The Urban Herder Reviews 25

Ellen is a brilliant trainer and her work with us and Finn has been invaluable. Finn was highly reactive and even taking him for a short walk had become impossible. Ellen’s knowledge and understanding of Finn’s reactivity was amazing and without her help we would have been lost. Her approach is clear, friendly and professional and we would highly recommend to everyone. Ellen has not only helped Finn but also helped us to understand and learn so much too. We can’t thank Ellen enough for all her hard work with Finn.

I loved the Urban Herder Challenge that Ellen organised earlier this month. Based on her training exercises I saw a massive improvement in the connection between me and my dog. I decided to contact her about some of the challenges we face with his behaviour and it was really helpful to get both acknowledgement as comfort from her reply. The free 15 minute intake call gave a good idea of what we could expect from Ellen if we were to continue with her training programme and how we could tailor it to suit our rather bespoke situation.

Ellen is providing great ideas, and continued support in our endeavours to train our very nervous collie.

Ellen was amazing, really knowledgeable and reassuring and explained things so well. Feeling a lot more confident in supporting our collie!

We recently had a discovery call which we were really impressed with. It was professional, friendly and helpful. We will be moving forward using the services of The Urban Herder following this call. Would highly recommend reaching out to discuss your dog’s needs.

Our first session with Ellen was so so great and Bones (my dog) was amazing the entire time. Turns out, I was the one who needed the most training and I definitely felt a lot more comfortable and secure while we were out and about after just that one session. She is a wealth of knowledge and understanding on my dogs behaviours, gave great advice and tips, really taught by doing and showed me what my pup is, and will be, capable of if I give him the opportunity and right tools.
She has provided us with videos and other learning materials to take home and work on, educated me on levels of play and learning and the fundamental good behaviours I should be encouraging that I was missing in all my hubbub. She even taught me a bit of dancing.

My only negative comment is that my shopping is about to get more expensive as I don't think my dry biscuit treats will cut it for him now he's met the nice pâté lady with toys stashed in her coat.

I'm so excited about continuing our programme and seeing where me and Bones can get to - I started off just wanting to be able to play with him off lead but now I'm thinking maybe he'll be the first pirate, Crufts champion. Who knows!

Brilliant service and consultation. Ellen is very approachable, knowledgeable and informative. We found the session extremely helpful and will be booking a package to obtain further support. Thank you

Really knowledgeable about the breed. Step by step plan to assist with our issue without pushing things too quickly.

Ellen is expert and practical, giving us advice that really works to impact the behaviour of our anxious collie. She’s helped us understand and support our herding-focused dog so we are all happier and calmer!

It is early days as we have only had a Discovery Call yet it was wonderful to talk to Ellen who had first hand experience of and fully understood the issues we are having with our herding dog. I am feeling really hopeful now and look forward to how Ellen can help us going forward.

Ellen made me feel listened to and gave me fabulous information re my GSD who is reactive to dogs. I’m really looking forward to a 1-2-1 session with Ellen to help me and Juno progress as she really understands what is needed to build my own confidence and the best way to help Juno be in the world. Ellen really knows her stuff! 😊

Ellen is so lovely and approachable. She has so much knowledge to give! And her honesty is really appreciated. Very organised business.
If you’re struggling with your pooch this is the girl!

Ellen was really helpful in helping us understand what was going on in our dogs head. On line resources easy to follow.

I find the training sessions useful and informative. I feel Ellen really understands my dog and her training needs. The advice given is always constructive and positive.

Great immediate understanding of problems and positivity around solutions. Ellen speaks with a confidence that can only come from a thorough grasp of her field. Friendly and warm chat whilst giving off an air of calm professionalism- it’s no wonder dogs respond well to her. This review is based on the initial 15 minute discovery chat and I couldn’t be looking forward to working with her more.

Can't rate our experience with the Urban Herder highly enough!
We've taken part in her in-person workshop looking at predatory play and also done two online zoom workshops.
Ellen is always so insightful, caring and clearly dedicated to the well-being of the collie breed

We were so grateful to find Ellen and her team. We were at our wits ends with our dog Benji, he was 10 months old and a nightmare to live with. He became really reactive to everything, people, dogs & cars. Seemingly overnight. We were at a total loss, as to what to do and where our lovely puppy had gone.

We then found Ellen, and we booked the gold package. Over a number of session, Ellen explained why Benji had become so reactive and gave us easy games and training exercises to build all the skills he needed. She then showed us how to use them in the real world. We now enjoy our walks again.

Her knowledge and understanding has been invaluable. We are now members of the Collie Collective and love learning new things to keep Benji happy and entertained.

Huge thankyou to Ellen and The Urban Herder Team.

Excellent 3 part webinar ‘Understanding the Border Collie’. I knew these dogs were special and that, as a trainer, I needed a better understanding of them. This course gave me background, an understanding of their innate behaviours and a practical game: ‘Sheepballs’ to direct and reward their natural urges. Films of real life situations were a great addition to Ellen’s clear explanations. I would recommend this course and this company!

We did a 1.5hour behaviour assessment with Ellen and our 5yo Collie. We got so much out of just that short amount of time. We’ve already made loads of progress on walks, and are working on implementing her other initial suggestions around the home and are seeing improvements. Love that we ongoing support, and will definitely be working further with Ellen in the futur.

The Urban Herders has created a great community to help owners do the best for their border collies. We've learnt so much - and will continue to do so. I thoroughly recommend joining!