Welcome to the website of Acorn Dog Training

- A Training School that is dedicated to building in-depth knowledge of the canine human relationship -

To navigate around this site, please click on the paw marks on the left hand side of the screen.

Acorn Dog Training was set up as a small training club in 1991 and has developed from there. We are located in Milton Keynes, which is a new town in the South Midlands region of the United Kingdom. The head trainer is Fran Griffin who is now retired (on health grounds) from the UK Registry Of Canine Behaviourists, a professional body that recognises very high standards of practice. Although she no longer takes on behaviour cases, Fran continues researching dog training methods, and canine behaviour issues, but due to her health problems, now limits herself to running a few puppy classes, and some agility. Despite her academic qualifications in Behaviour Sciences and Cognitive Psychology, her greatest teachers have been the puppies and dogs she has lived with, the many dogs she has encountered over the years, and you the owners. Fran is still able to give advice on behavioural matters to people, and trainers via the phone. To contact Fran, please call 01908 397236 E-mail for details of puppy classes with Fran, please click here.

Glynis Gammie has owned and lived with dogs for over 35 years. Eight years ago she joined the Anglian Wolf Society as a volunteer trainee handler and still spends time working with the wolves every week.

During her training Glynis found herself fascinated with canine behaviour and body language and began to study this in more depth. Subsequently, she has completed several courses in Canine Psychology, recently gaining a certificate in Advanced Canine Psychology, and is currently nearing the end of her Advanced Diploma in Canine Behaviour Management.

In order to gain insight and practical experience with dogs Glynis began working with Fran in November 2004 as a trainee instructor and now takes her own classes. To contact Glynis, please call 01908 562001 or email for details of puppy classes please click here, and adult dog courses click here

Our class assistants are: Lorna Hide, Jess Gammie, Michelle Rust, Julie Thomas VN, Tracey P, Tracy G. and Catherine Armitage. We are looking for new assistants and those who wish to progress further MUST be willing to committ themselves to ongoing study with ourselves and outside institutions.

The whole ethos of Acorn Dog Training School is to inform and show owners how to teach their dogs using positive, kind, fair and effective training methods, and how to create a balanced relationship through trust and respect, rather than fear, and domination. There is no such thing as a "one size glove fits all" method to training dogs, therefore our class sizes are deliberately kept small, so that we are able to tailor our classes to meet your requirements, and your dogs own individual learning needs, based upon our assessments. We also try to make the classes as relaxed, fun and informative as we possibly can, to enable both people and dogs to learn in a calm and friendly environment.

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For full details of classes and current availability, please click on the paw marks on the side menu bar, which will take you through to the appropriate pages.

THINKING OF BUYING A PUPPY?- WHERE NOT TO BUY YOUR PUPPY FROM! PLEASE CLICK THIS LINK AND READ THE ARTICLE PUBLISHED BY THE KENNEL CLUB.

Please call us for some FREE advice BEFORE deciding to buy a puppy. Different breeds have different needs, so you need to research the breed first. There are also a great many pitfalls involved in selecting the right puppy. Are you in contact with reputable breeders? Would you know the signs of a puppy farm dealership if you went to one? There are also many genetic problems, which many perspective owners are unaware of. Please don't be caught out, and end up one of the many who end up broken hearted.

If you don't know where dealerships obtain their puppies from then take a look at these websites for some of the hard facts:

Puppywatch

Hope-UK

Call to end illegal puppy farms and dealerships

Adopting a rescue dog can also result in major problems and heartache. For the cost of a telephone call, we are here to help you in all aspects of selection. Be a happy dog owner. Be fully aware. Know that you are doing the right thing. Please call us today.