The Team

After having a long and successful career in corporate medicine sales and marketing I was ready for a change.  After re-locating from East Anglia up to Lancashire 8 years ago we decided to get a dog and along came Henry our cocker spaniel, then a year later we got Holly another cocker spaniel.  Doggy daycare is a new industry here in the UK and I wanted  to work with dogs as they have been a passion of mine for many years, my favourite breeds of dogs are cocker spaniels and poodles.  PlayPaws was born in 2015 and to say I am loving it is an understatement.  I’ve done my canine behaviour qualifications locally at Myerscough college, canine first aid, kennel club bronze, silver and gold and am currently studying canine care and behaviour with the British College of Canine Studies.  My goal is to make PlayPaws into one of the best doggy daycare and training centres within the UK.

I’m Simon and I am Vicky’s brother-in-law. Whilst Vicky is away I have taken on the role of Manager to run the business in her stead. I’ve always liked the idea of owning a dog, but have only realised that possibility in the last few years with Bilbo and Tilda. My strength for the business lies in management, administration and staff relations as well as a love of dogs.. I am confident that whilst Vicky is away the team here at PlayPaws will continue to provide our customers with the excellent standards of service that she instilled in the PlayPaws brand.

My name is Ele and I am the new pack leader here at PlayPaws. I’ve grown up around dogs and have worked in a kennels previous to coming here. I studied Animal Management at Myerscough College and have always wanted to work with animals. I am loving working here at PlayPaws and seeing just how much fun all the dogs have together.

I’m Rachael and I am very new to PlayPaws, and very excited to be working in my dream job as Assistant Pack Leader. My love of dogs started when I was very young. And as I was unable to convince my mum to let me have a dog, I used to walk the whole street’s dogs. I have spent lots of time over the last twenty years walking dogs and dog sitting for all sorts of breeds from Westies to Dobermans! I have a fur baby of my own who is 6. His name is Doogle and he is a mad Labradoodle who has won my heart.

I’m Kia, I have been at PlayPaws for 2 years and before then I did 2 years at Myerscough College studying animal care. I have always loved animals and they have had a massive impact on my life. If it wasn’t for my own dog supporting me through life I wouldn’t be who I am today. Maisie has helped me through so many health issues she made all the difference to me. Maisie is a crazy 9 year old King Charles spaniel and I wouldn’t have her any other way.

I started volunteering at PlayPaws in the summer of 2017. I am now currently in my second year of studying level 3 animal management at Myerscough college and along with my studies, I have still committed to coming to PlayPaws every week. It has been the best experience and is truly heart warming watching the dogs. Playing, learning and growing throughout their time at daycare. I bring along my 1 year old beagle cross Tetley and she loves it! I’ve learned so much about dog behaviour and individual traits of all the dogs we’ve had over the years. After college I plan on going to university to study either canine psychology or wildlife rehabilitation however it does not mean PlayPaws will have seen the last of me. The dogs and staff have all become one big happy family now which I am proud to be a part of.

I’m Wez and I’m Vicky’s older sister. We both grew up with dogs and I developed my love of all things doggy from then. As I’m a wheelchair user I wasn’t sure I would manage to look after dogs myself as an adult, but took the plunge and adopted an elderly Bichon. She sadly passed away around 6 years ago, but by then I was hooked and am now the proud mum of my 2 furbabies, Bilbo Baggins and Tilda. Through them, plus helping Vicky at PlayPaws over the years I feel I have developed a good understanding of dog behaviour and pack dynamics, and love watching the dogs here interact and play, both with each other and with me!

I have been training Dogs for 3 years and i got into dog training through being taught incorrectly how to train one of my own dogs. I obtained certification in dog behaviour with rescue bias and progressed to a Level 4 advanced dog behaviour qualification, i am currently studying Foundation Degree level advanced dog behaviour management. Before i became a dog trainer business management was my preferred line of work and i have worked in various industries

Which brings me to the way I train. Basically I started to read everything I could and i attend seminars all the time. Ian Dunbar has played a massive roll in my learning, along with John Mcguigan, Grisha Stewart and many others. I started to apply the science of dog behaviour, and the science worked. The shift for me was from obedience to partnership and participation.

As I got better at training, friends, family and work mates would ask for advice and my girlfriend encouraged me to start my own business and make it a bit more official. I loved the appeal of different learning styles, so dog training became an outlet for my passion. Now I take on most cases from recall and general manners to separation distress and aggression cases. Most of my experience comes from dealing with dog-dog aggression as I have suffered through it myself.

For me it’s all about compassion and the welfare of the animals that don’t speak our language. The most I give to a dog is a verbal non reward marker and rely heavily on counter conditioning through positive reinforcement and am using Behavioural Adjustment Training which uses negative reinforcement for aggression cases and I am having good success with it.