Alpha b dog training

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Alpha b dog training Dog trainers, behaviourists and walkers, Cheshire
Group training classes
1-1 behaviour modification

22/10/2026

What does it actually take to shift a dog’s behaviour for good? 🐾

This week had everything.

Stanley continues to be one of the most interesting Board and Trains I’ve taken on in a long time. Hypervigilant, easily overstimulated, genuinely struggles to switch off — but the rest and regulate approach is changing that. Marker system is solid now and we’re layering in loose lead and recall work. The dog that arrived is not the dog I’m working with. 💪

Lola is a German Shepherd who came with some serious neurotic edges — spinning, scanning, that flat drop into a low state that’s so hard to pull a dog back from. We’ve been building structure and fast movement games to change the picture, and it’s working. She’s finding herself. 🔥

Flynn and Flemming together is always complex, layered work. Building calm proximity, working on that housemate dynamic, teaching them they can share space without tension. Flemming is in full puppy phase — catching him at the noticing stage before the bark fires, keeping new environments small, building optimism slowly. Flynn continues to show exactly what consistent, calm handling produces.

Milo is high drive, high spirit and highly impulsive — and that energy is brilliant when it’s got somewhere to go. We’re building the foundation underneath it. Inka is a work in progress on neutrality but the marker foundation is going in. 🌿

Angela and the girls are really progressing. The gap between a handler-dependent reactive dog and a focused, calm one is closing every single week with Luna and Kaia.

Tracking with Az and Zoni is always one of my favourite sessions. Watching a dog work scent with that level of drive and focus is something else. 🔎

Alfie and Dodger both had brilliant 1:1s this week too.

The team had a full week. Big things coming. 👀

arousalmanagement boardandtrain daytrain workingdogs dogtraininguk dogtrainingcheshire positivedogtraining reactivedog trackingdog

RETURNED TO OWNER Found little chiFound near the shops in Elton - very nervous - nearly got hit by a car a couple of tim...
22/10/2026

RETURNED TO OWNER

Found little chi

Found near the shops in Elton - very nervous - nearly got hit by a car a couple of times

He’s currently safe with me in my van if anybody knows the owner, please get in touch

I am working so I’m traveling around a bit today, but I can arrange for him to be picked up

Keighley

Did you know Dalmatian puppies are born plain white?Those famous spots do not arrive on day one. They start to show in t...
21/10/2026

Did you know Dalmatian puppies are born plain white?

Those famous spots do not arrive on day one. They start to show in the first days and weeks, and keep developing until a Dalmatian is around 18 months old. So the puppy you bring home is still getting their final look well into adolescence.

Got a Dalmatian, or a dog who looked completely different as a puppy? Tell us about them in the comments.

6 years. 🎄For the sixth year running, I will be cooking Christmas dinners for anyone who needs one, completely free of c...
08/10/2026

6 years. 🎄

For the sixth year running, I will be cooking Christmas dinners for anyone who needs one, completely free of charge.

This year the menu is venison, pheasant and goose.

I want to say something about the criteria, because every year people message me worrying whether they qualify. There is no criteria. I genuinely do not care why you want one. You can't afford it. You don't enjoy cooking. You'd rather spend the money on something else. You want to save every penny for the new year. You just can't be bothered on Christmas Day. Every single one of those is a valid reason and I will not be asking you to justify yourself.

Help so often comes with a checklist. You have to prove you're struggling enough, or you missed the cut, or you fall just outside whatever the quota is that year. That's not how this works. If you want one, you're welcome to one. Simple as that.

Last year I made 52 dinners entirely on my own. This year I'm capping it at 60 so I can keep the quality where I want it.

Collections are from Elton, Cheshire, on Christmas Day.

To register for a dinner, email [email protected]

One more thing. Every year people ask about donating towards the cost. I appreciate it more than I can say, but this will happen regardless of any donations received. So if you have something to give, please give it somewhere it will reach further. Buy something for an elderly neighbour. Drop a bag at your local food bank. Spread it in a way that touches more than one person. That way the kindness goes further than it ever could coming to me.

Merry Christmas in advance.

Samantha x

Every week we take members out on exposure walks across Cheshire, and we genuinely look forward to every single one. 🐾T...
08/10/2026

Every week we take members out on exposure walks across Cheshire, and we genuinely look forward to every single one. 🐾

The idea is simple. We visit somewhere new, somewhere with variety, interesting sights, sounds, surfaces, people, and environments, and we let the dogs experience it in a calm, structured, supported way.

This is not a group walk for socialisation. It is not about dogs playing together. It is about building genuine confidence in the world. A dog who has experienced a busy market, a canal towpath, a hilltop quarry, and a castle footpath in a structured way with a trainer present is a very different dog to one who has only ever been walked around the same local park.

September locations are already decided. Head to the timetable to see where we are going this month. 🐕

Samantha Jones | AlphaB Dog Training

Impulse control is one of the most underrated things you can work on with your dog, and one of the most impactful across...
07/10/2026

Impulse control is one of the most underrated things you can work on with your dog, and one of the most impactful across every area of their life. 🐾

It is not about obedience. It is not about dominance. It is about your dog learning that waiting pays off, that not every impulse needs to be acted on, and that patience brings reward.

A dog with good impulse control is calmer at doorways. More manageable around food. Less reactive on the lead. Safer around children. Better at recall.

The good news is it can be taught to any dog at any age. You start small. A sit before the bowl goes down. A pause before the door opens. A moment of stillness before the lead goes on. You build from there.

Small moments of impulse control practised consistently every day add up to a very different dog in three months. 🐕

Samantha Jones | AlphaB Dog Training

Today we're celebrating someone who makes AlphaB what it is. 🎂Happy birthday Abbi.Abbi brings a breath of fresh air to t...
06/10/2026

Today we're celebrating someone who makes AlphaB what it is. 🎂

Happy birthday Abbi.

Abbi brings a breath of fresh air to this team every single day. She is constantly looking to improve her skills, drawing from a wide range of sources and always thinking creatively about how to help each dog learn in the way that suits them best. She puts the experience and comfort of every student at the heart of everything she does, and it shows.

She might be ten years younger than me, but on a personal level she is one of my closest friends. Supportive, fun to be around, and someone I genuinely couldn't do without, both at work and at home.

AlphaB wouldn't be the same without her. I wouldn't be the same without her.

Here's to you, Abbi. Have the best day. 🥂🐾

Samantha Jones
AlphaB Dog Training
Great Barrow, Cheshire

05/10/2026

We might stand out on a trial field. We certainly feel that way sometimes. But fitting in was never part of the plan, so here we are. 🐾

Two weeks ago, Bowser and Peaches passed their BH, and I genuinely don't have the words for what that means. So I'll use quite a few anyway.

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🙏 The people who made this possible:

Andy Wall — who has shared his wealth of knowledge with us from the very beginning. I'm fairly sure he used to dread me rolling up to training in a sports bra and cycling shorts, radiating pure fur mum energy and absolutely zero trial field etiquette. He kept showing up and kept teaching us anyway. That's character.

John Padden — who had unwavering belief in me and my dogs from day one. Particularly Bowser, at a time when I needed someone to see what I saw in him. He's never stopped believing, and I am genuinely so grateful for that.

Mia Skogster and laszlo Nemeth— whose knowledge I've been lucky enough to gain from across the globe. Their insights have shaped so much of how I think and work.

Ryan Yates — for allowing my first time on a trial field to also be my nephew Connor's. Some firsts are better shared. 😊

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🐾 The dogs:

Bowser came to that field with elbow dysplasia and a body that has fought a lot harder than it should have to. There were real moments where I wasn't sure he'd get here. He didn't trial perfectly — he brought his own little twist to it, as he always does. But the enthusiasm and pure joy he carried onto that field, I felt it in my chest. He has always given me absolutely everything he has. Sadly, his time with me will likely be shorter than it should be. Every single day with him is one I hold onto.

Peaches overcame so much in her earlier years and is shaping into a fine young girl. I am so proud of her.

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💛 The bigger picture:

I will likely never be a sport dog handler who fits perfectly into the mould. But I plan on breaking it. I have real ambitions in this sport, and Bowser and Peaches have taught me more than I could measure.

The IGP world has been, predominantly, full of brilliant, generous, passionate people. In true sport fashion, one or two have tried to dim it. They haven't managed.

The journey continues. 🐾

05/10/2026

Even trainers have a behind-the-scenes. 🎬

Most of the footage is just me. Pacing. Notes in hand. Reading them again. Pacing some more. Muttering the first line to myself, deciding it's wrong, starting over. A sneak peek at what actually goes into making something that looks considered and confident — and it turns out it starts with a lot of walking in circles. 😅

We're filming the AlphaB online membership content with Dark Shadow Productions — in the office, out on the field, and some sessions coming out and about too — and this behind-the-scenes video shows the process behind the finished product, including a few moments where the finished product was still a while away.

Which is kind of the whole point. We talk to you all the time about confidence, composure, body language, timing when you're working with your dog. And here it is: even us. Pacing. Rereading. Taking a breath. Going again.

You earn the version that looks effortless. It doesn't arrive on its own.

The content itself is exceptional — 31 modules covering how dogs actually learn, marker systems, arousal management, recall, neutrality, layering and real-world training, filmed properly by professionals for people who want to understand dogs deeply.

Coming soon. Follow along or drop me a message to be first to know 👇

Here is a dog fact that changes how most people think about their week with their dog. 🐾Cortisol, the stress hormone, do...
05/10/2026

Here is a dog fact that changes how most people think about their week with their dog. 🐾

Cortisol, the stress hormone, does not clear instantly once the stressful event is over. In dogs it has a half-life that means it can linger in the system for hours, sometimes up to 72 hours.

This means the scary thing that happened on Tuesday morning can still be affecting your dog's threshold on Thursday. It means a week with multiple stressful events stacks, each one building on what is left from the last.

This is why a dog can seem completely unpredictable. Fine on Monday, explosive on Wednesday. The events are connected, even if they did not feel that way.

Managing your dog's stress load across the whole week is just as important as what you do in any single session. 🐕

Samantha Jones | AlphaB Dog Training

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Great Barrow
CH27HW

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