A woman squatting outdoors with a black and brown dog in a wooded area, both appearing happy and engaged.

So, you got a dog and they didn’t turn out how you imagined …

Hi, I’m Jess, and in back in June 2021, I was exactly where you are.

I had just adopted my first dog, with dreams of it being love at first sight. I imagined jumping straight into a life of long walks, coffee dates and pub gardens, and running off into the sunset together.

Except that wasn’t what happened — but more on that later.

Despite a less than ideal start to life as a dog owner, I fell in love with the process of behavioural modification, rehabilitation, and training. I threw myself into learning everything I possibly could about canine behaviour, body language, health and wellbeing, and it soon became a bit of an obsession. It lit a fire in me unlike anything else, and I just knew that it was the thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

I started working with dogs professionally in March 2024, and have since gained a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience with a huge variety of pet dogs of all different breeds and behavioural issues. It was during these two years in particular that I started to really understand my values as a dog trainer as well as the ways I enjoy to train.

A dog running outdoors on a dirt path with forested background, captured mid-stride with a focused and joyful expression.

The story of Lila: a little street dog from Romania

The one who started it all…

Sunflower K9 wouldn’t be possible without the dog who literally turned my life upside down back in 2021.

Lila came to me from Romania in a pretty bad condition and was very nervous of the world around her. She couldn’t be walked due to being afraid of having a lead be put on, and we were completely out of our depths in our first experience of dog ownership.

As I mentioned before, she wasn’t what I’d always imagined as my first dog, but she really is the very best thing that could have ever happened to me.

Lila’s behavioural rehabilitation journey included working through fear-based dog reactivity and general confidence-building, as well as me understanding her as a street dog and how her brain is wired. Her genetics play a huge part in how she behaves and learns and it was extremely important for me to work with her rather than against her and try and turn her into a dog that she simply couldn’t be. It was on this journey with her that I decided I wanted to become a dog trainer, and the rest is history.

Now, Lila is an amazing dog who spreads joy and sunlight everywhere she goes, just like a sunflower. She is by no means perfect and can still struggle with certain things, but she is a far cry from the dog she used to be! She often comes and helps me in my clients’ sessions and has helped many dogs overcome their own dog reactivity, and loves spending time with her trusted circle of people and dogs.

I have worked incredibly hard to help her become the much more confident and loving girl that she is today, and in doing so she has helped to open so many doors both in my personal life and throughout my career. Through her, I have made lots of friends and found what I want to do for the rest of my life.

In rescuing her, she rescued me in return.

A black and tan dog lying on a red cushion outside with a wooden structure and a person in the background.

Two dogs sitting in a yard covered with fallen autumn leaves, one with a brown and black coat wearing a plaid collar, and the other with a black and tan coat wearing a purple and teal neck warmer.

Life with Lila now…

While there is no such thing as a perfect dog, Lila is genuinely as close to perfect as you can get for a dog of her background living in a pet home. Overtime, she has had a whole host of behavioural issues to work through, including but not limited to:

✿ Fear-based dog reactivity

✿ Isolation distress

✿ High prey drive

✿ Over-arousal and poor emotional regulation

✿ Resource guarding around dogs

✿ Fear of humans, confinement, and busy spaces

Some of these things mentioned above are an ongoing process and a product of her genetics, however they no longer dictate how we live life together.

By taking an approach where I started to accept her as she is rather than who I wanted her to be, as well as trying new things, I began to see so much more progress. I found ways to fulfil her and satisfy her natural drives as well as address her behaviour by building confidence and trust in me as her owner. Our communication system improved and she now understands what is expected of her in moments where she used to struggle to find the right answer. She no longer jumps to taking things into her own paws; instead, she looks to me for guidance.

We now get to enjoy doing those things that I dreamt about before she arrived and more.