We offer Dog Training and Behaviour in and around the Winchester & Romsey areas.
Individually tailored 121 training for puppies age 6 months and under
Happy Gundogs - building focus on you on walks
Recall, Loose Lead Walking, House Manners, Scentwork, Tracking and More...
Including: Aggression, Separation Anxiety, Resource Guarding, Fears...
‘Most Patient Dog Behaviourist’ in the South East 2022 ‘Dog Trainer of the Year’ Hampshire 2021/22
I love helping dogs so much that I left a 20-year career in fashion PR to retrain as a dog behaviourist and trainer. I am fully qualified and accredited as a Dog Behaviourist by the IMDT – the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers, and I’m proud to be vet-recommended.
No two dogs are the same and I approach each one uniquely and with empathy. My mindset extends to the dog’s owner,
too; building a bond between ownerand dog
makes training a pleasure for you both.
At Maher & Hound Dog Training, Karen blends expertise with passion to offer tailored training solutions that foster a harmonious bond between you and your dog. Karen’s commitment to positive reinforcement and individualised care sets her apart, ensuring that every session is as rewarding for your dog as it is for you.
Trusted by local veterinarians for our compassionate, science-based training methods that prioritise your pet's well-being
Consistently rated 5 stars by dog owners for our personalised training programs and transformative behavioral techniques.
Recipient of the 2021/22 Dog Trainer Of The Year Hampshire, recognizing our commitment to excellence and outstanding results.
Founded and operated by a passionate dog enthusiast who understand and cater to the unique needs of each canine companion.
Run by a qualified dog behaviouist. All of my puppy & dog training programmes are individually tailored to your lifestyle. I use the most up to date, science based training methods that are proven to be effective and that have your dog’s welfare at heart
James Parrett2024-03-17Karen is amazing! When I started working with Karen my little dog Mabel had no impulse control. We’ve done pet Gundog 1:1 sessions and I’ve religiously done the homework Karen has set us. This week we joined one of the Gundog workshops, Mabel was amazing! Not only did she thoroughly enjoy it but we managed the whole session with no barking and next to no squeaking. Karen is really knowledgeable, clear in her advice and instructions and I wouldn’t recommend anyone else! Thank you Karen!Holly Andrews2024-03-17We have learnt so much from Karen about our King Charles spaniel over the last couple of months. His behaviour is improving because we have a better understanding of what he is trying to communicate, and how to handle it. He barks less, he is checking in on walks, and he is learning recall, all things we never thought were possible!S F2024-03-17Karen is absolutely brilliant. She really listens and will do extra work to figure out where particular behaviours stem from. Have recommended to multiple people. Mighty also loves the pet gundog classes - with this I think we've found his real drive to help him settle at home. Thank you Karen!A J2024-02-10We contacted Karen to help with our working cocker spaniel Oreo, at the time when we contacted Karen Oreo was 6 months old, and we struggle with his recall, loose lead walking and his confidence, this was making us nervous to take him out as we didn’t trust to let him off his lead, to add to that he was also pulling on the lead so our walks became sort of a nightmare. Then we decided the next best course of action was searching for a puppy trainer in Southampton and we saw Karen video’s on instagram, which was amazing, we really liked how calm and patience she was with all the dogs, and she uses reward based training which was a breathe of fresh air. Right off the bat of our first session Karen was very approachable and knowledgable, Oreo got very comfortable too even with his low confidence around new people, this really gives us confident that we have pick the right trainer for Oreo. Just from our first lesson Karen has taught us a lot about behaviors of why Oreo may be acting a certain way and established that his current feeding could play a big part to his behaviour. Oreo was also introduce to whistle training for recall and after just one session plus doing our homework throughout the week that Karen gave us and combined with changing his food. We started seeing his recall when from 0 to 100 in just a week, he responded so well to the whistle, which Oreo saw that as a fun game so he would wants to come back to us. We were amazed just how amazing her teaching were and in a blink of an eye, we didn’t have to be scared to let him off the lead anymore. Throughout the sessions that we have with Karen we saw Oreo confidence grew, we enjoyed our walks with Oreo more now and can’t thank Karen enough getting us there. ❤️Carla Martin2024-01-19I adopted Lionel my rescue scent hound from Greece in May 2021. He has been such a good boy in all aspects apart from recall which we have really struggled with. In my opinion training a scent hound is a specialist field and there are not enough dog trainers / behaviourists out there that have the skill to help. Karen is a rarity in the UK and is really knowledgeable when training this type of dog. I’ve only been working with Karen for about two months but I’m amazed at how quick our progress has been. Lionel and I still have work to do, but every time I finish a session with Karen I am always on a high about how well our session has gone. I would definitely recommend Karen to anyone struggling with a behavioural problems, especially people owning scent hounds that struggle with recall.Laura Haigh2024-01-04We first contacted Karen after watching her video with her own dog learning to recall to a whistle... it was impressive! We have a miniature schnauzer who loves to learn, but we were a bit lost with how to get her to have a good recall, since she LOVES other dogs! We have had 4 1:1 sessions with Karen, who Hattie loves. She is calm, understanding and definitely knows her stuff. Hattie has a little way to go with her 'stop' but with practice from all of the advice we have been given I don't have any doubts. Karen has taught us the skills we need going forward and Hattie has enjoyed herself in the process, rain or shine! They say a tired dog is a happy one and the photo attached is after training.... one happy dog! Thanks Karen, you've been great. XAlison Leigh2023-10-08We first contacted Karen 2 years ago to get some guidance from her for some issues that had arisen when we introduced a new Border Terrier puppy to our 11 year old Border Terrier. The advice she gave then was such a brilliant help that we approached her again without hesitation to seek her support with our younger Border Terrier, Phoebe, who had become increasingly lead-reactive when meeting other dogs. This was making the family very stressed and everyone had a different way of dealing with the situation, which we were sure wasn't helping. Karen's approach is wonderful, she has such empathy and understands dogs (and their owners) like no other! She was calm, caring and reassuring during all our sessions, providing clear, practical advice that was really easy for us to implement as Phoebe loves the mental stimulation and the training felt like play-time to her. Karen explained to us how to recognise a dog's body language and anticipate how Phoebe might react to certain situations, enabling us to decide which distraction method to use. We've also worked hard on improving Phoebe's recall and even introduced whistle training. We are now confident that we have a wide variety of positive reinforcement tools that the whole family can use consistently and that are a real game-changer when it comes to dealing with Phoebe's reactivity. I cannot recommend her highly enough - thank you, Karen!Isabel Gomez2023-09-15Karen speaks dog like no one else I’ve met. She really helped me to understand my rescued scent hound, now we work together cohesively as a team. Her methods are easy to follow and she delivers training in piecemeal, easy to understand steps. A huge thank you to Karen from team Pluto 🪐Kirsten McDonald2023-08-04Best trainer I have found Karen is amazing, knows what she is doing and completely trust herDan Mellor2023-07-11We first got in contact with Karen after needing some help with our puppy working spaniel specifically, loose lead walking, recall in certain environments and how to have fun using the normal spaniel instincts. Karen’s help and advice has been priceless for us and we’re definitely going to booking another set of sessions going forward! Couldn’t recommend highly enough!Google rating score: 5.0 of 5, based on 60 reviews
Book A Free Discovery Call Today To Find Out How Karen Can Help You!
Given the dedication required to provide each dog and their owner with the personalised attention and training they need, I am only able to work with a limited number of clients at any given time. I sincerely believe in offering my services only when I am confident in my ability to deliver the outcomes you’re seeking for your dog.
If you’re genuinely committed to improving your dog’s behaviour and enhancing your relationship with them, I encourage you to schedule a consultation call with me. This will give us a chance to discuss your dog’s specific needs, your training goals, and explore how we can work together to achieve something you’ll be proud of.
Photography by Holly and the Dogs
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