ACCESSIBILITY
It's of the upmost importance to both Kate and Emma that our classes are accessible and enjoyable to all the humans and dogs who join us. We aim to create a safe, supportive environment so that you and your dog can relax and enjoy some quality time together.
All of our venues are fully accessible, with facilities fit to serve everyone who may be part of our classes. If you'd like to visit a venue beforehand and meet us to check you're comfortable before a course begins, let us know - it's always lovely to say hi and put a face to a name before classes begin. We're happy to give you a tour of your venue and talk through how classes run so you know what to expect and find out how we can best support you through the course so you get the most out of it.
If you and your dog's team include carers or other support givers, bring them along too! We don't mind who it is, if they make you feel comfortable then bring them along. It's great to have everyone who will work with you and your dog be on the same page with training or behaviour change plans. We welcome language interpreters too; although Kate is working on signing BSL, the help of a professional interpreter is definitely recommended!
We've worked to ensure our training is completely suited to dogs and humans of all combinations of abilities (we don't think this is special, it's really as all training should be). Emma and Kate have both been lucky enough over the years to work with some truly brilliant teams of people and pups, which has allowed us to develop a big training toolbox to suit all abilities. There are a vast array of visual signals that can be used to communicate with deaf dogs, whereas blind or visually impaired dogs are highly atuned to sound cues, which can really help grow their confidence in navigating physical spaces independently. Dogs who are deaf/blind respond well to tactile touch cues, which can be used throughout our training.
If your dog or puppy has been bought as emotional support or physical assistance for a child who may need additional or alternative support, let us know how we can help. Emma's background was originally in childhood education, so she is familiar with supporting neurodivergent children or children with atypical learning needs through the learning process without causing anxiety or frustration in your child. The support that dogs are able to provide to humans is incredible and we're happy to adapt our training plans in whatever way best supports you in achieving that goal for your family.
If you have anxiety around new situations, you're welcome to come and meet us before your classes start. You can have a look around the hall, plan where you'd like to sit and find out more about your class mates. You can even visit us at another class and watch how they run so you know what to expect before your own classes start.