About Us - Meet Claire, founder of Dugs Paws 🩷
Dog Trainer • Behaviour Consultant • Dog Walker
Hi, I’m Claire, founder of Dugs Paws.
My love of dogs has always been a huge part of my life, but it was my German Shepherd, Diesel, who completely changed the direction of it.
Diesel wasn’t just my dog — he was the reason I became so passionate about understanding behaviour, training and the relationship we build with our dogs.
Like many German Shepherd owners, I experienced first-hand how quickly a dog can be judged because of their breed, size or appearance. I wanted to understand Diesel better and give him the best life possible, so I sought the help of a local trainer and spent the following year learning and training alongside him.
That experience sparked something much bigger.
I became fascinated by why dogs behave the way they do, how our communication affects them, and how the right combination of relationship, motivation, structure and guidance can completely change life for both dog and owner.
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Where It All Began
In July 2018, my partner Wullie and I started a German Shepherd training club.
What began as a small idea quickly grew into a fantastic community of more than 20 members meeting weekly to train, learn and enjoy their dogs together.
Then, in March 2020, Dugs Paws was born.
What started through my own journey with Diesel had grown into something I wanted to share with other owners — particularly those who felt frustrated, overwhelmed or misunderstood.
Since then, I’ve worked with dogs of all breeds, ages and personalities, helping owners build better communication, greater confidence and stronger relationships with their dogs.
And I’m still learning.
Dog training never stands still, and neither should a good trainer. I continue to develop my knowledge, work alongside other trainers and explore different approaches so I can keep improving what I offer the dogs and owners who come to me.
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How I Train
My approach is balanced, relationship-based and individual to the dog in front of me.
I don’t believe every dog should be trained in exactly the same way.
Dogs are individuals. Their genetics, breed, personality, previous experiences, motivation and environment all influence their behaviour.
Some dogs need confidence.
Some need motivation and play.
Some need more structure and clearer boundaries.
Some need help learning how to slow down and switch off.
Most need a mixture of everything.
I use play, food, praise, movement and engagement to motivate and reward dogs, alongside clear boundaries, structure, guidance and fair corrections where appropriate. For me, balanced training means being able to tell a dog when they’ve got something right, but also being able to clearly communicate when a behaviour isn’t acceptable.
It’s not about being harsh, it’s about being clear, fair and consistent.
I also don’t believe training should revolve around equipment. Different dogs may benefit from different training tools, and anything we use should be appropriate for the individual dog, introduced correctly and used with understanding.
We train the dog in front of us — not the training ideology.
More Than Just Obedience
I’m not interested in creating robots.
Of course, skills such as recall, loose lead walking, stays and impulse control matter — but there’s much more to a good relationship than obedience. I want owners to understand their dogs.
I want dogs to enjoy working with their owners.
And I want the training we do together to actually work when you leave the training session and go back to normal life.
That might mean walking calmly through a busy town, settling at a café, passing another dog without losing their head, coming back when called or simply learning how to relax at home.
That’s why so much of our training happens in real environments, around real distractions, dealing with real-life situations.
Real Training for Real Life.
The Dogs Behind Dugs Paws 🐾
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