About Us
Barbara is the head trainer and founder of Puppy Poppins and has almost 15 years of hands-on training experience. Animal behaviour and training has always been a strong interest and, after completing a Master’s degree in International Business and working in marketing for several years, she decided to follow her passion and dedicate her time to helping dogs and their owners build a strong and positive relationship.
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Barbara got certified by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers in 2012 (APDT No. 01273) and has completed a Certificate in Canine Behaviour and Training with the Cambridge Institute of Dog Behaviour and Training (CIDBT). She has also completed several courses with leading behaviourist Sarah Whitehead and regularly attends conferences and training courses run by organisations such as APDT and PACT to continue expanding her knowledge and stay up to date with the latest training methods. She also holds ABTC ATI Accreditation, which represents the current professional standard in animal training.
Our Training Method
We use only positive, force-free methods in our training sessions and classes. This approach is not only a kind and enjoyable way to teach and communicate with our dogs, it is also one of the most effective and sustainable ways to build new behaviours. Force-free training is often misunderstood as being permissive or lacking boundaries. In reality, it is one of the clearest and most structured ways to teach a dog how to behave well and the current best practice in modern animal training.
Instead of using intimidation or harsh corrections dogs learn best when they understand which behaviours work and which ones don’t. By carefully rewarding the behaviours we want to see and managing the environment to prevent unwanted ones, we give dogs clear, consistent feedback that they can follow.
This creates dogs who behave well not because they are worried about being corrected, but because the right choices genuinely make sense to them. The result is behaviour that is more reliable, more confident and far more resilient, even when distractions or stress are present.
Force-free training isn’t about being soft. It’s about being precise, fair and effective using methods that build understanding rather than fear, and relationships rather than resistance.
A few words on dominance and pack theory
For many years, dog training was influenced by early studies of captive wolves, which led to the idea that dogs misbehave in order to assert dominance or challenge their owner’s position within a “pack”. From this came the belief that owners needed to be the “alpha” and show their dog who was in charge.
We now understand that those early studies were based on artificially created groups of unrelated, captive wolves, whose behaviour differs greatly from that of natural wild wolf families. In the wild, wolves live in stable family units, working together in a structured and cooperative way. The so-called alpha pair functions much like parents in a human family, providing leadership, protection and care rather than enforcing control through conflict.
Domestic dogs are not wolves, and they do not view their human families as packs in need of dominance. For this reason, modern dog training focuses on science, learning theory and practical experience, rather than outdated ideas about power and hierarchy. By teaching dogs what to do rather than trying to control what not to do we avoid unnecessary frustration and build behaviour that is calm, reliable and based on trust.
What People Say About Us
"Barbara is a brilliant trainer! We had 1-2-1 classes with her for our cheeky 9 month old puppy and she really taught him - and us - a huge amount. You can ask her any question without feeling daft and Barbara was great at going back to basics and giving us lots of confidence in and outside of our home. Our dog was also really pleased and excited to see her - would thoroughly recommend!" - Joanne
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"Barbara has helped us make a significant change with our rescue dog Kayla, who is a Staffie/Alsatian cross. When we adopted Kayla she lacked confidence and was terrified of pretty much everything. She was reactive to every single dog she saw and was quite a handful. Following our 1-2-1 home sessions with Barbara, Kayla has progressed past the point the rescue centre told us was possible. Using the clicker training method, Barbara has helped us work on Kayla’s obedience as the basis for improving and controlling her behaviour. Having had several sessions Kayla is noticeably different in how she behaves and interacts. She’s less reactive to dogs, can be put into social situations with other dogs with little to no issue and is more relaxed on her walks. Thanks to working with Barbara, Kayla has started to enjoy the life of a dog that she was deprived of before we adopted her." - Pip
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"Barbara is a great teacher of puppies and their owners. The lessons are well structured and her delivery is clear and professional. She promotes a nice, friendly atmosphere in which the puppies and owners feel comfortable however easy or difficult the puppies are. The lessons progress in a logical way, making the instructions easy to follow and practice at home. The dogs are allowed some time to socialise in an orderly way. There are useful hand outs and Barbara always has time to discuss particular issues. The venue is very good with off road parking and toilet facilities. I would strongly recommend Barbara to dog owners whether this is their first experience of owning a dog or not." - Simon