Dear Sir, I was born and raised in Newton Aycliffe, my parents were pioneers of the new town, and I attended Vane Road, Sugar Hill, Milton Hall and the Avenue Comprehensive schools. I have been instructing owners with their dogs for 15 years, with Acorn Dog Club in the 1980’s, more recently Special Friends Dog Training in Newton Aycliffe and while away at university in Newport, Shropshire. I qualified with Pet Dog Training Instructors (PDTI) as an Advanced Instructor in 2012. In 2013 I graduated from Harper Adams University with a Diploma in Canine Training and Behavioural Management. In 2016 I successfully passed the assessment for membership of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) 01279. I moved to Newport, Shropshire to undertake a four-year degree course at Harper Adams University in 2014. I graduated in August 2018 with a First-Class BSc Honours in Animal Behaviour and Welfare. I am qualified to conduct behavioural consultations on veterinary referral with provisional membership of Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC). I have been training dogs for 35 years, competing successfully in KC Competitive Obedience, Heelwork to Music and Agility. I have had the pleasure to own and train 15 special dogs over the years. They have all been first and foremost happy and well-behaved companions, confident and adaptive, able to accompany me on my travels. My current companions are Kibo, 7 year old Border Collie, Jack, 6 year old Border Collie re-homed from a loving home where he had developed behaviour problems and Max, 11 year old Jack Russell from Hillbrea Rescue Kennels, Telford, Shropshire. Max’s elderly dad died, and the family were unable to look after him, a chance sighting on Facebook…. and he has lived as part of our family since April 2018. I have a passion for helping people with their dogs, sometimes dogs think they are being clear about their communications with people, but they can often be misunderstood. I am looking forward to running training classes in Newton Aycliffe, at Neville Community Centre on Wednesday evenings, and The Scout Hut on Tuesday evenings. I will be interested to find out what people want from the classes. I will be initially offering basic life-skills, puppy classes, however I am keen to help rescue dogs, shy dogs, reactive dogs and people who wish to train during the day. Please let me know what you want. There is nothing better than having a happy, confident dog as a companion. The more well-behaved they are the more pleasure owners and dogs can enjoy together. Please contact me for training: – 01325 317782, email: lesley@specialfriendspetcare.co.uk Lesley Thompson