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Paws 4 Thought

Local mum Claire Sayles is a dog trainer and behaviourist. She runs Paws 4 Thought and can provide you and your dog with a range of services…

Tell me about you and your family/where you live

I live with my husband, Alex, and our two children in Maidenhead. Myself and Alex run the business
together, working around Maidenhead, Marlow, Cookham and the surrounding area. Our daycare
is based in Marlow.

 

What do you like about the local area?  

I love the local area – I grew up in Marlow and went to school in Cookham. I love all the beautiful local
walks and there are lots of friendly dog owners. There are also some great local restaurants and pubs.

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Tell me about your business/what you offer

I offer puppy training classes and socialisation classes, 1-2-1 training, daycare and dog walking. My classes are held on Fridays in Marlow and Sundays at Dorney village hall. I also see lots of clients on a 1-2-1 basis either to work on specific training or behavioural problems. We also have a purpose-built doggy daycare centre based in Marlow. It has an outside paddock area and inside log cabin. All our daycare dogs are also walked as part of their day. We also offer a walking service around Cookham, Maidenhead and the surrounding area.

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Have you always been interested in doing this? What do you like about it the most?

Yes, I have always wanted to work with animals. Initially, I wanted to be a vet but then really enjoyed Psychology
after studying it at university and decided to study animal behaviour. I love working with people with their dogs and helping them gain confidence together. I also really enjoy looking after dogs and making sure they have lots of fun.

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What prompted you to decide to take it that bit further and start your own business?

I loved working at Hearing Dogs but decided I wanted to set up my own business to be able to work
around family life.

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What did you do before you had children?

I worked as a dog trainer at Hearing Dogs for Deaf people.

 

Did you have to do any business courses or training for your business?

I haven't done any business training but I have a degree in Psychology and a diploma in companion
animal behaviour and training.

 

What do you love about dogs?

I have always loved animals, but dogs in particular are so loyal and can be so unconditionally loving. 

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Any real success stories?  

I really enjoying training, particularly working with young puppies and getting them into good habits right from the start. I work with positive reward-based methods and have seen some great success with dogs I have worked with.

One of my favourites is a border collie, who I saw as he was chasing and barking at horses. I worked with him using lots of positive reinforcement around horses and he is now great with them.

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What is the best part of having your own business? And the worst? 

The best part is being able to decide when to work and set your own goals. There aren't really any big negatives but my husband would say I never really switch off from work as I am always thinking about it because I absolutely love my job! 

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Any favourite walks/places to go?

I really like walking at the Odney in Cookham and around the Bisham Woods. 

 

Who is your idol?

That's a difficult one! I really like Victoria Stilwell's work with positively – she is working hard to promote positive training methods with dogs.

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Anything else we don't know about you?

I also love horse riding and scuba diving.

 

http://www.paws4thoughtdogs.com/

https://m.facebook.com/p4tdogs/?ref=bookmarks

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