Lancashire Canine Academy

03/09/2026

Does your dog get a little too excited when they see another dog?

Or maybe they’re the opposite and need a bit more confidence around other dogs?

Our Socialisation Walks are designed to help dogs learn how to be around other dogs calmly, without the pressure of having to greet or interact.

We usually meet on alternate Saturday mornings at 10.15am in Oakhill Park, Accrington for a 45-minute walk.

All dogs stay on lead and are kept at a distance they feel comfortable with. Some dogs might need quite a bit of space to begin with, while others are working on learning that seeing another dog doesn’t automatically mean PARTY TIME.

Our trainer is there throughout the walk to help you understand what your dog is telling you through their body language, when to give them more space, and how to help them settle and make better choices around other dogs.

These walks are great for:
• Excitable dogs who struggle to stay calm around other dogs
• Dogs who lack confidence
• Young dogs learning appropriate social skills
• Owners who want to get better at reading their dog

We have a few spaces available on this Saturday’s walk.

£14 per dog
45 minutes
Oakhill Park, Accrington
Saturday at 10.15am

If you’d like your dog to practise being around other dogs in a calm, controlled environment, come and join us.

Book your place via the website.
lancashirecanineacademy.as.me

01/09/2026

HELLO SEPTEMBER!

I love the 1st September. It always feels like a bit of a reset.

Summer is pretty much done, and it feels like a good time to refocus on what actually matters, make a few plans and remember that sometimes you just need to stop overthinking things and go with it.

I love autumn. Cosy nights in, hot chocolate, big jumpers and crisp mornings. The wet muddy dogs that come with it, not quite so much.

So, what’s happening at LCA this September?

PUPPY COURSE
Monday 7th September | 6pm
6 weeks | £125
FULLY BOOKED

INTRODUCTION TO SCENTWORK
Monday 7th September
3 weeks | £65
FULLY BOOKED

ADOLESCENT COURSE
Tuesday 22nd September | 6.30pm
6 weeks | £125
2 SPACES LEFT

PUPPY COURSE
Saturday 26th September | 9am
6 weeks | £125
3 SPACES LEFT

CANINE FIRST AID WORKSHOP
Sunday 27th September | 10.30am
£60
4 SPACES LEFT

We’ve also got some availability for 1-2-1 training with Gayle, Grace or myself. If there’s something you’re struggling with, or you just need a bit of help getting things back on track, give us a shout.

We have a couple of spaces available in DAYCARE too.

As always, every new dog needs a taster session before joining us. We’re really careful about the dogs we put together and making sure daycare is actually the right environment for each individual dog.

THE ACADEMY SUITES

October half term is completely FULL and so is Christmas!

We do still have availability for other dates and we’re still taking bookings for taster nights. If you’re thinking about using the hotel for a future holiday, get your taster night done sooner rather than later. It means when you do need us, your dog is already good to go.

And then there’s the big one…

THE LCA INSTITUTE launches January 2027.

We’ve had loads of enquiries already asking about courses, prices, dates and how to apply.

I promise we’re not ignoring you!

There’s a LOT going on behind the scenes getting everything ready and we’ll get all the course information out, along with details of the waiting lists, as soon as we possibly can.

I’ve got some big plans for the Institute and I cannot wait to properly show you what we’ve been working on.

So, hello September.

A little reset. A bit of a refocus. Lots to look forward to.

And maybe a reminder not to overthink the good stuff.

Marcia ❤🐾

28/08/2026

Right. I’m having a rant.

I’ve just been out walking Ember and we’ve been rushed at by ANOTHER off lead dog.

That makes SIX this week.

SIX!!!

Two have stolen her ball.

One tried to hump her.

And the others have just come charging over while their owners shout the inevitable…

“HE’S FRIENDLY!”

Brilliant.

Ember is friendly too. She still doesn’t want your dog charging into her face, nicking her belongings or trying to have his wicked way with her while she’s out for a walk.

And shouting “he’s friendly” from half a field away really doesn’t help.

I don’t know your dog.

I don’t know if he’s actually friendly. I don’t know if he listens when another dog tells him to back off. I don’t know if he’s going to steal Ember’s ball and then turn it into a ridiculous game of chase while I stand there wondering how this has somehow become my problem.

And more importantly, you don’t know MY dog.

She could be nervous. Reactive. Injured. In training. Recovering from surgery.

Or she could simply not want to interact with your dog.

Dogs are actually allowed to go for a walk and mind their own bloody business.

They don’t need to meet every dog they see.

And teaching a dog to see another dog and just carry on with their day is a really important skill.

If your dog sees another dog and suddenly develops selective hearing, they shouldn’t be off lead in that situation.

It really is that simple.

So please stop shouting “he’s friendly” at me.

Call him back.

And if you can’t call him back, put him on a bloody lead.

Anyway. That’s six dogs in five days, two stolen balls and one attempted sh****ng.

Where’s the frickin wine?

Rant over.

Until number seven, presumably.

28/08/2026

Just one space left in the Introduction to Scentwork course starting on Monday 7th September 🐾

26/08/2026

Happy International Dog Day.

There’s something about dogs, isn’t there?

They don’t care what you earn, what you look like, whether you’ve had a brilliant day or whether everything has gone completely wrong. They’re just there. Beside us through the ordinary days, the difficult ones and some of the very best moments of our lives.

They make us laugh, drive us absolutely crackers, get hair on everything we own and somehow leave a mark on our hearts that lasts forever.

Today is for all of them. The ones curled up beside us now, and the ones we’d give anything to have beside us for just one more day.

I’d love to fill the comments with dogs today.

Share your favourite photo of your dog below. Past or present. The photo that makes you smile every single time you see it. ❤️

23/08/2026

Busy Sunday morning building The LCA Institute!

I’ve started transforming LCA reception into what will eventually be a welcoming reception area for our students.

The smelly natural treat shop has gone, but don’t worry, I know some of you can’t leave LCA without your natural treat fix! I’ve kept a stand on the reception desk stocked with some of your favourites.

The black rubber flooring has gone too. Well, technically it hasn’t gone anywhere because I’ve repurposed it for the corridor leading down to daycare. Waste not, want not!

The reception walls have all had their first coat of paint and it already looks completely different. Give me a few more weeks and I don’t think you’ll recognise the place.

I’m so excited to welcome our first students to The LCA Institute from January 2027, where we’ll be offering OFQUAL regulated qualifications for aspiring dog groomers, dog trainers and other canine professionals, alongside further professional education and development.

The plan is to create somewhere people can come to learn, qualify and build a genuine career working with dogs, all under one roof.

And don’t worry, Lancashire Canine Academy isn’t disappearing!

The commercial side of the business is staying exactly where it is. Training, daycare, boarding and grooming will all continue alongside the Institute. We’re not replacing LCA, we’re building on everything we’ve already created.

It’s going to be pretty unrecognisable around here soon and I cannot wait to see it all come together.

Anyway, I think I’ve done enough for one Sunday.

Time to put the paintbrush down, go home, get the paint off myself and find a beer garden while the sun lasts. 🍺

Have a lovely Sunday everyone ❤️

22/08/2026

It’s nearly 9 months since I had my hysterectomy and unfortunately my endometriosis has come back with a vengeance. The pain is now pretty much back to where it was before surgery.

I don’t talk about it loads on here because this is the LCA page and you’re all here for dogs, not my medical history 😂

But I do think it’s worth talking about sometimes.

Endometriosis affects around 1 in 10 women and it’s a lifelong inflammatory disease. And one of the things people don’t always realise is that having a hysterectomy doesn’t necessarily make it go away. I certainly didn’t expect to be back here quite so soon.

The thing that gets me though is how many women are just quietly cracking on with life while dealing with it.

Running businesses. Going to work. Raising kids. Studying. Looking after families. Paying the bills. Walking dogs. Being dog mums. Trying to remember what on earth they walked upstairs for.

All while sometimes being in absolutely horrendous pain.

I’ve carried on running LCA, started building the LCA Institute, studied, taught classes, looked after my family and my dog and generally carried on doing all the things I normally do.

Some days I’m absolutely fine.

Other days I’m doing exactly the same things, I’m just doing them in a ridiculous amount of pain.

And there will be women you see every single day doing exactly that too.

So I suppose this is just a little reminder that you never really know what someone is dealing with behind the scenes.

And to all the women building businesses, raising families, chasing careers, studying, looking after everyone else and still getting up to walk the bloody dog when their body is screaming at them to stay in bed…

I see you.

We’re a tough bunch 💪

Marcia ❤️

18/08/2026

DAYCARE UPDATE 🐾

DAYCARE ANNOUNCMENT

We’ve had a big increase in daycare enquiries over the last 24 hours, so I thought it would be useful to explain a little bit about how our daycare works and, importantly, what makes us different.

Lancashire Canine Academy is a small, structured daycare run by a qualified Dog Trainer & Behaviour Practitioner and her team.

We’re not a free-for-all and we don’t want to be.

We deliberately keep our numbers small, with fewer dogs per member of staff than is required under our 5-star licensing standards.

That means our team can actually watch the dogs, read their body language, notice when somebody needs a break and make decisions based on the individual dog rather than simply managing a large group.

A typical day can include social time with carefully selected dogs, enrichment, scent work, proper nap and rest periods and, with owner consent, trips offsite for walks and adventures.

We want dogs to go home happy and fulfilled, not completely exhausted because they’ve spent ten hours in a state of constant arousal.

We are also very selective about the dogs we accept.

Every new dog starts with a taster day and we’ll send you an enrolment form and behaviour questionnaire beforehand. This helps us get to know your dog before they even come through the door.

And I want to be really clear about something that is incredibly important to us:

Welfare will always come before profit.

If we don’t believe your dog is happy in daycare, we’ll tell you. Equally, if a dog’s behaviour is negatively affecting the welfare, safety or happiness of the other dogs in our care, we will say that our daycare isn’t the right environment for them.

That doesn’t make them a bad dog. Daycare simply isn’t suitable for every dog, and part of being responsible professionals is being prepared to say so.

Daycare is £35 per day, which may be slightly more than some other providers locally. We’re absolutely comfortable with that because we know what goes into providing the standard of care we do. Small numbers, high staffing levels, qualified and experienced people, structured activities and a genuinely welfare-led approach all cost more to provide.

LCA is award-winning, 5-star licensed, and we also have our luxury dog hotel, The Academy Suites, which means our regular daycare dogs can have the familiarity of staying with people and in an environment they already know when their humans go on holiday.

We currently have limited daycare availability, and with the number of enquiries we're receiving, priority will be given to dogs requiring regular weekly days rather than occasional ad-hoc care.

If you’re considering LCA for your dog, please have a good read through the Daycare FAQs on our website first. We’ve tried to answer pretty much everything you might want to know on there.

If you like what you read and think our approach sounds right for your dog, you can then get in touch to book a taster day.

We won't be the right daycare for every dog or every owner.

But for the dogs who thrive here, we want LCA to feel like their second home.

www.lancashirecanineacademy.co.uk