Testimonials and Feedback
Please see below for a listing of testimonials submitted to us by clients in the past after working with us.
Working with Labrador Rescue we often take in dogs with challenging behaviour or complete lack of any training, and the secret of a successful rehoming is to address that behaviour and pass on advice to the new owner. Without help and guidance in such cases we may be in a position where we would have to have the dog back-ultimately causing the dog more upset and inevitably making the problem worse. On talking to Malcolm it soon became clear that he is passionate about what he does. Labrador Rescue would only ever consider a training plan which is 'reward based', and this is clearly Malcolm's way. I had mentioned a particular dog to him, one who was a fully trained explosives detection dog who we had been asked to re-home. Due to the way he had been trained (to work away from his handler) it was proving to be difficult. The dog had no recall whatsoever! Malcolm offered to help our Charity and to asses the dog and see if he felt he could be 're-trained'. He gave up several hours of his time (free of charge!) assessing the dog, found him a new home and even did the transport for us! He is also continuing to work with him in his new home and give support to his new family as there still is a long way to go! I can't thank Malcolm enough, his dedication is second to none, and it is great that someone with this sort of experience selflessly gives up their time to help a Charity such as ours.
Our 2 year old labrador, Isla, had taken to whining and yelping on and off throughout the night for a number of months. We tried all kind of things to resolve the problem but sadly to no avail. It was at this point that we called Malcolm. He came and visited us at our home and spent just over an hour talking through the dogs history and both her recent and general behaviour. He put forward a number of possible solutions to the problem, all of which were recorded in a very comprehensive report that he sent to us after the meeting.
My wife and myself were very impressed at how you took the time to talk to us and how well you listened to what we had to say. You listened to what we had to say and then deciphered it a piece at a time in a very easy to understand manner. You addressed each concern we had in its own merit and made it clear what had to be done and how we had to go about doing it. You also offered advice on factors such as our dogs diet that we hadnt even considered! You basically left no stone unturned.
Boxer x with stupid! 2 year old Alfie has been the missing link in my family, his quirky personality soon fitted in with our lifestyles and chaotic house, he has been fun, loving adorable all the things you want in another member of the family! And there laid our problem so says Malcolm who soon saw that Alfie was treated like my 4th child. Alfie had started to bite, not strangers or the children but myself and my husband, it always happened out on his walks and never seemed to be aggressive, but it was becoming a big problem, he was out of control with excitement, and we didn't know how to deal with it, along comes Malcolm, we talk for several hours and walk for even longer, all the time Malcolm is watching Alfie and testing him, he has several tricks up his sleeve to deal with this aggressive domination as its now been labelled, loud alarm/horn= nothing , citronella spray= just a sneeze and so it went on, he went away and researched, came back with a training lead and other equipment during our walk but it was enough to make him stop. We now have a programme of demoting Alfie, and making him the dog again. He will still remain our missing link, thanks to Malcolm, we have control and Alfie now has a cushion on the floor rather than the sofa.. thank you again to Malcolm for all your help.
Having Malcolm in my home was so helpful, going through the problems I had with George, when leaving I continued to do as Malcolm advised and I'm in shock that it works! It's like George has changed in a couple of hours,! I'm sticking to the training completely and so far so good! I would recommend Malcolm to everyone with a problem dog, he's on the phone if needed which helps as it can be hard to take everything in, but gaining control of my lovely dog is a great feeling and can't wait to see the results improving with time, so thank you Malcolm for your help xxxxx :)
I was recommended Malcolm by a friend who attends his classes. We have a Golden Retriever 20 months old who amongst other things ( quite a few infact) wasn't good on recall and would not get into the car even with a ramp. Malcolm has been absolutely fantastic, after an initial chat he suggested various training techniques which we have worked on and have had huge success with. It has been a pleasure being trained by him and Wally has responded so well. We now own a Gencon lead, which helps enormously when out walking. We are about to embark on the Hook training, which will am sure will work well in our family. After each one to one session Malcolm emails me a resume of everything we did and what we should work on till the next session. Wally is much calmer and is much more responsive to my instructions. He can do allsorts of clever things now. Malcolm is so calm and patient . He is extremely knowledgeable. I think Wally enjoys the sessions as much as I do.
A family, with 2 young children, we needed just a little help and direction with our nervous, often anxious 2 and a half yr old cockapoo, Peppa. Malcolm came to our home, listened to our concerns and engaged us with his expert advice, which was delivered in a clear, down to earth way.
we are pleased to say we have had massive improvements with Henry. He is much calmer, and on many occasions doesn't even get off his bed when we come into the house. He doesn't pull on this lead at all, and will sit by my side calmly, if I speak with a neighbour. Henry still won't have come to me if asked, without treat, so work in progress. However, if we say 'Henry In' when he is in the garden, he will instantly follow command. We have noticed that Henry no longer leans on us, but occasiolly does make noises in the evening if we are not making fuss of him. We just ignore these!
Hi Malcolm Hope that you got home easily last night. I just wanted to email to thank you for your time last night. We all found your session a very powerful experience and feel that we are able to help our dogs become calmer, more obedient and more balanced as a result of your help We have seen immediate improvements and are following your advice as fully as we are able to; the dogs slept in the kitchen last night...
Hi Malcolm, I thought you would be pleased to know what a delightful dog Georgia has become. She is very responsive to training and no longer has any of her original bad traits. She travels hundreds of miles with me in the car going to Scotland without so much as a squeak out of her. All my family and friends have noticed how much her behaviour has improved and total strangers tell me how well they think she is doing at just eight months. It was good to catch her training while she was still young. She is very intelligent and lively and gives me so much pleasure instead of terror. We walk miles while she investigates every hedgerow. But I never have to worry about her coming back when I call. I thought you might enjoy the short video of her doing a bit of fishing. The one and only time she managed to catch a huge tadpole she was mesmerised and just a little bit afraid. Thank you for your help in making our relationship work. She is a great companion.
Hi I have 11 weeks old german shepherd puppy and I live in flat. I wast aware that this breed need big garden to play around but I am really confident that I can do anything for my puppy to give him the best start but problem was how to find trainer who support me teach me the right thing to train my puppy. Then I come across this website and find MALCOLM JOHNSON .He visited us yesterday and now I can say he is best DOG TRAINER AND BEHAVIOURIST I EVER SEEN. He teach me lots and my puppy to give the best start. Malcolm gave me so much confidence in all aspect. I am really happy and confident to recommended Malcolm to all who want the best,well behave dogs in there families or train for anything. He is such a lovely and truly amazing dog trainer &person I ever meet, His services and experiences are highly recommended!!! To all. Malcolm I would like to say thank you very much on behalf of me and family to gave us the best start and confidence for our beautiful puppy. And see you soon.... Many thanks
Dear Malcolm Thank you for taking some time out this evening to talk to me about Maximus and for all your advice and tips. I wish you every success for the future. With all good wishes, Nadia
Malcolm came to my house to help me with some behavioural issues with my 2 year old border terrier (dominant behaviour and separation anxiety). After only a few lessons my dog was noticably calmer and many of the behavioural issues had improved - or even ceased. Highly recommended!
Although Poppy enjoyed the Training School, I really felt she needed some one to ones as her progress was not as good as I would have liked. Malcolm was able to really understand Poppy and her behaviour - he came up with some great ideas as to how I could address certain issues and within 4 sessions, her behaviour was transformed. I have been delighted with the help she has had from Malcolm and would recommend his services to anyone in need of a dog trainer. Thank you!
I got in touch with Malcolm after I was almost at the end of my tether with my 9 month old terrier puppy. I have had dogs all my life but this one has been more challenging than any other, perhaps because he was already 5 months old when he came to me and was completely uneducated and unruly at that point. Malcolm has helped us both enormously by giving me the right guidance on how to manage and train my little dog. He has advised me on training techniques of which I was unaware, so that I can correct his unacceptable behavior in a kind and meaningful way. Before I was being dragged around the village and countryside on walks, I had to avoid other dogs due to fact he would jump at them, often aggressively, and I had given up hope of ever being able to let him off the lead. Now some 6 weeks later he is starting to go off the lead and be recalled, he is walking to heel and he meets other dogs in an acceptable and friendly way. It has not happened overnight but by following Malcolm's programme and guidance. I now have a relaxed happy dog and I am a relaxed happy owner! Thank you Malcolm.
Having Malcolm in our home was so helpful, going through the problems we had with Denver. We are continuing to do as Malcolm advised and it works! It's like Denver has changed already in couple of hours. I would recommend Malcolm to everyone. We can't wait to see the results improving by time, so thank you and your lovely dog helps xxxxx :)
Hi Malcolm, Just to say thank you for your time today. Both me and Pam have learned a lot from the lesson. In the two hours you spent with us and the two dogs we have gone from barking when the phone rings to complete quiet. Barking when anyone posts or knocks on the front door until they are told to stop. They were fed together for the first time in two years without any confrontation. Those alone are priceless. We will continue the training and keep in touch. Please use this as a reference and if anyone would like to speak to us regarding your service that's not a problem.
Hi, Malcolm, Do you remember Porter our Yorkshire Terrier who always ran like a maniac to our front door, well after your expertise he is a different dog, everybody says so, much calmer and I have to say he is not allowed to go to the front door unless I tell him to, your instructions completely carried out and happily. We are about to take away the gate we put up on entrance to the front room, which I think complete's our training, although we will definitely keep the training up. He still doesn't take treats but one word from me he behaves, it seems the look and word work better. It is so much pleasure for us to have him and he is such a loving dog. I just thought I would let you know how much more pleasing it is to have him and not worry when anybody came to the door. Oh I nearly forgot, we do not know when the postman has come because he is so quiet. Regards from Mrs Doreen Robinson
After using another dog training school for roughly 10 months we did not seem to get any where. Having been to your school Malcolm for just eight weeks Paige has come on so well and is quite obedient now. We look forward to carrying on with her training. You have certainly got the best out of her and perhaps us Jacqui Thornton
Hi Malcolm, I hope you are well... I am sitting enjoying the dogs playing in the garden and thought I'd update you on Boris and Baileys progress since your consultation. Since my last e-mail in January we have not had a single incident of aggression!! Upon occasion they'll have the odd growl at one another but never anything serious and if we say 'enough' they both immediately stop, have a shake and then behave as if nothing ever happened and lay down. We've gone from being worried we'd have to separate them to feeling completely blessed to have such happy boys. Furthermore the jealousy is now under control, we can sit with one on our lap without the other feeling left out so we no longer have to worry about favouring one over the other, we just treat them this same. Thank you so so much for the training and advise you gave us, it has made such a huge difference and is very much appreciated!!!
We called on Malcolm in the hope of him being able to offer advice and training to change the behaviour of our over boisterous bichepoo, Freddie, who was totally disobedient and had started occasionally to nip visitors and also many random dogs whilst on a walk ( excitement? protection?). He was brilliant. Over a three hour period, Malcolm undertook a very detailed analysis of our overly indulgent relationship with Freddie and the resulting behaviour and gave us a very interesting overview of the dog/human relationship, ie Freddie is a dog and we are his superiors so he has to learn his place in the "pack". He had also brought his own lovely Australian shepherd dog, Bruce, and they both patiently worked with an excitable little white thing who, very quickly, began to respond to commands. Malcolm gave us various techniques and training aids which we continued to use for the next few weeks. We now have a still very lively but much more compliant Freddie, who comes when he's called and will sit quietly away from the front door when someone calls. And we haven't had a single incident of nipping, either another dog or human, since Malcolm's visit. Would wholeheartedly recommend Malcolm to anyone who has a problem with their hound.
Malcolm came to our home as my German Shepherd Archer was aggressive to other dogs. It has been 4 days since Malcolm came to the house and the results are amazing ! Archer is much calmer around other dogs and I can now stop him from focusing on other dogs. Just a few tweeks around the home has changed our dogs into calm, easy going dogs. Its brilliant ! Malcolm is very knowledgeable and tells you in a way that every one will understand. The feed back is helpful. I was worried i would be judged for maybe not doing something right with my training before. But Malcolm is not like that at all if anything he made me feel proud of my dogs and my training. If you ever need help with your dog i highly recommend Malcolm the results are the proof.
Words cannot express how happy I am to have had Malcolm come to my home and spend an hour educating me and working with me to improve my dog's behavior. Saphira is a 4 year old German Shepherd who had become increasingly uncomfortable around people and unpleasant to walk around other dogs. The time and money I spent with Malcolm is worth it and nothing compares to the immediate and positive behavior change in Saphira. Which has continued in the weeks since Malcolm came to my home for the training session. We accomplished more in that one hour than I have in three different dog training class that were one hour for 5 to 6 weeks long. I have and will continue to recommend Malcolm to other dog owner's who are at the end of the lead fed up with the dog's behavior.
This is about our German Shepherd dog BORIS, who is 27 months old and very large. After talking to Malcolm on the 'phone a couple of times I decided to seek his advice and asked for a home visit. My husband at this time was rather skeptical about the whole process but tried to keep an open mind and see how everything developed. From the very first, when Malcolm arrived, I could sense a very slight change in Boris' attitude. During the next 2+ hours Boris was put through his paces and the gradual change in him was amazing. He was a different dog at the end of the session, albeit a very tired dog - a lot of brain work was required on his behalf ! I now hope to attend the Sunday training sessions so that Boris can meet other dogs who are training along the same lines. I have also 'phone Malcolm a number of times with queries and on each occasion he spent considerable time explaining why Boris was doing this or that and put my mind at ease. Needless to say my husband has been very impressed and has totally changed his attitude towards Canine Behaviourist's. I can't recommend Malcolm Johnson highly enough.
How my dog has changed since your visit. Calmer, more respectful and happier to know that I call the shots. I still have work to do on distance recall with distractions but we are getting there. She has friends now !! The Gencon lead is a great innovation that really works. Thank you for your calming influence and advice. Jennifer and Zola........not forgetting Scamp.......
After three weeks of minimal sleep due to puppy yapping through night and whenever left alone we had a private session. Never looked back. Puppy is quiet and happy, we're sleeping and continuing excellent training classes which pup and us enjoy
My Patterdale Terrier was showing extremely aggressive behaviour towards other dogs and animals on the TV for a couple of years. We had seen other behaviourists before but nothing seemed to work for Bella. We then had a consultation with Malcolm who explained in detail what Bella’s issues seemed to be and developed an action plan to combat them. Three weeks on, Bella’s overall behaviour is like that of another dog! She still has her moments but on the whole she is new and improved. Malcolm has worked wonders, not necessarily by ‘fixing’ Bella, but by teaching me to teach her the correct ways to behave. We now to the training school once a week in an aim to desensitize Bella around other dogs. A month ago, this would have been my worst nightmare and I would have been extremely anxious and on edge - this is definitely not the case now. I can’t thank Malcolm enough for helping Bella to become a happier dog and me to become a happier (and better) dog mum!
Hello Malcolm Thank you for your visit on Monday 10 December to help us with our Yorkshire Terrier Dylan. The first few days were a bit daunting trying to remember all the things you had said. But when We received your report it made a lot more sense. We are making some good progress with both dogs especially with Dylan as he has less bad habits. Dylan is responding well to the discs, he no longer barks when let out in the garden, if he does the discs distract him and he listens to our commands. We have more control when the door bell rings and visitors enter the bungalow. My daughter commented on how well he behaved upon her arrival with no jumping up at her. He seems much more relaxed and contented. The mounting has also abated, the dogs still play together in a more playful way. As yet I have not taken him out for a walk as I want to feel I have good control over him in the home and garden. Malc and myself would like to thank you again for your help and look forward to seeing you in the new year. Sue and Malcolm
Dear Malcolm, I just what to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the work you did with Tiggy. Initially we still had a few problems but now she is a completely different dog. She is an absolute pleasure to have and the former daily angst and walking on egg shells has been replaced by joy of seeing such a happy little dog every time we walk through the door. We were at the brink of having to give her up due to her increasingly aggressive behaviour and you saved us. My only regret is we did not come and see you sooner. Again, I cannot thank you enough for putting us all on the right track With eternal gratitude
Dear Malcolm, thank you for another lovely day at training. When we look back at the way Harry was before coming to you, he had no recall, chasing everything that moved, especially cars, wanting to jump up at people, pulling to get to other dogs, runners, bikes, always pulling on the lead never able to enjoy walking him, having to wear all the safety harnesses, because he used to do all that spinning round on the lead. Then indoors always barking at people going past and horses and always on the alert and panting, never relaxing, which meant we couldn’t relax either it was a nightmare. Then we found you, our knight in shinning armour. We never dreamed Harry would ever be the dog he is today, thank you so much Malcolm. We know there are still areas with Harry that need working on. We will carry on with the training you have given us and shall keep in touch, letting you know how Harry is getting on. Des got the camera going, I pressed a button I shouldn’t have. Hope you like the pictures and video. Best wishes Angela Des Harry Ps harry sat there watching the videos/pictures wagging his tail
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Ferry House, London Road,
Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, PE16 6SG
Tel: 01354 462001 Mob: 07858 399344
