Copper and I have been on quite the journey over the past three years. I refused to settle for a life of stress, fear, and pure management and I never stopped believing things could get better. Copper was adopted during his peak fear period, nervy, under-socialised, and horribly reactive from day one. I was a first-time dog owner in way over my head. Despite reading books, attending seminars, and working with six different trainers (including a board & train), his reactivity worsened. We faced off-lead attacks, developed a bite history, misused tools, and saw fleeting progress followed by setbacks. I knew more was possible, but we kept falling short.
Then I found Yorkshire Canine Academy. The structure is clear, flexible, and tailored to both dog and owner. I felt fully supported, heard, and guided every step of the way. The trainers’ investment in us made all the difference.
Today, Copper is unrecognisable, playful, trusting, resilient, and able to make great choices on his own. When he’s unsure, he looks to me.If you’re on the fence, take it from someone who’s been through it all, I only wish we’d found YCA sooner. If you’re ready to put in the work and want more for your life with your dog, you’ve just found your place.
I’ve been following the Training with Instinct course for about 5 weeks now with my Doberman, Bentley. The course has been really easy to follow with loads of useful videos and case studies to watch. I really like that it is about building up gradually; the daily and weekly schedules help keep you focussed and on track with making progress. When I started Bentley was reactive to dogs and occasionally people. Now he’s walking off lead and hasn’t reacted to another dog since starting the course. The main benefit is that I can see that he is so much more relaxed which makes me more relaxed and our walks much more enjoyable.
The training with instinct program was very easy to follow through and we started to see improvements at very early stages. I very much liked the daily schedule , it helped us to set a routine, and the little exercises helped to work Filo’s brain also allowed us more free time. Filo can now be my company on my runs and he can just spaniel around freely. It is very difficult to meet a dog’s exercise needs if they have to be kept on a lead constantly, -especially with high energy breeds.
We started the training with instinct program for our 9 year old boxer dog, Frank, and within just a few short weeks we saw a massive difference. I was sceptical at the start as we have worked with previous trainers who had basically told us we had to spend our walks avoiding all triggers, which included, dogs of all shapes and sizes and people. As you can imagine that was extremely hard, starting our day as early as 4am to walk Frank! Fast forward to now and we’re able to not only walk Frank calmly past other dogs on lead but we’re also able to take him to the seaside and enjoy watching him off lead having fun and enjoying the rest of his days without being anxious. Thank you Yorkshire canine academy!
Before I started the training with YCA, my walks with Nelly were very anxiety inducing because Nelly has always had a very VERY high prey drive. Every squirrel, cat, rabbit or deer that we would see would lead to an almost explosive reaction from Nelly with lunging, a lot of barking and leash pulling. I went through a lot of different training methods, none of which worked and pretty much had given up that we would ever manage this behavior. I was always very sceptical that any dog trainer could actually help me manage this behavior. This program has definitely been successful in doing this. I would highly recommend this training program!
Rico is our fourth GSD. We rescued him at nine months old, just four months ago, and he’s already the best dog I’ve ever had. I thought I knew training after my last GSD, but it was a challenge. What I was doing didn’t work. After years of trying different trainers, books, and YouTube, I found Jacob, Kirky, and YCA. Their approach balances play, discipline, and love, honoring the dog’s true nature. The dogs get it, are happy, and understand what’s expected of them. I signed up for Focus in Four and was hooked—it worked. So well, in fact, that I joined Training With Instinct. Now, I don’t think YCA will ever get rid of us! Rico loves it, shines, and honestly, it’s fun. He looks forward to training, and it makes sense.
