogs. It’s evident that Adolescent Dogs run their assistance dog programme truly to help people, rather than focusing on making profit and taking advantage, and I feel forever grateful to them!

I can’t speak more highly of Adolescent Dogs. So happy in fact, that I’m writing a review! Our 1 year old Patterdale was extremely challenging, and causing a lot of stress, particularly as I recovered from serious illness. Obi spent 3 weeks living with Verity and her family. We received daily updates, and missing him was easier, knowing how happy he was. We were so thankful that Obi came back to us as affectionate and full of personality as when he left - but sooo much better behaved and easier to manage. He’s been home about 6 weeks now, and he’s still doing great. Cannot recommend Adolescent Dogs enough.

I contacted Adolescent Dogs after a lot of internet research prior to choosing a puppy to train as an assistance dog.
From that point, everyone we have had contact with has been very helpful with prompt, friendly and effective advice.
We joined the Online Academy Assistance Dog program and since getting our pup, have used it daily with incredible training results. (I had no idea how much I must have been confusing my previous dogs!)
Our Labrador pup, Cedric has just had a 2 week training stay with Verity to help him gain confidence around people and dogs and lessen his bark response, and help him master lead walking at heel, which I was struggling with and also to polish his doorway manners and ability to settle.
Verity did fantastic work with all these and much more. She was absolutely lovely with Cedric and excellent about giving us daily updates, photos and videos of what he had been up to during the day. It was very reassuring to see how happy he was and how much he was enjoying his training.
His walking is a pleasure now and seeing him deal calmly with all the situations and distractions that Verity has introduced him to has given me much more confidence in my ability to handle him in different situations.
Both Verity and the Adolescent Dogs team have been very proactive about follow up since Cedric returned and are always willing to answer questions and give advice. I think his training stay has really accelerated his training and laid great foundations for all his future learning.

Fantastic dog home stay

Paul and Lyn stayed at our home to look after our 3 cocker spaniel dogs. They met us when we first got in contact to book the home stay to make sure they were comfortable caring for our dogs and staying in our home. They asked us to share some information about our home, the local area and the dogs. During the stay Paul arrived before we set off so we could go over everything with him. While we were on holiday they provided us with updates and photos so we were always assured the dogs were happy and having fun. When we returned home I was really impressed with how well they had looked after our home, it was so clean and tidy. Paul had even taken the time to cut the grass and even fixed our broken toilet seat 😊 The dogs were all looking for Paul and Lyn after they’d left which showed us how happy they were while we were away. Thank you so much to you both. We would 100% recommend this service and will absolutely use this in the future.

My dog, Callie, went on a 3 week stay with trainer Jane, to work on her reactivity and lead walking. I am so pleased with the results! Callie is much calmer around distractions and pulls away from them much more easily. She is also now loose lead walking at home when previously she would always pull on the lead to get ahead on walks.
During the stay Jane kept us informed of the progress (and we also received loads of pictures which we were grateful for!)
This is Callie’s second residential stay with Adolescent Dogs and I wouldn’t hesitate to book again if Callie is struggling with a behaviour that I feel I can’t help her with on my own. Because the stay is intensive training I felt confident that they could give Callie a really good start on helping her overcome a problem which then I could carry on using the handover lessons for myself.

We enrolled our little 1 year old Pomeranian, Peanut, for a 3 week residential training with Verity. And the results are just amazing!!! We got daily updates with photos and videos showing us all the training he was doing. Our biggest issues with Peanut were his jolting from side to side when walking on lead, barking like crazy at our doorbell and he gets very distracted when on walks by other dogs and people. Verity worked well in getting these bad habits sorted and has taught us how to keep up the training. Best thing we could have ever done for Peanut (& us).

I sent my 18 months’ old Cavapoochon Cooper for a 4 week residential stay to build on his ongoing training and for confidence building in general. Cooper is nervous around strangers; visitors to the house, strangers coming to close to him or even engaging with him. He generally responds very well to training and enjoys it very much. I was hoping that even the new environment he would have to find himself in and having to interact with many new people would help build his confidence. I did not expect to get back a changed dog, after all it is a living being and it is not possible to know beforehand how a stay away from his usual environment affects him.
He was away for 4 weeks and it took him pretty much 4 weeks to completely settle back in after coming back home. All in all, I think his stay away achieved what we had set out to achieve. Katie, his trainer, did a very good job with him. We went back a couple of weeks later and Cooper was beside himself when he saw her.
He definitely needed the 4 weeks there for the training to be effective, as it took him a little while to completely settle and be comfortable in a new environment. Cooper definitely gained confidence around strangers in general. Whilst he knew most of the commands before training, Katie has really helped us to actually apply them properly which makes all the difference. The 'let's go' cue works perfectly when he is on the longline and off leash. ‘Under’ and ‘middle’ are super helpful in cafes, on trains and in other tight spots. With training consistency at home, he is continuing to make progress.

We have recently had the pleasure of Lynn and Paul housesitting our Bengal cat Simba and Miniature Pincsher dog Rufus whilst away on holiday. I would highly recommend this to anyone considering this option, we couldnt have left Rufus and Simba in better hands. We have always had struggles with Rufus and some of his behaviours, with the help of a residential stay a few years ago with Verity we are now able to not just enjoy but love our walks with him, Lynne has now tackled some further issues in the house with Rufus's fussy eating and barking at guests.

We are really happy, and to top it off we came home to a very clean house....... 5 stars from us : )

Verity at Adolescent Dogs is just incredible! Alfie spent 3 weeks with Verity. We knew there would be lots of ongoing training required but we still very very happy with what achievements he had made in his short time with Verity. The main issues we wanted addressing were his loose lead walking, his recall and also his focus on us during walks. Alfie made huge improvement in all of these areas. Although expensive the money we spent was very well spent. Alfie is a happier dog when out and about and we are much happier out walking him. Thank you Verity, we really can’t thank you enough.

My 8 month labrador had a four week residential stay to work on her impulse control, lead work and distractions.

I received regular pictures and updates, and a full detailed report each week of her stay.

The trainer was friendly and understanding of my needs (my labrador will hopefully become my assistance dog)

I live a 7 hour drive from the trainers however they have a driver who offered to transport my dog for a reasonable price and I made a long weekend out of her collection.

Hand over was detailed with demonstrations and plenty of opportunities to ask questions, as well as follow up messages and emails checking on our progress.

I am hoping to book her in for further training later in the year to advance her training and look at starting public access.

Cannot thank the team enough!

We contacted Adolescent Dogs towards the end of last year about our 18 month old Otterhound Henry, and they recommended their trainer in Eastbourne, Guy Olliver. Henry spent 6 weeks with Guy and came back a hugely different dog, who could walk quietly on a lead and respond to recall. My husband Peter has already written a review about Henry and you can see the difference in his behaviour in a video on the Adolescent Dogs website.

Before Henry came home, we also booked our 13 month old Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer in to spend 4 weeks with Guy. We felt that it would be sensible to have both dogs trained to the same standard. Peter and I are both disabled and having dogs that can behave well in public is absolutely vital to us, as we cannot run after or use strength to restrain them. Hector’s behaviour is so much improved. He is a pleasure to walk and ignores rather than greets other dogs when before he was barking and leaping at the end of the lead. Obviously, he and we are works in progress but I know both Guy and Adolescent Dogs will continue to support us as long as we need them to.

Obviously this has been a financial investment in our dogs and our future peace of mind and happiness but for us it has been worth every penny. Whilst they were away, our dogs were not kept in kennels, they stayed in Guy’s home as part of his human and canine family. They were trained and treated with absolute kindness never shouted at or threatened. They received the hours of training that was right for their characters, age and issues, there was no quibble as to whether that was more than contracted. They came home happy animals who understood boundaries. Guy is an amazing trainer, his understanding and handling of all sizes but especially large dogs is exceptional. He took time not just to understand our dogs but also us, both as people and the restrictions our disabilities place on how we handle our dogs. Adolescent Dogs have given us excellent administrative and training back up, they are extremely professional and knowledgeable. We actually feel we have received amazing value for money and would highly recommend both Guy and Adolescent Dogs to anyone who feels they might need a little or a lot of help with their Best Friends.
C Holland March 2022.”

One word outstanding I sent my 7 month Jack Russell to Naomi for a 3 week residential to give him the best start moving forward.
Wellington has come back a different dog the amount covered in 3 weeks is amazing focused listening to commands and calm at home .
The teaching you receive for yourself is clear and concise .
The regular updates are great Naomi went above and beyond explaining what how and when to do things .
Best thing you could ever do for your dog this will not be my last residential as we move forward again there will be new learning for Wellington
Many thanks

Our 9 months old friendly Labrador puppy was reasonably well behaved, except that she would become uncontrollably excited when she saw another dog.
If she saw another dog approaching she would almost pull me off my feet (she was on a long line) trying to get to the other dog. Whether the other dog wanted to participate or not. This was of course intolerable behaviour for the dogs as well as their owners.
On the recommendation of Adolescent Dogs we sent her for a 4-week residential training course with Naomi.
We have been very impressed with the way Naomi has dealt with our problem and with the extent of her knowledge, experience and patience. She is friendly and highly skilled. She kept us well informed with photos, videos, updates and e-mails. These also showed that our dog was enjoying her time with Naomi. When we collected her it was clear to see that she had formed a strong friendship with Naomi. Her time away had not affected the bond we have with her though, and she was over the moon to see us again.
Naomi has been very helpful with advice in advance and with follow-up advice since the training was completed. Without Naomi we wouldn’t have ‘turned the corner’.
She has completely transformed the situation and I feel we are well on the way to getting our dog to restrain her excitement and to behave reasonably when meeting other dogs.
Adolescent Dogs are very well organised and deal with all the administration with great speed and efficiency. They offer a huge range of extremely informative videos and webinars, which play an important part in enabling me to continue training our dog.
We will definitely be using Adolescent Dogs and Naomi again.

My 2 year old Otterhound has just returned from a six week residential training with Guy Olliver of Adolescent Dogs as a reformed character. He was exhibiting very worrying reactive behaviour towards other dogs and people in particular, and Guy with a great deal of skill and positive reinforcement transformed my nervous and insecure dog into a responsive and well behaved personality. I cannot reccommend him highly enough.