I’m Joe Nutkins and I am the face of Dog Training for Essex and Suffolk, in-person and on-line Dog Training and Canine Fitness for all dog breeds and ages.
Credit: Arthouse Photography
Established in August 2008, we help dog loving families learn to understand their dogs better and how to communicate more easily with their dogs for more comfortable and enjoyable experiences with our canine companions! We strive to be accessible for all dog owners and all dogs; our training venue is a welcoming, friendly and safe space and we have various training options to cater for various owner and dog needs.
We provide a range of fun and productive training services as you and your dog deserve to have a place to go to where you can choose what to learn about in a safe space. Whether you are starting with your puppy or your senior dog, trying a dog sport or looking for help with a behaviour we are here to help!
And our training journey started with the the story of my best friend, Cassie.
My first dog as an adult was Cassie, my first Norwich Terrier, back in 2000 and also known as Cassimas Maximus. Cassie was intelligent, bossy, humerous, sassy and I didn’t really struggled to know how to apply the ‘usual’ training methods to a small Terrier! “Just keep practising” I was told. Other times I was told “it just can’t be done with a small dog / a terrier”. So I looked further into understand my dog and my own handling!
I learnt so much in the upcoming months about myself, my dog and how I could shape our future.
While undertaking my own Diplomas in Dog Training and Canine Behaviour I attended numerous training clubs who all had the same idea in common; “one method works for all dogs”! Use the exact same Luring hand signals for heelwork with a German Shepherd as with a small Terrier. Or teaching a Down position will look exactly the same for a Chihuahua as it will with a Labrador. This made my training experiences frustrating, long winded and sometimes heart breaking when Cassie clearly didn’t understand what I was asking by following so much ‘advice’!
Training to suit your special best friend
Through my own studies and working with Cassie and then her nephew Taylor who was 4 years her junior, I could see how methods needed adjusting to suit each dog; not just for the breed type or size but also for each dog’s character too! After being diagnosed formally with Myalgic Encephamyalitis in 2012 I also could see that training methods really needed to suit the owners as well as each dog as if an owner cannot physically do a lure or an owner needs to be sitting etc then methods need to be adjusted, and this was’t something I was observing!
Then Taylor came along! Wow here’s where the REAL challenges began…
My second Norwich Terrier, Taylor, provided me with a lot more training challenges from noise sensitivity to reacting to certain dogs following being attacked at 13 weeks old, overriding the usual leadwork methods and having the highest chase drive I had seen and still have ever seen in a Terrier!
Through Taylor I learnt that the usual ‘rules’ in dog behaviour don’t always apply! Dogs with high chase drives won’t always play with toys, dogs with fear and separation issues won’t necessarily be good at recall and that Terriers can ‘point’ as well as an HPR when there’s a pheasant hidden in the centre of a tall field of maze lol!
Have you tried various methods recommended to you by well meaning friends and family or taught in previous training sessions but you are yet to see the benefit? Have you tried to follow a method given to you in classes but in practise they do not go the way you were told they would? I do understand: My own journey with Taylor helped teach me that things don’t always go to plan…
Struggles turned to strength in which Taylor helped me help more dog owners like you!
My own Dog Behaviour work increased a huge amount through Taylor, plus he helped me gain a sense of empathy I could never have had from general training courses or books. Living with dogs can be hard and it can be emotional, but it can also be rewarding and amazing for our mental health!
Dogs are our family
I now have Merlin and Ripley, Norwich Terriers of course, and we sadly lost Cassie age 16 1/2 to epilepsy and Taylor age 13 years 7 months to Hemangiosarcoma. All four dogs have achieved their Champion Trick Dog Titles, worked on their Kennel Club Good Citizen Awards, competed in Heelwork To Music Competitions, Obedience Competition, trained in Agility, Hoopers, Parkour, Treibball, Wag It Games and more
In 2021 and 2022 I trained Aero, a gorgeous Chocolate Labrador, in assistance dog work to help a family with Autistic children. Aero lived with us for 22 months from puppy and trained with me at home, on walks, at our training venue and in multiple public access places too. Her training included skills for being in public, skills to help her ‘buddy’ in her future family, skills towards her assessments and also skills that were specific for her role within her family too. Working on such specific areas of training gave me the chance to progress my own handling skills too!
Photo Credit: Arthouse Photography
We also have Pepper Potts in our family. Pepper is a Romanian Rescue Dog who came to us age 10 months after having been in a family home as a puppy, then became a stray on the streets, next being retained and cared for in foreign rescue, before moving into foster care ready to come to us in UK! A lot of changes by the time she was 10 months old and unsurprisingly Pepper has worked through various behaviour issues from resource guarding food and items to mouthing and play biting with a vice like grip! From frustration high pitched barking when seeing a dog when on lead to being petrified of being in my van the second she got in even for less then 2 minutes travel to a dog field. Pepper is happy and healthy, working on her Champion Trick Dog Title, has helped me give talks on safety for children around dogs at local Beavers and Cubs groups and has settled in brilliantly with our family!
Our team members include trainers Kate Gasson and Charlotte Jones plus friendly and knowledgeable training assistants – please do take a look at our Meet The Team page to see more about why we love working we dogs and their owners!
Who We Are …
Providing you and your dog with high quality dog training services in the form of classes, workshops and private training tuition that we are hugely proud of. Our core focus is to provide you with productive and fun pet dog training to aid people’s enjoyment with their dogs at home and on walks – working with all breeds, all ages and all training levels.
If you enjoy training for fun or as a sport there are plenty of things to do: From regular weekly Training Classes, to Agility, Canine Hoopers, Senior Dogs Training, Canine Fitness Work, One-off training days, Children’s Fun Classes, Good Citizens Medal Tests and more!
Your can access our Training Services in person at our purpose built venue on the Essex & Suffolk border, as well as online and we are also available to bring our training to your club or venue. You can also see us throughout the year attending various Dog Shows to run Have A Go Training Rings as well as Tricks Displays to watch and draw inspiration from!
We have been invited to run training rings and displays at Dog Events such as All About Dogs shows and Classic Festivals and Events shows that are in Essex or Suffolk, Essex Dog Day and many local charity events including School Fetes and Church Fun Days – come over and say hi if you spot us as we love to meet people and their dogs! We love to support local causes and events and if you have an event you’d like a display at or to have some training tips contact us!
6th July 2025 we will back at Edition Dog Live for a third year! Held at the Stoneleigh Grounds near Coventry Edition Dog Live is an Holistic Pet Dog Show. We are running talks on Tricks Training and why it is a great way forwards for many dogs as well as a display with four of our own Tricks Dogs!