Philippa Short
CONNIE
I first met Philippa about 2 years ago when a friend recommended her. My 1 year old Irish Terrier bitch, Connie, got on quite well at obedience training classes in a hall but in real life situations it was a different story. Her concentration span was about 2 seconds and as she was so easily distracted by anything and everything, I did not have the courage to let her off lead except in enclosed areas. However I was aware that she needed her freedom and the chance to run and explore, and that her pent up energy was leading to other difficulties.
Philippa could see that my biggest problem was me. I had a real fear of her just running off and me losing her and that was impacting on every walk. With patience and understanding Philippa gave me the skills to change my relationship with Connie. I learned to have more faith in Connie's own abilities and in mine, and I gradually gained the confidence I needed. We had on going open discussions about my fears, uncertainties and my hoped for goals with Connie. Every lesson brought progress and I was never made to feel inadequate or foolish with my fears. I am still mindful of where I let her off lead but every day she has good free running and is a much happier, loving, better behaved and fitter dog as a result.
​
More recently we have started agility lessons with Philippa. With patient and consistent teaching, Connie has learned to stop sniffing every inch of ground, pretending I am not there!, listen to me (mostly) and fly round the course with great enjoyment. Philippa watches our every move and can see when reassurance or clarity of instruction is needed for Connie or when she is just being a bit "single minded", or when I am giving misleading messages or signals. She notices every nuance of behaviour, interprets it and explains it so well, which leaves me shaking my head in amazement!
Philippa's ability to read and understand both people and dogs, and the relationship between them, is astounding. Her knowledge, passion, energy, patience, humour and kindness in every lesson leaves me feeling enthused and encouraged.
Thank you Philippa for everything you bring to us, we both look forward to our lessons every week.
Andrea & Connie
DEXTER & ZOLA
Philippa was recommended to me by our local TTouch practitioner who had been working with both our rescue dogs, Zola a now 4 year old GSD/Husky and Dexter, a White GSD/retriever soon to be 5 year old male. Dexter in particular had undergone a lot of training via an excellent behaviourist and then specialist ‘teaching dog ‘ training for unpredictable aggressive dog to dog behaviour -this took many months and was not something we had ever envisaged when we took him on as a re – home aged 3.
Dexter needed another outlet for his undeniable enthusiasm and desire to please, so Philippa has offered the perfect solution! Both dogs adore her and the way she works with their very different issues is amazing! Never fazed, always positive, always cheery and encouraging and yet firm whether she is training for obedience or agility -she has offered all of us a way forward and has given us the confidence to guide both dogs around other dogs, sit quietly on the golf course, wait for joggers to pass, etc, etc.
​
Thank you Philippa!
Sally and Michael, Zola and Dexter
BELLA
My lovely German Shepherd, Bella came to us about 18 months ago with a long list of issues. Through all our best efforts and many classes later, there was little improvement. Finally, we took advice to use medication to reduce her anxiety and reactivity and enable training. Despite this, Bella was still bouncing off the walls and I was dragged everywhere. I hoped that agility would give Bella the mental & physical exercise she needed and Philippa was recommended by a friend.
We started coming to see Philippa about 4 months ago under the guise of doing agility, though in practice it has been far more! She immediately recognised that Bella and I had no relationship. Using agility to give direction, Philippa has helped me to step up and guide Bella clearly as to how I would like her to behave.
The change in Bella was immediate and each week we see extensive improvements, not just in agility (which we love) but also in general life skills such as loose lead walking, stay, recall etc. Bella is now free of medication, she looks to me for direction, is calmer, happier and loves a cuddle – we are now a team! We love our lessons, coming away tired, yet energised, and sometimes with tears of joy over what we’ve achieved. Philippa has considerable patience, a great connection and ability to work with dogs, but as importantly us humans. I’m so grateful to her for gently challenging us and for bringing Bella and I together. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her.
Suze, Bella’s Mum.
GRACIE
​
My partner and I first met Philippa when we took “Gracie” for a one-to-one agility class. Philippa got the measure of us and Gracie straight away and gave us lots of training, encouragement and praise.
We, regretfully, had to stop agility due to Gracie having a weak joint but we went on to have a one to one training session with Philippa as Gracie was showing signs of teenage rebellion!
Philippa was patient and supportive and taught us how to make training fun and showed us some “training” games to play with Gracie which we are still playing as they are fun for us all.
​
We then went on to ask if Philippa could have Gracie for a sleep over whilst we were away and we have gone on to leave Gracie with Philippa a number of times. Gracie can be outgoing but she is also a sensitive little girl and Philippa picked this up straight away and takes that into account when looking after her. We feel confident and happy when Gracie is in Philippa’s care.
The most important thing for us is that Gracie is always pleased to see Philippa, rushes into her house and immediately picks up a toy and makes herself at home. As doting owners this makes us feel so much better at leaving her as we know that Philippa is kind, firm and fun. She knows so much about dogs and their needs that we feel Gracie is in a safe, happy environment.
We have no hesitation at all in recommending Philippa in all aspects of dog care.
Jennie & Phil
MAYA
​
We are a family who like to do things as naturally as possible – we use Homeopathic and complementary medicines and eat an organic whole food diet. When we decided to get our first dog it was important to us to treat our pet exactly the same way as ourselves. It quickly became evident that things were not going to be easy if we did not follow the conventional path!
Thankfully we found Philippa on the Canine Health Concern website. She fully respected our wishes and provided us with a wealth of helpful information on how we could rear our puppy as naturally as possible.
She held our hands right from the start showing us how to settle Maya into our home when she arrived at just 7 weeks old.
​
She advised us on raw feeding, and on all aspects of training and care, and recommended other practitioners who would respect our natural way of doing things. The result is that we have a delightful, healthy, well-behaved, good-natured, placid Miniature Schnauzer called Maya and we love her to bits! Thank you Philippa! We don’t often go away and leave her, but when we do, we know that she has a home from home with Philippa and will be taken good care of.
TILLY & JEZABEL
Philippa has been a godsend helping me with my two rescue collies.
Tilly was born deaf, and suffered severe physical abuse at the hands of the farmer who tried to train her. Philippa helped me to train Tilly to signs using a vibrating collar. She also helped me to understand, and manage Tilly’s unusual behaviours, which were partly due to her deafness and partly due to the abuse she had suffered.
​
Jezabel also had a bad start, having been found abandoned and starving as a puppy. I have never known such a nervous puppy, and am so grateful for the help Philippa has given me in gaining her confidence. She also helped with behaviours such as reactivity whilst on the lead, and car chasing.
Both of my girls are now doing really well, and grow in confidence daily.
​
Philippa uses force free methods which build confidence in both dog and owner. She is extremely knowledgeable, and the dogs absolutely adore her.
​
Having dogs with behavioural problems can be extremely isolating, frustrating, and confusing. Philippa has enabled me to gain the skills and confidence to help my girls, despite the setbacks we have encountered along the way. I can’t recommend her highly enough.
GEORGE
George and myself have completed a few sessions of tricks and training with Philippa. At all times it has been completed with professionalism yet in a fun and interesting manner. Philippa's training is clear and with instructions that are easy to follow, as her level knowledge of dog behaviour is amazing.
We both thoroughly enjoyed the tricks training and George loved the new challenge and took to it with gusto.
We look forward to future training!
CONNIE
I first met Philippa about 2 years ago when a friend recommended her. My 1 year old Irish Terrier bitch, Connie, got on quite well at obedience training classes in a hall but in real life situations it was a different story. Her concentration span was about 2 seconds and as she was so easily distracted by anything and everything, I did not have the courage to let her off lead except in enclosed areas. However I was aware that she needed her freedom and the chance to run and explore, and that her pent up energy was leading to other difficulties.
Philippa could see that my biggest problem was me. I had a real fear of her just running off and me losing her and that was impacting on every walk. With patience and understanding Philippa gave me the skills to change my relationship with Connie. I learned to have more faith in Connie's own abilities and in mine, and I gradually gained the confidence I needed. We had on going open discussions about my fears, uncertainties and my hoped for goals with Connie. Every lesson brought progress and I was never made to feel inadequate or foolish with my fears. I am still mindful of where I let her off lead but every day she has good free running and is a much happier, loving, better behaved and fitter dog as a result.
​
More recently we have started agility lessons with Philippa. With patient and consistent teaching, Connie has learned to stop sniffing every inch of ground, pretending I am not there!, listen to me (mostly) and fly round the course with great enjoyment. Philippa watches our every move and can see when reassurance or clarity of instruction is needed for Connie or when she is just being a bit "single minded", or when I am giving misleading messages or signals. She notices every nuance of behaviour, interprets it and explains it so well, which leaves me shaking my head in amazement!
Philippa's ability to read and understand both people and dogs, and the relationship between them, is astounding. Her knowledge, passion, energy, patience, humour and kindness in every lesson leaves me feeling enthused and encouraged.
Thank you Philippa for everything you bring to us, we both look forward to our lessons every week.
Andrea & Connie
DEXTER & ZOLA
Philippa was recommended to me by our local TTouch practitioner who had been working with both our rescue dogs, Zola a now 4 year old GSD/Husky and Dexter, a White GSD/retriever soon to be 5 year old male. Dexter in particular had undergone a lot of training via an excellent behaviourist and then specialist ‘teaching dog ‘ training for unpredictable aggressive dog to dog behaviour -this took many months and was not something we had ever envisaged when we took him on as a re – home aged 3.
Dexter needed another outlet for his undeniable enthusiasm and desire to please, so Philippa has offered the perfect solution! Both dogs adore her and the way she works with their very different issues is amazing! Never fazed, always positive, always cheery and encouraging and yet firm whether she is training for obedience or agility -she has offered all of us a way forward and has given us the confidence to guide both dogs around other dogs, sit quietly on the golf course, wait for joggers to pass, etc, etc.
​
Thank you Philippa!
Sally and Michael, Zola and Dexter
BELLA
My lovely German Shepherd, Bella came to us about 18 months ago with a long list of issues. Through all our best efforts and many classes later, there was little improvement. Finally, we took advice to use medication to reduce her anxiety and reactivity and enable training. Despite this, Bella was still bouncing off the walls and I was dragged everywhere. I hoped that agility would give Bella the mental & physical exercise she needed and Philippa was recommended by a friend.
We started coming to see Philippa about 4 months ago under the guise of doing agility, though in practice it has been far more! She immediately recognised that Bella and I had no relationship. Using agility to give direction, Philippa has helped me to step up and guide Bella clearly as to how I would like her to behave.
The change in Bella was immediate and each week we see extensive improvements, not just in agility (which we love) but also in general life skills such as loose lead walking, stay, recall etc. Bella is now free of medication, she looks to me for direction, is calmer, happier and loves a cuddle – we are now a team! We love our lessons, coming away tired, yet energised, and sometimes with tears of joy over what we’ve achieved. Philippa has considerable patience, a great connection and ability to work with dogs, but as importantly us humans. I’m so grateful to her for gently challenging us and for bringing Bella and I together. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her.
Suze, Bella’s Mum.
GRACIE
​
My partner and I first met Philippa when we took “Gracie” for a one-to-one agility class. Philippa got the measure of us and Gracie straight away and gave us lots of training, encouragement and praise.
We, regretfully, had to stop agility due to Gracie having a weak joint but we went on to have a one to one training session with Philippa as Gracie was showing signs of teenage rebellion!
Philippa was patient and supportive and taught us how to make training fun and showed us some “training” games to play with Gracie which we are still playing as they are fun for us all.
​
We then went on to ask if Philippa could have Gracie for a sleep over whilst we were away and we have gone on to leave Gracie with Philippa a number of times. Gracie can be outgoing but she is also a sensitive little girl and Philippa picked this up straight away and takes that into account when looking after her. We feel confident and happy when Gracie is in Philippa’s care.
The most important thing for us is that Gracie is always pleased to see Philippa, rushes into her house and immediately picks up a toy and makes herself at home. As doting owners this makes us feel so much better at leaving her as we know that Philippa is kind, firm and fun. She knows so much about dogs and their needs that we feel Gracie is in a safe, happy environment.
We have no hesitation at all in recommending Philippa in all aspects of dog care.
Jennie & Phil
MAYA
​
We are a family who like to do things as naturally as possible – we use Homeopathic and complementary medicines and eat an organic whole food diet. When we decided to get our first dog it was important to us to treat our pet exactly the same way as ourselves. It quickly became evident that things were not going to be easy if we did not follow the conventional path!
Thankfully we found Philippa on the Canine Health Concern website. She fully respected our wishes and provided us with a wealth of helpful information on how we could rear our puppy as naturally as possible.
She held our hands right from the start showing us how to settle Maya into our home when she arrived at just 7 weeks old.
​
She advised us on raw feeding, and on all aspects of training and care, and recommended other practitioners who would respect our natural way of doing things. The result is that we have a delightful, healthy, well-behaved, good-natured, placid Miniature Schnauzer called Maya and we love her to bits! Thank you Philippa! We don’t often go away and leave her, but when we do, we know that she has a home from home with Philippa and will be taken good care of.
TILLY & JEZABEL
Philippa has been a godsend helping me with my two rescue collies.
Tilly was born deaf, and suffered severe physical abuse at the hands of the farmer who tried to train her. Philippa helped me to train Tilly to signs using a vibrating collar. She also helped me to understand, and manage Tilly’s unusual behaviours, which were partly due to her deafness and partly due to the abuse she had suffered.
​
Jezabel also had a bad start, having been found abandoned and starving as a puppy. I have never known such a nervous puppy, and am so grateful for the help Philippa has given me in gaining her confidence. She also helped with behaviours such as reactivity whilst on the lead, and car chasing.
Both of my girls are now doing really well, and grow in confidence daily.
​
Philippa uses force free methods which build confidence in both dog and owner. She is extremely knowledgeable, and the dogs absolutely adore her.
​
Having dogs with behavioural problems can be extremely isolating, frustrating, and confusing. Philippa has enabled me to gain the skills and confidence to help my girls, despite the setbacks we have encountered along the way. I can’t recommend her highly enough.
GEORGE
George and myself have completed a few sessions of tricks and training with Philippa. At all times it has been completed with professionalism yet in a fun and interesting manner. Philippa's training is clear and with instructions that are easy to follow, as her level knowledge of dog behaviour is amazing.
We both thoroughly enjoyed the tricks training and George loved the new challenge and took to it with gusto.
We look forward to future training!
Testimonials
CONNIE
I first met Philippa about 2 years ago when a friend recommended her. My 1 year old Irish Terrier bitch, Connie, got on quite well at obedience training classes in a hall but in real life situations it was a different story. Her concentration span was about 2 seconds and as she was so easily distracted by anything and everything, I did not have the courage to let her off lead except in enclosed areas. However I was aware that she needed her freedom and the chance to run and explore, and that her pent up energy was leading to other difficulties.
Philippa could see that my biggest problem was me. I had a real fear of her just running off and me losing her and that was impacting on every walk. With patience and understanding Philippa gave me the skills to change my relationship with Connie. I learned to have more faith in Connie's own abilities and in mine, and I gradually gained the confidence I needed. We had on going open discussions about my fears, uncertainties and my hoped for goals with Connie. Every lesson brought progress and I was never made to feel inadequate or foolish with my fears. I am still mindful of where I let her off lead but every day she has good free running and is a much happier, loving, better behaved and fitter dog as a result.
​
More recently we have started agility lessons with Philippa. With patient and consistent teaching, Connie has learned to stop sniffing every inch of ground, pretending I am not there!, listen to me (mostly) and fly round the course with great enjoyment. Philippa watches our every move and can see when reassurance or clarity of instruction is needed for Connie or when she is just being a bit "single minded", or when I am giving misleading messages or signals. She notices every nuance of behaviour, interprets it and explains it so well, which leaves me shaking my head in amazement!
Philippa's ability to read and understand both people and dogs, and the relationship between them, is astounding. Her knowledge, passion, energy, patience, humour and kindness in every lesson leaves me feeling enthused and encouraged.
Thank you Philippa for everything you bring to us, we both look forward to our lessons every week.
Andrea & Connie
DEXTER & ZOLA
Philippa was recommended to me by our local TTouch practitioner who had been working with both our rescue dogs, Zola a now 4 year old GSD/Husky and Dexter, a White GSD/retriever soon to be 5 year old male. Dexter in particular had undergone a lot of training via an excellent behaviourist and then specialist ‘teaching dog ‘ training for unpredictable aggressive dog to dog behaviour -this took many months and was not something we had ever envisaged when we took him on as a re – home aged 3.
Dexter needed another outlet for his undeniable enthusiasm and desire to please, so Philippa has offered the perfect solution! Both dogs adore her and the way she works with their very different issues is amazing! Never fazed, always positive, always cheery and encouraging and yet firm whether she is training for obedience or agility -she has offered all of us a way forward and has given us the confidence to guide both dogs around other dogs, sit quietly on the golf course, wait for joggers to pass, etc, etc.
​
Thank you Philippa!
Sally and Michael, Zola and Dexter
BELLA
My lovely German Shepherd, Bella came to us about 18 months ago with a long list of issues. Through all our best efforts and many classes later, there was little improvement. Finally, we took advice to use medication to reduce her anxiety and reactivity and enable training. Despite this, Bella was still bouncing off the walls and I was dragged everywhere. I hoped that agility would give Bella the mental & physical exercise she needed and Philippa was recommended by a friend.
We started coming to see Philippa about 4 months ago under the guise of doing agility, though in practice it has been far more! She immediately recognised that Bella and I had no relationship. Using agility to give direction, Philippa has helped me to step up and guide Bella clearly as to how I would like her to behave.
The change in Bella was immediate and each week we see extensive improvements, not just in agility (which we love) but also in general life skills such as loose lead walking, stay, recall etc. Bella is now free of medication, she looks to me for direction, is calmer, happier and loves a cuddle – we are now a team! We love our lessons, coming away tired, yet energised, and sometimes with tears of joy over what we’ve achieved. Philippa has considerable patience, a great connection and ability to work with dogs, but as importantly us humans. I’m so grateful to her for gently challenging us and for bringing Bella and I together. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her.
Suze, Bella’s Mum.
GRACIE
​
My partner and I first met Philippa when we took “Gracie” for a one-to-one agility class. Philippa got the measure of us and Gracie straight away and gave us lots of training, encouragement and praise.
We, regretfully, had to stop agility due to Gracie having a weak joint but we went on to have a one to one training session with Philippa as Gracie was showing signs of teenage rebellion!
Philippa was patient and supportive and taught us how to make training fun and showed us some “training” games to play with Gracie which we are still playing as they are fun for us all.
​
We then went on to ask if Philippa could have Gracie for a sleep over whilst we were away and we have gone on to leave Gracie with Philippa a number of times. Gracie can be outgoing but she is also a sensitive little girl and Philippa picked this up straight away and takes that into account when looking after her. We feel confident and happy when Gracie is in Philippa’s care.
The most important thing for us is that Gracie is always pleased to see Philippa, rushes into her house and immediately picks up a toy and makes herself at home. As doting owners this makes us feel so much better at leaving her as we know that Philippa is kind, firm and fun. She knows so much about dogs and their needs that we feel Gracie is in a safe, happy environment.
We have no hesitation at all in recommending Philippa in all aspects of dog care.
Jennie & Phil
MAYA
​
We are a family who like to do things as naturally as possible – we use Homeopathic and complementary medicines and eat an organic whole food diet. When we decided to get our first dog it was important to us to treat our pet exactly the same way as ourselves. It quickly became evident that things were not going to be easy if we did not follow the conventional path!
Thankfully we found Philippa on the Canine Health Concern website. She fully respected our wishes and provided us with a wealth of helpful information on how we could rear our puppy as naturally as possible.
She held our hands right from the start showing us how to settle Maya into our home when she arrived at just 7 weeks old.
​
She advised us on raw feeding, and on all aspects of training and care, and recommended other practitioners who would respect our natural way of doing things. The result is that we have a delightful, healthy, well-behaved, good-natured, placid Miniature Schnauzer called Maya and we love her to bits! Thank you Philippa! We don’t often go away and leave her, but when we do, we know that she has a home from home with Philippa and will be taken good care of.
TILLY & JEZABEL
Philippa has been a godsend helping me with my two rescue collies.
Tilly was born deaf, and suffered severe physical abuse at the hands of the farmer who tried to train her. Philippa helped me to train Tilly to signs using a vibrating collar. She also helped me to understand, and manage Tilly’s unusual behaviours, which were partly due to her deafness and partly due to the abuse she had suffered.
​
Jezabel also had a bad start, having been found abandoned and starving as a puppy. I have never known such a nervous puppy, and am so grateful for the help Philippa has given me in gaining her confidence. She also helped with behaviours such as reactivity whilst on the lead, and car chasing.
Both of my girls are now doing really well, and grow in confidence daily.
​
Philippa uses force free methods which build confidence in both dog and owner. She is extremely knowledgeable, and the dogs absolutely adore her.
​
Having dogs with behavioural problems can be extremely isolating, frustrating, and confusing. Philippa has enabled me to gain the skills and confidence to help my girls, despite the setbacks we have encountered along the way. I can’t recommend her highly enough.
GEORGE
George and myself have completed a few sessions of tricks and training with Philippa. At all times it has been completed with professionalism yet in a fun and interesting manner. Philippa's training is clear and with instructions that are easy to follow, as her level knowledge of dog behaviour is amazing.
We both thoroughly enjoyed the tricks training and George loved the new challenge and took to it with gusto.
We look forward to future training!