Me and My Dogs

I’m Anna Willitt and I live in Mid Devon with my three dogs Finn, Fly and Florrie.

I started my training journey in agility with my Springer Spaniel Poppy (the dog on my logo) when as a young dog she was hyperactive, difficult to live with and I had no real bond with her. I was worried we’d be kicked out of regular training classes as she really was crazy and loud, so decided we’d try agility. I was so lucky to find amazing trainers, and I quickly learnt how to use Pop’s enthusiasm for life in a positive way rather than suppressing her, while also becoming hooked on agility. And once I understood her and worked with her she turned from a nightmare pet, to great fun to be around right up until she passed away in 2020.

I’ve been working with dogs since 2010, when I spent several years managing a rescue centre which taught me a huge amount about adapting my training to the dog in front of me, and working with a variety of behaviour challenges. Since leaving the job I've worked with a wide variety of training and behaviour cases, as well as teaching hundreds of dogs hoopers and Scentwork over the last few years.

Pop dog not only inspired me to work with dogs to begin with, she led to me training as a canine massage therapist when I saw the benefits it had for her spondylosis and arthritis. I trained for two years with the Canine Massage Therapy Centre and am now a member of the Canine Massage Guild. I love working with older dogs as it's so rewarding seeing them moving better after treatment.

Fly is my oldest dog and has been a huge influence in my behaviour knowledge as she came to me as a very anxious young rescue, and once her confidence grew I had to work through dog and people aggression and reactivity to movement. While she never became an easy dog, we worked through most of her challenges and she was able to go anywhere with me without problems. Now she's nearly 14 we're instead dealing with the challenges of deafness and some cognitive decline, but she's coping well so far.

Finn is a very sweet Springer cross who is pretty easy to live with, while he doesn't look it he's an extremely typical spaniel so his challenges have been mainly around excessive sniffing and recall on walks and a little resource guarding in the house. So I can absolutely empathise with anyone going through these spaniel challenges!

Florrie is my youngest dog, she's a working lines Border Collie, with extremely strong breed traits. If allowed she would work, and herd all day. This would be hell to live with and not good for her, so I spent a lot of time in her early years working on her off switch, and channelling her behaviour appropriately. She's a joy to live with now, is a brilliant walking companion, settles in a pub, loves everyone but still has a huge working drive which means she's great fun to train. So far she's showing promise in agility, has gained several wins in hoopers and is working at Level 4 in Scentwork UK.

What Do I Do?

I love working with 'naughty' dogs. The spaniels who are ruled by their nose, the collies who obsessively stalk, the lab who thinks the world is their friend, the terrier who barks all day. I want to make training accessible and simple for regular dog owners who would like to change their dogs behaviour and make them a little easier to live with, but without having to become hugely skilled themselves and without resorting to punishment to do it.

I mostly work 121, in your home or out and about as it means training is entirely tailored to you and your dog, meaning everyone learns faster. But if you prefer the social setting of a class, or need dogs to practice around I do run a couple of life skills classes, check out the training and behaviour page for info.

I love Scentwork and Hoopers training too, to give owners and dogs a fun bonding activity and while all of my regular classes are full, I occasionally have workshops running or spaces open up. 

Please also check out the canine massage page of the website for information about massage treatments.

My training and qualifications - 

• APDT member since 2019, member number 01430
• Scentwork UK L1-4 instructor
• Advanced Canine Hoopers UK instructor and judge
• Canine Massage Therapist - trained by The Canine Massage Therapy Centre, course accredited by Lantra
• Member of the Canine Massage Guild
• Currently studying Level 5 Advanced Diploma in Animal Behaviour with Compass Education