Emma Phillips - Paw by Paw Training & Behaviour

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Emma Phillips - Paw by Paw Training & Behaviour Dog behaviourist and trainer offering 121s and classes in Weymouth and Dorchester Stress free dog training with compassion and understanding.

I had my first wet and cold walk this morning in what feels like ages. I'm not quite at the complaining stage but I am a...
19/10/2026

I had my first wet and cold walk this morning in what feels like ages. I'm not quite at the complaining stage but I am aware that last winter was a struggle for me. What I thought was just a funk in myself turned out to be a big old dose of seasonal depression because that first nice day of spring had me functioning at 100% again and what a difference that made! This winter I'm on a mission to prevent that same funk from developing. Here are the top tips I've come up with thus far:

- I no longer care if I look stupid. As long as I'm warm, dry and what I'm wearing gets me out of the house then it's worth it. Kitting your dogs out properly is helpful, jackets/onesies to keep mud and wet dogs to a minimum, lights on their collars/harnesses for better visibility in the dark is also helpful. Have enough of your essential pieces of kit to last you the wettest coldest week you can imagine
- figure out what it is about winter walks you don't like so that you can mitigate for it. For me, slipping around in mud pi**es me off and aggravates my sciatica which ruins the rest of my day so I'm prioritising finding walks with stable footing. I also hate walking in the wind so I try to save days off for windy days or plan walks further in land on windy days if I must walk. Sometimes I don't mind the walk but fitting in time to de mud and dry the dogs is the thing that will push me over the edge so on these days I use onesies and jackets on the dogs to minimise their mess (my dogs don't mind wearing clothes) and/or aim for walks that are less muddy
- once you're out of the door, that's half the battle. For me, getting out pretty soon after waking up gives me the least resistance. The second I've sat at my desk my business lady brain kicks in and I struggle to justify time for a dog walk or tear myself away from the latest project
- there is not much in the world that is better than coming in from a cold dog walk to put pjs back on or read in the bath, my mind cannot be changed

Part 2 coming tomorrow because I have lots to say on this!

Is your puppy giving you whiplash from being a perfectly adorable baby to some sort of possessed gremlin? Puppies are su...
13/10/2026

Is your puppy giving you whiplash from being a perfectly adorable baby to some sort of possessed gremlin? Puppies are such hard work and they can make you question all of your life choices!

Come join classes to get the answers to your problems and find a community with other owners going through the same at the moment, we've got dates the following dates:
- Wednesday 14th October 6.20pm at Lead On Dog Shop
- Friday 16th October 11am at South Coast Equestrian
- Thursday 19th November 6.30pm at South Coast Equestrian
- Wednesday November 25th 6.20pm at Lead On Dog Shop
- Fridah 27th November 11am at South Coast Equestrian

Link to book in the comments.

12/10/2026

Would there be interest in me running a "tack sale" style event where you can pay £x for a table (TBC) and sell anything doggy that your dog no longer uses? Toys/harnesses/leads/crates/long lines/jackets, anything! As long as it's in good nick you'd be welcome to sell it.

Obviously this is only for those local to Dorset

Sorry not sorry to be mentioning the C word but I present to you: MAKE YOUR OWN ADVENT BOX! Liz and I will be providing ...
30/09/2026

Sorry not sorry to be mentioning the C word but I present to you: MAKE YOUR OWN ADVENT BOX!

Liz and I will be providing boxes that you can paint, wrap or decorate to your heart's desire. Elly will be providing the goodies to go in the box.

There's going to be Christmassy snacks for the humans AND dogs. Fancy dress is strongly encouraged. Grinches must grow their hearts to the appropriate size for the festivities.

Prices TBA as the more people we get = cheaper boxes for you so we're collecting an idea of numbers prior to confirming prices. Chews will be paid for based on weight.

I cannot wait to see you there. Be warned if you talk to me about this in person I will become a happy little Christmas elf so do so at your own risk 🤣

Register your interest by messaging/emailing Paw by Paw Lead on Dog Shop or Homefield K9 Training

24/09/2026

Bailey has had a couple of tricky experiences at the vets which his family called me in to help improve so that it didn't worsen. I LOVE work like this. Handling was the topic of my masters dissertation and is ny proposed PhD area of study. I can get reaaaaaal nerdy about this stuff and I just love giving clients a training plan that gets them real life results.

Here we're teaching Bailey that when he has his paws up on the stool, hands will go on him. This can be suuuuper exciting for a social lad like him so this alone is really helpful for taking to a vet practise without panicking about your dog jumping all over the vet.

We'll progress this to hands going near his ears (a problem area!) And performing examinations of various different parts of his body.

Reach out if you'd like some help with work like this. I'd love to help you and your dog out!

23/09/2026

GREAT NEWS - we have two options for those of you with a super sniffer dog who needs a job…

Option 1 - Join UltiMUTT. Rolling monthly payment, book into scent club each week or mix and match classes.

Option 2 - Intro to Scent. Friday 9th October at 2pm. A 4 week course to try out the sport and find out if it’s for you!
(There’s also the option to purchase an amazing scent kit so you can take all your knowledge away to train with at home)

Run by the brilliant Emma from Emma Phillips - Paw by Paw Training & Behaviour, she is an EXPERT on all things scent related. Such a fascinating topic!

https://houndsandhoovesdogtraining.com/scentwork/

23/09/2026

I've had the joy of having two of my three dogs in the vets for various procedures over the last 2 weeks. Integrating the dogs into the other dogs at home is something I've taken great care to get right. Here are my top tips:

👃The dog that's been at the vets is going to smell different. Let the dogs that have been at home smell the changes without necessarily interacting with the dog that's been at the vets. For me, this meant popping the home dogs behind a baby gate, and letting them smell the dog that has just come in. I also gave them ample time to smell my hands as I had the vetty smells on me.
⏰️Give the dog that's been at the vets plenty of time to settle again. I personally separated the dog that had been at the vets from the others until they had curled up to sleep and then let the others in. This way the other dogs weren't bumping into the sore one, and the others could come back in, just like the one that had been at the vets was napping as normal. I will say that the dogs I've had at the vets weren't in for anything horrendously painful so I didn't have to be as careful this time as I would at others.
💤Separate for sleep. Currently all three of my dogs have full access to the house overnight. When we had one dog recovering we made a point to let the dog that had been poorly be separated overnight so that they could sleep properly without interruptions or accidentally being trampled on by the others.
🏃‍♀️Separate garden time so that wobbly dogs coming down off medication aren't bumped around or off balanced by the others who feel fine racing around and trying to wrestle like normal
🐕Walk & train the dogs staying home thoroughly so that they're tired and likely to snooze when the one that's been at the vets comes home. I also find this means that the one that's been at the vets doesn't get fed up that they don't get to partake in training sessions or walks. Makes for a much quieter evening when they're home.

Hopefully you don't need this advice, but if your dog insists on a vet bill I hope it's helpful!

22/09/2026

Another body language Tuesday. Watching Zazu interact is like poetry, he's so polite (in this context, we are currently dealing with some rude approaching behaviour on walks, but once he's with a dog he's as polite as anything).

I left the audio on for you so you can hear everything because there were a few bits that change context slightly. Did you spot anything I didn't label?

What I didn't highlight is Pumba's delightful handling of the situation. He says "not right now kid" with such dignity. I wish pretending to be asleep was more applicable in human socialising 🤣

21/09/2026

The irony of this clip is that I set the camera up to film me training Pumba some skills for when he went deaf... only to realise that ship had sailed ⛵️

We had been questioning Pumba's hearing for a while, but didn't have any concrete proof. Mostly he didn't hear things like us coming in the door whilst he was asleep. I could lie to myself and say that he was just sleeping deeply. He can still hear some noises, "squishy" is apparently something he can hear in the garden (do not ask me how or when he got that nickname, I cannot remember 😅) so you can hear me trying out a variety to see if there was anything that did work over a decent distance (spoiler, nothing did. That terrier kept trotting off into the sunset like he was having the time of his life)

Even now, if I walked him with Sonic I could post a video of him responding to Sonic recalling that looks like he can still hear fully - a great reason to give your dogs one on one time so that you can identify things like this as soon as possible.

More information to come about how I'm adjusting training to accommodate for Pumba's loss of hearing in the coming weeks.

16/09/2026

Maybe they've done something pretty scary like bitten someone, or you? Maybe they've reacted at something on a walk and looked like they might be heading towards a bite. Or maybe they've run off and given you hours (or more accurately, 30 seconds) of hell whilst you try to find them. Trusting our dog after they've done something is incredibly hard. Here are my top tips to build your trust back up.

1. Understand it. Learning why they did the behaviour can help you avoid in the future.
2. Learn body language. This will help you see the earlier signs of the behaviour happening again so that you can act accordingly, or maybe even prevent it happening.
3. Gradual exposure to a similar situation. Not throwing yourselves in at the deep end, if you're nervous of what your dog may do you'll likely behave differently and this can put our dogs off so you don't want to scare yourself. Just dip your toes in. You may need training to build skills for your dog, and possibly yourself, before getting to this point so its worth reaching out to a professional if you do feel stuck.
4. Don't beat yourself up. Its hard admitting that we don't trust our dog, but a lot of people have been there. I'm currently there with Zazu working through some grooming difficulties so I get it and I am there with you at the moment. I've gotten through it with Pumba, Sonic and I know Zazu and I will get through this, so will you and your dog.
5. Ask for help. This is such a hard place to dig yourself out of with no support. A trusted professional will go a long way to helping you feel better.

Address

415a Chickerell Road
Weymouth
DT49TP

Opening Hours

Tuesday 6pm - 9pm
Wednesday 9am - 9pm
Thursday 9am - 9pm
Friday 9am - 3pm
Saturday 8am - 6pm

Telephone

+447775448828

Website

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