Hi, I’m Andy.
And yes, I really do have
five dogs.

From as far back as I can remember, there was always a dog in the house. GSDs, Poodles, Jack Russells. Dogs were just part of life — I never questioned it, I just knew a house without one felt wrong.

From the age of 12, I knew I wanted to be a musician. By 14 I was in bands. For the next twenty-odd years, every job I had existed to fund my music habit. Sales, recruitment, HR — all fine, none of them the point. Touring, festivals, albums on Spotify — music was the dream, and I chased it relentlessly.

By the time I was hurtling towards 40, getting a group of grown-ups in a room to rehearse was becoming near impossible. The performing itch was still there though — so I took the leap into stand-up comedy. The hardest and second most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. A rewarding but terrifying stint — and then Covid happened, venues closed, and that itch quietly faded.

My now-fiancée Annie came with Mia and Lola — two chihuahuas I initially found completely absurd. Having grown up around German Shepherds, I genuinely didn’t know what to make of them. Then I got to know them. They’re just dogs — only compact. I was converted immediately.

We decided to get a third. Enter Dora — my first ever dog I raised from a puppy. And suddenly I was completely obsessed. Dog psychology, canine development, the bond, the communication, the sheer JOY of watching her grow. For the first time in years, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life.

I made the best decision of my life: I turned to Julia Rush of Bosker Dog Training — someone I’d known for years, who had been the trainer for our family dogs and who I trusted completely. I begged her to take me under her wing. For the next twelve months, every weekend, I was up at 6.30am, driving halfway round the M25 to be in the field with Julia by 9am. Puppy classes, life skills, agility — I shadowed everything. I loved every minute of it. But more than the joy of it, Julia fundamentally changed the way I understood dogs. I’d been around them my whole life — and I suddenly realised so many of the things I had come to believe over the years were COMPLETELY wrong!! It was like Julia had handed me a completely new lens through which to view the world.

Julia put me in touch with MARKA Dog Training — the academy founded by two of the most respected names in the industry. Kamal Fernandez has over 33 years of experience, has competed at the highest level in dog sports, and is probably best known to TV audiences from Channel 4’s Dogs Behaving Badly and The Dog Academy — where a crack team of Britain’s top trainers worked with the most difficult dogs in the country using nothing but positive reinforcement. Di Martin founded Click-2-Heel in 2005, won Crufts in 2011, and is an advanced Kennel Club accredited instructor and certified BAT practitioner. Sitting under the learning tree of these two exceptional and world leading trainers was the icing on the cake, and helped me solidify my mission: helping people help their dogs is what I’m supposed to do.

Five dogs, one fiancée, a house full of chaos and joy — and a training business built entirely around the philosophy that connection matters more than compliance, and direction beats correction every single time. I can’t imagine doing anything else.