Mallory Bergman, Assistance Dog Trainer

28/08/2026

FEE INCREASE

As an early warning to you all, after the christmas break my fees will be increasing by £10 to what you are on now (you all vary depending on the distance from myself)
For last few years i have held off increasing my prices because times are hard for us all but unfortunately my overheads are catching up therefore leading me to make this decision.
All sessions booked before this will be honoured into the new year, so for example if you book a block off me a week before the christmas break. The rest of your block will still be honoured without the extra charge, then your next block/session will be at the new price.

Block bookings of 4 will still get a 10% off for bulk buying and follow the same rules set out in the terms and conditions.

Thank you for understanding.

Mallory and the gang

03/08/2026

So my poor old floss put her head underwater in paddling pool few weeks back and she has a known issue with her ear canal inflames if she gets lots of water in them. I saw her do it so i knew what was coming so off to vet that monday, (she did it sat). Yep, ear canal so inflamed but not quite closed so antibiotics and ear wash. No hydro, no pain meds for arthritis. Took back week later for check up that ear cleared up now other ear had come up. Vet guess probably a few days apart and cos i took her in expecting it, the other ear had not yet come up. Another week antibiotics in ear and ear wash but other side still no hydro or pain meds and a grumpy lab as a result. Back to vet and both ears were still sore but canal not as inflamed just red so another week but both ears, however i didnt want her missing more hydro as she stiffens up without her weekly sessions so compromise was to keep ears out of water n antibiotics were to be given after hydro but dry round ear first. Floss already wears a swim hat for the ear so Charlotte at DogFish-Hydrotherapy in hitchin, suggested we also use a neck floating ring to help keep her head up and ears out and yes she looks silly and we did giggle but it worked and floss can still go hydro while we have to slowly taper off ear wash n meds (if we come of to fast in past it just reoccurs).

02/08/2026

Little treasure hunt but each answer had to be a photo of the dog, and have the answer in the shot somewhere. The hard part however was you HAD to include 1 sit, 1 down, 1 stand and then last one could be any position. So 4 photos each with a difference cue.
Naturally as humans we place dog in a sit andnoccassionally a down in pictures but we all have a preference. Out of everyone i did (some didnt send photos and i didnt managed to take) EVERY SINGLE ONE placed their dogs into a sit and by second clue forgotten the rules and placed dog in a sit again until i told them to re read the rules, thats when it quickly became apparent that ot wasnt just a fun task bit realising even if distracted you need to know where your dog is, are members of public trying to distract or annoy them when back is turned, place dog in a stay 3 of which wont be posistions they are normally asked for and then take the photo themselves. It soon amd very quickly became apparent how aware and how many things you need to be aware of when working or simply training your dog. Then go home and chucl young kids into the equation, not as easy as everyone thinks bjt a fab task to make the clients think. Oh and the dogs did get their little medals at the end.

31/07/2026

This video has been one of my favourites ive received from a client (she gave permission to use) it shows improvement on multiple things. Water, ignoring dogs, recall.

When i first met this dog he would completely flatten himself to floor when spotted a dog for pure chance of being able to play, the owner could not break his focus. Hes a 40kg dog with a petite owner and if he didnt want to go it was difficult for her. The dogs also got lost for 2 hrs having got distracted by a smell and water was terrifying for him. However it was a trust the process because i could see from day 1 at that first meeting this dog wanted to work but didnt have anything, so he almost fixated on the need to play with any and every dog.

That is why i love this video, the improvement in these areas are huge and the client now realises why i said you just need to trust the process and to her credit she did and i loved that even i could hear how proud she is for him in this video when he does recall and that will build the dogs confidence to knowing hes doing it right.

These "wins" clients get and videos im sent is why i love my job, hard work and training even when your not with your trainer makes a huge difference. I actually encorage these videos i WANT to see how proud you all are.

26/07/2026

Video promised

End of our session of dog who wouldnt go anywhere near the paddling pool to begin with, now digging away determined to get his treat showing no signs of fear anymore.

This is why i love my job, the dogs confidence in himself and us could be seen growing throughout the session and we were both so proud of him. When he was praised the first time he confidently got in, he was also proud of himself, which i love to see in your dogs. Its a beautiful thing to watch.

25/07/2026

Soo many people assume being a labrador your dog loves the water right? I hear so many labrador owners go but they go straight into a lake/river but i cannot get them into a paddling pool. Anyone know why this is so common?

1. Lakes/rivers arent as scary, when the dog enters most of the time theres a slope which goes in gradually. Pools do not have that.
2. Dogs dont have great depth perception, so paddling pools can be hard for them to see how deep they are and they need confidence to just "dive" in

How do we fix or help this?

Whatever you do DO NOT EVER pick your dog/puppy up and place into the water/ "accidently" nudge them in. While this works for the odd one, you can actually have the opposite effect.
Imagine your picked up and were placed in a room or pool of your worst fear... you panic, you remove yourself asap and lastly avoid putting yourself in that situation again.

During this session i spent very small increments of time trying to get this dog near the water. Initially he was having none of it more than to get his ball out. So i actually moved the dog away and let him watch echo confidently go in and just dive for treats. Sometimes thats all it takes.
I removed her and bought him back just throwing in a treat that floated.
Gradually as his confidence grew i held the treat and he didnt get the treat if he went round, mum blocks one side, i the other HOWEVER please note the dog is still free to remove himself if uncomfortable we have not blocked him in. Gradullay he first popped his paw on the step and he got lots of treats while stood there. Gradually by the end of the session hes in their digging and diving for those treats, no fear. (Vid will be in separate post)
Take your time, let dogs do it at their own pace. Never block them in (again think of your fear if your locked in that room of things you fear most) they must be allowed to have the choice to walk away and never feel forced. PATIENCE IS KEY.
Then this week i received a lovely video of this dog beautifully confident splashing and running round in water, you would never know it was the same dog, and the owner is very grateful she can now help cool him off in this weather.

.

23/07/2026

People forget that these little dogs also need good heelwork especially to be assistance dogs. Most owners take for granted their dogs small so even when the do pull, the dog is much easier to handle. I made the same mistake with gretal before i got into training myself.
We had spent the session making it rewarding for this dog to be in a set posistion and when he wasnt everything stopped. Physically we stood still, treats stopped, tone of voice went from "good boy" and high to a normal tone and a voice cue and arm lure to bring him back to his rewading posisition and all good things started again. Lots treats, lots of praise.

Look at the loose lead by the end of the session, this was also his first time within a supermarket where we simply went in and came out, this is why is some parts he appears more cautious and unsure. Well done little guy!

tone

23/07/2026

SO THE SECRET IS OUT!
I'm so proud of being asked to join the ambassadors for the Adaa. They align completely with my beleifs and Me and Echo are looking forward to working alongside and promoting them to you all looking for where to do your assistance dog assesements.


https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1PbPkukaPG/

⭐ Meet our Ambassadors! ⭐

We will be doing a few introductory posts over the next weeks to let you get to know our amazing ambassadors to the ADAA. They work so hard behind the scenes to raise awareness about what we do and support our cause 😘 First up is:

⭐ MALLORY & ECHO ⭐

"Me and Echo were thrilled to be approached by the ADAA a few months back and asked if we would become ambassadors. As a team we are qualified under the ADAA, and we are always happy to represent them whenever Echo wears her coat.

Echo came to me in 2021, and the plan was always to train her to become my own assistance dog. She pretty much fell into the job from day one as she has always been so chilled. During early training it soon became apparent she was picking up on changes in my bloods and recognising when my kidneys were beginning to fail. Since she was trained to alert to this, I went from ending up in hospital every six-ish weeks to just three times in a year! The difference was incredible, although it did take some convincing for my doctors that when Echo says "my kidneys are off", she's usually right. Now I'm simply told to "trust her."

Some days I don't notice when I've lost grip or feeling in my hands and drop things like my keys. Echo will pick them up and carry them until I notice. She can also help me remove clothing, carry her basket upstairs full of things, and use deep pressure therapy to help stop nerve pain or hypnic jerks, especially when I'm out and about.

I have many hospital appointments and stays, and Echo always comes with me. She's a bit of a rockstar with my teams and on the wards, as they're always commenting on how well behaved she is—or that they didn't even notice she was there. For me, it's having my best friend by my side. She makes every day so much easier and brighter, just by being there with a wagging tail and smile."

Thanks for everything you do for us Mallory!

21/07/2026

This is a really good example about looking for a reason why your dog isnt doing something you know they 100% know how to do, in this case a sit.

Did anyone notice the reasoning why this dog struggled to do a sit before i said it?

The surface of the floor meant he had no grip when he sat and you can see his back legs sliding as he tries, which is why after the first time he defaulted to a down when i know this dog knows how to sit. I quickly scanned the environment, situation and the dogs body language (previously ive sent dog to vets for signs of pain when sitting and being reluctant too so im also looking for any pain signs) my brains making all these mini assesemnts very quickly, to find the reason he wasnt doing such a simple thing he completely knew how to do.

So next time your dog doesnt do something you know without a doubt they know, do what i do and evaluate everything, not just your dog. Its not always "stubborness" infact my experience shows its rarely that.

19/07/2026

This is a lovely exercise i like to do to show in the way of filming exactly the same thing as the owner would do normally for example here ask for a sit and then a down. Then after explaining as brits we talk to our dogs ALOT and ask them to rewatch the videos to show them something as simple as removing our voice the dog now has to focus to know whats wanted. This is just the video for the hand signals only. For this particular dog it will also increase his confidence in hos ability that he does know what he needs to do so after he gets big verbal a nd physical rewards (a huge fuss)