Welcome to Paw by Paw Training

Award winning step by step modern training for you and your dog. 

At Paw by Paw training I know that one size doesn’t fit all for either my human or dog learners so I offer a range of services to help you with your dog’s learning. These include; 

  • A variety of one to one programmes for in person clients within a 50 mile radius of Dorchester and Weymouth as well as online clients worldwide
  • Classes for puppies, scent detection, hoopers and general manners training in the Chickerell area of Weymouth 
  • Specialist Reactive Rovers classes in the Chickerell area of Weymouth, although this class has been attended from clients as far away as London!
  • Training walks for clients within a 10 mile radius of Weymouth and Dorchester
  • One off events including workshops and webinars ranging from puppy socialisation, general manners (including recall and loose lead walking), tricks, introduction to various sports (including scent detection, tracking, hoopers and rally). 
Image shows a dog trainer walking from the left to the right with a black male Patterdale terrier beside her closest to the camera. The terrier is wearing a green Ruffwear harness and has his mouth open in a light pant.

My name is Emma Phillips and Paw by Paw Training was born from the experiences I had with my first dogs, Pumba and Timon. As a first time dog owner I made a lot of mistakes with the boys and I paid the price for it with their behaviour. The boys displayed behaviours like aggression towards other dogs, people, other animals, resource guarding and separation anxiety as well as the normal challenges like focus, recall and loose lead walking. At their worst, the boys made daily life incredibly difficult and miserable, there were times where I would have preferred to scrub the whole house clean with a toothpick than take them out for a walk! 

My experiences with the boys inspired me to set up Paw by Paw Training to help people who felt like I did. If you feel overwhelmed with dog ownership, like you want to bury your head in the ground and avoid the issues you’re experiencing or if you’re questioning whether or not you’re the right home for your dog, I’ve been there. Feeling like you have a dog who is the best thing since sliced bread in every way except for when they see another dog is a feeling I was familiar with as well. You might even find yourself disliking your dog, it’s a really uncomfortable thought to have but is one that has crossed my mind a few times as well. 

Because I’ve lived through the issues that you’re experiencing, I know how it feels and the challenges that come with it. You cannot be more interesting when out and about on walks in order to get your dog to focus on you more, it is terrifying to walk a reactive dog when you don’t know what you’ll see around each corner and you have to deal with the frustrations of the general public insisting that their dog is friendly – regardless of whether or not yours is! 

Paw by Paw Training was born of a desire to help people who feel just like you. 

Get in touch

Behaviour 1-2-1 Programmes

One-to-one behaviour programmes are for you if you experience any of the following issues: 

  • Your dog growling, lunging, barking, snarling at or maybe even trying to bite in any circumstance at anything (if you have a puppy under 6 months old who is biting please see the puppy 1-2-1 programmes) 
  • Your dog is vocalising, panicking, destroying the house, soiling the house, or trying to escape only when they are left home alone or are unable to access a person 
  • Your dog is extremely nervous of anyone or anything 
  • Your dog excessively barking in any context 
A black and tan Patterdale terrier facing the camera whilst stood on a mileage marker in front of the sea.

Training 1-2-1 Programmes

One-to-one training programmes are for you if your dog is over 6 months of age and you experience any of the following issues: 

  • Your dog not coming back when you call them on walks 
  • Your dog pulling on lead 
  • Your dog jumping up at people either at home or out and about 
  • Your dog barging through doors or jumping out of the car as soon as you open the door
  • Your dog jumping up at kitchen counters 
  • Your dog pestering you when you eat 
  • Your dog not having any food manners 
  • You have other issues with your dog’s general manners
A black Patterdale terrier laying on a green piece of vet bed that has a paw print pattern on it. The terrier is staring into the camera looking very cute
As a pet parent, choosing your Gold 121 programme was the best decision I ever made for both Maggie Mae and myself. We are both enjoying following the training programme together and Maggie Mae is coming on leaps and bounds. The exclusive individual training lessons are perfectly adapted to our needs and encourages so much more confidence in both Maggie Mae and me, plus full support via email/text is a perfect bonus. Maggie Mae is happier, enjoying her walks while still learning. Our next goal is to join one of your group programmes.
Jeanette Goodier
2024
I cannot thank Paw by Paw Training enough. We took on two bull mastiff pups two and half years ago. As they grew they became bigger and stronger! Unfortunately I did not! My girl pup Maisie, would be a huge struggle to walk and she became reactive towards, people, pigeons, children and other dogs, I became quite anxious walking her and lost all my confidence. I had 6 one to one sessions, after which I can honestly say I was able to walk her with confidence and enjoyment. I believe the sessions were as much for me as Maisie, but after just a couple of weeks, and lots of practice, I had developed a brilliant relationship with her.
The training makes sense and is supportive and fun. I didn't feel stupid or useless, it was exactly what I needed to be proud of my girl when we are out walking together!
Maisie has reached her "teenage" years and has become a little stubborn with her recall when off lead. Therefore I have started a few more sessions to help improve this which we are enjoying and I am sure we will be able to crack this issue soon.
Jo Deans
2024

Puppy 1-2-1 Programmes

Puppy one-to-one training programmes are for you if your dog is under 6 months of age and you are experiencing any issues or simply just want some guidance on raising a puppy. Some topics you may be struggling with include: 

  • General manners (coming back when called, loose lead walking, jumping up, barking, food manners, etc.) 
  • Guidance on how to appropriately socialise your puppy
  • Getting your puppy toilet trained
  • Getting your puppy to sleep through the night 
  • Teaching your puppy to be comfortable being home alone 
  • Surviving puppy biting 
  • Surviving evening witching hour! 
  • Integrating your new puppy into the existing members of the household (canine, human, and other species)
A blue merle Australian shepherd puppy trying to chase and bite her tail in front of a hedge in evening summer sunlight
We stumbled upon Paw by Paw Training when we were looking for some scent work to help calm our very energetic GSP puppy. We decided to get 121 puppy training and training walks alongside since we were struggling with manners on walks and around other dogs and people - she just wanted to be in full play mode.
Once we started these it was immediate the change in our puppy. The training walks helped with her obedience for heel, attention to us while walking and ignoring people and dogs, and the 121 training helped us with foundations for calming her and manners when around people and dogs. These combined with Scent Club has really made a huge difference. She is now able to ignore people and dogs on walks, she will even sit quietly and watch them pass without lunging at them, she can relax in settle on command and she absolutely loves Scent Club! I'm so impressed by Emma and how well she knows what will work with your dog - it took her minutes to see that some of the scent work was too easy for our puppy and she needed harder ones. As soon as we made them harder she got right to work and was laser focused. Paw by Paw offers a great mix of different things to suit what your dog needs and we are so happy with the improvements the training has provided!
Nicole Brugger
2024

Reactive Rovers

This 6 week course is designed to help dogs who: 

  • try to run away from,
  • bark at,
  • lunge at,
  • growl at,
  • maybe even try to bite 

other dogs. If you are unsure about the suitability of your dog for this course, please book a call via the button below, I’m more than happy to provide guidance. 

This course is designed to give owners of dogs who struggle around other dogs the skills they need to enjoy their walks again. It is not designed to fix your dog’s reactivity, it is simply the first step in doing so. 

A black Patterdale terrier laying down with his chin on the floor staring into the camera.

Puppy Classes

This 6 week course is designed for puppies from 8 weeks to 6 months old at the time of the course starting. 

Topics covered on this course include:

  •  positions (sit, settle) 
  •  teaching your puppy to do multiple behaviours for one reward 
  • focus
  • loose lead walking
  • preventing jumping up
  • impulse control 
  • toy play 
  • door manners 
  • polite greetings 
  • teaching your puppy to be happy to be home alone
  • socialisation 
  • body language 
  • introductions to other family members (babies, toddlers, children, cats, existing dogs, small animals)
  •  stay
  •  go to bed/crate/mat
  •  hand touch (loose lead walking, recall, preventing jumping up)
  • recall
  • preventing resource guarding 
  • preparation for veterinary/grooming visits 
  • preventing separation anxiety 
  • crate training 
  • toilet training
  • teething & biting
  • getting your puppy to sleep through the night 
  • fear & how to handle it
  • diet
  • spaying & neutering 
A mixed bull breed puppy sat between the legs of a young woman who is crouched down smiling at the camera and stroking the puppy on the chest.
Paw by Paw helped with our reactive spaniel a few years ago, so when we grew the family by 4 paws a couple of years later, we knew that we wanted the puppy to go to the puppy classes for the best start for him. The foundations for recall proved particularly invaluable as his teenage spaniel nose ruled his brain for a while!

Fast forward another few years to another 4 paws joining the family, again, there was no question she would do the puppy classes. A rescue this time, and therefore a bit older, classes and exercises were adapted by the PbyP team to take this into account. We lent heavily on all advice as we navigated introducing a nervous, inexperienced youngster into the big wide world. We also had a lovely time in the Hoopers classes once we had finished pups.

Paw by Paw will always be a part of our canine support network, highly recommend their classes and services.
Jo Nuttall
2024
We had been trying to deal with our dog's reactivity issues for a couple of years before joining Emma's Reactive Rovers class, and haven't looked back since! Emma's advise has been instrumental in helping Ralph remain calm when out and about, and we even got to the point of being able to introduce a new puppy into the home. We've since attended puppy classes with our second dog, Olive, as well as Canine College with both dogs, and have loved seeing them learn fun new tricks. Thank you Emma!
Poppy O'Flanagan
2024

Scent Club

A rolling course for dogs of any age to learn about scent detection – one of the best ways of tiring your dog out and meeting their most natural canine needs. 

This course is suitable for puppies and adult dogs alike, breeds, dogs with physical limitations and dogs who require space from other dogs or people as long as they can see them within 10 metres without reacting. 

A black and tan Patterdale terrier searching a small train carriage in a museum with his female owner handling him and smiling down at him whilst he works the search.
We stumbled upon Paw by Paw Training when we were looking for some scent work to help calm our very energetic GSP puppy. We decided to get 121 puppy training and training walks alongside since we were struggling with manners on walks and around other dogs and people - she just wanted to be in full play mode.
Once we started these it was immediate the change in our puppy. The training walks helped with her obedience for heel, attention to us while walking and ignoring people and dogs, and the 121 training helped us with foundations for calming her and manners when around people and dogs. These combined with Scent Club has really made a huge difference. She is now able to ignore people and dogs on walks, she will even sit quietly and watch them pass without lunging at them, she can relax in settle on command and she absolutely loves Scent Club! I'm so impressed by Emma and how well she knows what will work with your dog - it took her minutes to see that some of the scent work was too easy for our puppy and she needed harder ones. As soon as we made them harder she got right to work and was laser focused. Paw by Paw offers a great mix of different things to suit what your dog needs and we are so happy with the improvements the training has provided!
Nicole Brugger
2024

Hoopers Club

A rolling course for dogs of any age to learn about hoopers – a sport like agility but with hoops instead of jumps. 

This course is suitable for puppies and adult dogs alike, breeds, and dogs with some physical limitations that may rule out agility as an activity for them. 

A Jack Russell terrier mix happily running through some hoopers hoops with barrels in the background.

Canine College

A rolling course aimed at training dogs general manners, topics are dictated by participants in the class but regularly focuses on recall, loose lead walking, not jumping up, not being overexcited, impulse control, go mat, confidence building and trick training. 

This course is suitable for dogs who need space from people or other dogs as long as they can see them within 10 metres without reacting. 

We had been trying to deal with our dog's reactivity issues for a couple of years before joining Emma's Reactive Rovers class, and haven't looked back since! Emma's advise has been instrumental in helping Ralph remain calm when out and about, and we even got to the point of being able to introduce a new puppy into the home. We've since attended puppy classes with our second dog, Olive, as well as Canine College with both dogs, and have loved seeing them learn fun new tricks. Thank you Emma!
Poppy O'Flanagan
2024

Puppy Workshop

This one off workshop covers all of the key skills your puppy needs to know in order to be a well rounded member of society and introduces you and your puppy to the world of appropriate socialisation. No accidentally under- or over-socialising your puppy (yes it is possible!) These workshops are ideal if you can’t commit to a 6 week training class. 

A blue merle tri coloured Australian Shepherd puppy asleep at 5 weeks old.

Recall Workshop

This dedicated recall workshop is perfect for any stage of your recall training. You will learn the basics of recall to ensure that the key skills required are functioning, through to how to develop your recall and work through distractions. Ideal if you simply want to top up your recall, fix a specific issue with distractions or you’ve recently brought a new dog home and want to get the best start for a good recall. 

A blue merle tri Australian Shepherd dog running towards the camera happily. The dog is in a field with the sea in the background.

Loose Lead Workshop

This workshop focuses on teaching your dog how to walk nicely on the lead. This is perfect if you’ve just brought a dog home and want to get started on the right foot, or if your dog has a problem with pulling on their lead and you’re looking for the solution to the pulling. 

Ditch The Treat Workshop

If you would like to learn how to go from needing treats on you to get your dog to do what you want then this workshop is ideal! Your dog must have at least one behaviour learnt prior to attending this, it doesn’t matter what behaviour, just one that we can work with in order to teach you how to remove the food to get the behaviour. 

General Manners Workshop

This workshop is perfect if you want to improve your dog’s general manners including recall, loose lead walking, jumping up (at people or surfaces) and pestering when you’re preparing or eating food. 

A black Patterdale terrier looking at his handler who is just out of shot very happily, his tongue is hanging out and the sun is shining.

Trick Workshop

rick training is so fun, who doesn’t love showing their dog’s tricks off at BBQs or family events?! This workshop covers a range of tricks from basic paw and nose targets, to bow, roll over and how to build the behaviours as well as all of the theory you need to go home and train whatever tricks you fancy! You’ll finish this workshop with a load of tricks to show off at your next big event! 

Grooming & Handling Workshop

Cooperative care is the process of teaching your dog to participate in their husbandry care, be it veterinary or grooming. No more pinning your dog down to trim their nails or brush their teeth. No having to trick them to take pills. This course teaches you how to use behaviours in a cooperative setting and how to apply them to your dog’s medical and/or grooming needs. 

A black and tan Patterdale terrier wearing a cone that dogs have to wear after operations to stop them licking wounds and preventing them healing. The dog is sat looking up at the camera.

Introduction To Scentwork Workshop

Scentwork is the quickest way to tire your dog out and is one of the most effective activities for mental stimulation you can provide. If you have 15 minutes to tire your dog out, scentwork is the way to go! It’s incredible how easily your dog can find tiny amounts of scent in huge areas. This workshop introduces you to the sport and is ideal for dogs of any breed, age and physical build. 

A liver German Shorthaired Pointer puppy sniffing the floor very intently.

Introduction To Tracking Workshop

Tracking is the process of your dog following the path a human (or other animal) has walked to find them. It’s a fabulous activity for dogs of all breeds and ages, especially older and younger dogs as it’s a low-impact activity for them to take part in and safely exercise. 

A black and tan Patterdale terrier at the end of a long line tracking with his owner behind him. Big farm machinery is around them.

Reactive Rovers Workshop

This is a two-part workshop over two weeks that covers the theory and exercises necessary in order to start changing your dog’s emotional response to other dogs. Suitable for dogs that bark, lunge, growl at, try to hide from or maybe even try to bite other dogs. 

Introduction To Hoopers Workshop

This is a one off workshop to introduce you and your dog to the sport of hoopers – brilliant if you’d like to give the sport a go before committing to one of our classes. 

This workshop is suitable for puppies and adult dogs alike, breeds, and dogs with some physical limitations that may rule out agility as an activity for them. 

Crop woman in casual clothes looking down at funny dog running through playing tunnel during training on green field

Introduction To Rally Workshop

Rally is like obedience but follows a course of signs that tell you which exercises to carry out. It’s a great sport for reactive dogs to take up as there is an active online competition community to ease you and your dog into competitive environments. This sport will be brilliant if you want better general manners from your dog whilst also having fun with them!