Animal Kind
What We Do - Dog Training and Behaviour
With over 30 years combined experience, Chris and Helen have been helping owners achieve their goals across the West Midlands and Warwickshire area, since 2010. Based at Solihull Riding Club in Dorridge, we can help you to train your dogs to become calm, family-friendly pets through fun and practical training, which aims to be rewarding for you and your dog.
We hold the first 121 Dog and Puppy Training or Behaviour Consultations at your home, but we also offer first-class private facilities with lots of space, a range of calm assistant dogs (and humans) to help train, re-educate and rehabilitate dogs. We provide science-backed behaviour advice too, based on years of experience and education. Book Personal Puppy or Dog Training for private tailor-made solutions, or join our Group Classes Journey for age-appropriate courses as your dog develops from a very young puppy - we even have three great courses for teenage and adult dogs too.
For more complex problems, ones involving aggression, or other serious issues, book a Behaviourist Consultation with Chris BSc MSc.
- Helen and Chris combine years of practical experience with thousands of dogs.
- They were personally trained by Steve Mann (founder of IMDT) and both qualified as dog training instructors under the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT), so use positive reinforcement to make the training rewarding for you and your dog.
- Chris has a Masters degree in Animal Behaviour and is in the process of becoming a Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist, the top qualification for behaviourists held by around 100 people globally.
- Chris and Helen first got lots of experience looking after large groups of dogs when they oversaw the care and rehoming of 30 dogs rescued from the Chinese Sichuan earthquake in 2008.
Personal Puppy and Dog Training
We are unique in combining 121 Dog and Puppy Training and Group Classes, allowing you to combine the best of private help with socialisation within group settings.
On top of that, we have qualified behaviour expertise to add to the training we provide. Set your puppy up for lifelong success with Animal Kind’s expert guidance, starting even before they arrive home, as we can offer practical advice ahead of pup's arrival.
For Pups aged under 6 months we start with a personalised Puppy Power 121 session at your home to help reduce biting, improve toilet training and overnight sleeping, plus much much more. You can follow this up with a Development Package in which we guide you through the next 6 months.
For dogs aged over 6 months with general or a range of obedience issues, your journey with us begins with:
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A comprehensive Assessment and First Training Session, where we identify the underlying causes of your dog's behaviour and create a clear, effective plan of action.
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A tailored package of follow-up sessions designed to resolve the issue or significantly improve it.
For dogs of any age, we offer Specialist 121 Packages in which we spend 3 sessions focussing on improving just one of the following in detail:
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Recall Improvement
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Loose Lead Walking
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Socialisation and Re-socialisation if things have already started going wrong.
Behaviour Consultations
Do I need a dog trainer or a behaviourist?
The good news is we are both. So we can help determine which you need, and provide the appropriate plan and techniques to solve it.
What’s the difference between a dog behaviour problem and a training problem?
A behaviour issue is more severe, complex or requires a greater level of professional expertise and experience to understand and solve (i.e. you must have the correct qualifications to do so, like a Masters University degree).
Most behaviour problems have at least one of the following components (whereas dog training problems don’t have any of these):
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Pain or medical factors might be involved, for example if a significant and unexpected problem comes out of the blue. Which is why we liaise with your vet before we start.
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There is an unusual level of risk involved for any participant, including yourself, your dog or members of your family, any member of the public, as well as vets and groomers - this means any case involving aggression (though not puppy mouthing).
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There is more than one quite significant problem going on at once.
If any of the above apply, get in touch with Chris Wills IMDT BSc MSc to arrange a Behaviour Consultation.
Group Classes
Our structured training journey helps your puppy develop into a secure, attentive, and joyful adult dog through five progressive courses focused on socialisation and obedience.
Our aim (which we can help you achieve if you start nice and early with our Puppy Socialisation course) is to create a dog who you can take everywhere and can do anything.
Puppy Socialisation is perfect for semi-vaccinated pups aged 8 weeks+ and is held at Vets4Pets inside Pets at Home, Solihull.
Next, Young Pups Obedience & Socialisation teaches essential life skills, including lead walking and recall, for fully vaccinated pups up to 6 months.
For dogs 6 months and older, the Tweenies course offers a fun mix of obedience and agility, leading into the more advanced Teens Agility, and our unique Top Dogs: Out and About course, where you put your skills to the test in real-world settings such as pubs, cafes, on trains and in parks.
About Us
Animal Kind has trained and supported thousands of puppies, adolescent, rescue, and adult dogs since 2010. Co-owned and run by Chris and Helen—alongside their beloved rehomed Labrador, Luna—Animal Kind offers a complete dog training and behaviour service tailored to every stage of your dog’s life. We proudly serve families across the West Midlands and Warwickshire, helping dogs of all breeds, sizes, and temperaments overcome everything from minor training hiccups to more complex behavioural challenges.
Helen
Having grown up in Dorridge surrounded by animals, including cats and a horse, Helen initially pursued a career in London, producing programmes for the BBC. In 2008, she changed direction, discovering a passion for working with dogs through voluntary animal rescue work across India, China, and Thailand, where she helped rescue, foster, and rehome street dogs and puppies.
Since co-founding Animal Kind with Chris in 2010, Helen has worked full-time with dogs and has become an accredited Dog Training Instructor with the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT). She leads Animal Kind’s full Group Classes programme and also works one-to-one with clients through the Puppy Power training packages, often supported by Luna, her much-loved rescue Labrador, who loves puppies herself too!.
Chris
Chris has always shared his life with dogs, from Caesar the Sheltie to Blue the Whippet and Skye, a rescued Greyhound. After leaving a successful career in journalism in London, he discovered his true calling while volunteering with International Animal Rescue in Goa, where he worked rescuing and rehabilitating street dogs. On returning to the UK, he qualified as an accredited Dog Training Instructor with the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT).
Chris went on to deepen his expertise by studying Animal Behaviour, earning a Master’s degree from Newcastle University.
He is now working towards becoming a Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB), a prestigious qualification held by fewer than 100 behaviourists worldwide.
Rewarding for You and Your Dog