Lovely Dennis...

People often ask me why I do dog training.

There are lots of reasons really: 

My love of animals in general and my farming background is one reason. You could say that animals are in my blood! 

Dogs have a special place in my heart in particular. I love the special bond you can only get with a dog. They are also completely honest (!) They just can't be anything else. (You just don't get that with all human beings!)

Working and training dogs also feels 'right' to me because taps into my degree course and my long-term animal behaviour interests. 

But the absolute clincher reason has to be about the amount of joy I felt owning this lovely boy pictured in all these photos below! His name was Dennis!

He shared the best part of 12 years with me and my family and we all loved him dearly. He was so much more than a dog to me; I would say he was more of a soul mate. It was so devastating when he passed away, but the joy that he brought into our household for those years was so incredibly special,

I want to be able to help people obtain the same amazing sense of joy, contentment and reward from their dogs as I experienced with Dennis.

Over the years the constant learning and challenges we faced together as a pair and the great fun we had, meant that a tremendous bond built up between us which was truly special. We went for holidays in the Lakes, walked free in National Trust parks, swam together in rivers and the sea and had many satisfying lunches in pubs and coffee shops. 

People just loved him wherever we went. I know more than a few people who weren't great dog lovers; but having met my Dennis, they were so charmed by him that they became converted to dog lover status overnight. A few went on to realise that they wanted to be dog owners themselves for the first time! That was the 'DENNIS EFFECT'.

It isn't difficult to feel irritated with your dog when he doesn't do what you want him to do.

Sometimes people feel frustrated with their dogs and even feel let down by them. People have in their minds an idea of what 'having a dog' is going to be like, or what taking your dog out for a walk should be like, but sometimes, it doesn't quite turn out the way they envisage. This can happen for lots of reasons and it happens in lots of different ways for different people.

A little bit of understanding as to what makes your furry friend tick, combined with a bit of patience, guidance and up to date methods of training is all it takes, and a wonderful relationship between an owner and their dog can be built.

Rather than your dog being an irritation, or a source of anxiety it is possible to achieve a wonderful and cooperative relationship with your dog so that he or she becomes one of the great joys in your life rather than one of the pains in the posterior!

I have watched this magic happen time and time again while working with peoples' dogs.  (Moreover I watched it and experienced it first hand as it happened with me and Dennis. There were points in his puppyhood and adolescence where I thought that this reprobate of a dog would never be good, but it is possible to work though every hiccough until you get a relationship worth having.)

It is truly wonderful and rewarding for me as the trainer now. Bit by bit I watch skills and understanding improve. As the owner's confidence in their ability to handle their dog grows, the dog's compliance increases and their relationship with their dog blossoms!

I want a bit of that for every dog owner, because having a dog CAN be all that they could ever dream of and MORE!


This is one of my favourite pictures of Dennis. We were out at Braywick Park with Luke and Tom my sons. Den is there between them, happily tired, having romped and wagged for a good hour playing with his doggy friends along the way...

Here he is on 'puppy' duty, doing a spot of baby sitting!

I will leave you with these two pictures. One of those lovely moments you can can't really describe. My face says it all! He simply was my 'heart' dog! A dog with a wicked sense of humour, a sunny disposition and ridiculously affectionate nature! 

Run with the rainbows lovely Dennis! x

My very first clients...

I guess you could say that these were my very first 'training' clients! 

When I was little I grew up on a farm in Somerset. We had all kinds of animals at different times in my life and I had a pretty good attempt at training them all!

This is me for example with a chicken on my head! I used to just walk around doing stuff around the farm with this little bantam on my head. I think she quite liked the view!

Much earlier, my love affair with the Labrador began! This is Sam, my first dog that was really mine! Here I am taking him through his training repertoire, (which was a bit limited in those days, I have to say).

When I was about 8 years old, I became the proud owner of an Anatolian Karabash called Basher (!). Not the most imaginative name I know. He was a beautiful majestic animal, really loyal and massive too. Not that much smaller than a Great Dane when he was fully grown! The cat here was called Zoe. 

Other dogs I trained in my early days included a Norwegian Elkhound called Ruskie and two Cocker Spaniels called Annie and Danielle.

In our house all the animals had to get on with each other. At different points we had all sorts of species of animal living in the house including new born lambs and pot-belly piglets.

Here are the rabbits. I had two ferrets at the same time as these as well as two budgies called Sid and Sue!

This Shetland Pony was called Bradley. He was a beautiful boy who used to sneak into the orchard and make himself drunk by gorging on the apples. I used to love our little chats together out in the field.

A couple of animals deserve a mention but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of them. They were both cows! 

There was a beautiful Hereford Steer called Bronco who would carry me around on his back when I was 4 or 5 years old. My Dad used to pick me up and plonk me on his back and he would walk me round the field while my Dad carried the hay bails to the other side of the field to feed the herd. It was such an amazing feeling on a misty, sunny morning to be out there before school at peace and with these animals.

The other one to mention was Shield who was also a Steer but a Friesian variety. I spent hours and hours with this particular herd of cows and over time taught one particular one to play ball with me. he was the bravest of all and was first to come up to me when I arrived at the gate. Little by little I introduced a football and over time taught him to 'nose' it back to me. It was real fun and he seemed to enjoy it too!

I now play the exact same game with Dexter my Chocolate Labrador!

Lastly here is another one of Sam. He and I shared many hearth-rug moments curled up together in front of the fire. Absolutely all of my memories of him are just as warm. x

New Flyers

Welcome to my dog training diaries...

I am pleased to welcome you to Michelle Purnell Canine Training and Behaviour. I live in Bray-on-Thames with my husband, my two sons aged 9 and 11, and our newest arrival, our nine month old pup Dexter!

My approach to dog training consists of coaching dog owners and their families to train their dogs and help them understand their dogs better. I help people see what might trigger their dog to behave the way it does and then put measures in place to sort out any issues they might have. I see the dog, the owner and myself as a team. We work together to fix whatever problems there are.


I work with dogs of all ages, shapes and sizes, but I specialise in work with young puppies ensuring a high level of manners and obedience right from the start and also slightly older puppies and adolescent dogs who may have picked up a few bad habits along the way. They sometimes need a helping hand to iron out these behaviours before they reach adulthood!

A few more posts are being put together as we speak, but if you would like to talk to me about your dog, then give me a call on 07919 417 709 and we will work together to create a plan. It is so lovely to see people really enjoying their dog again after only a few training sessions.


I work on a one-to-one basis either in your home and garden or out on an accompanied walk. I look forward to hearing from you..x