Originally from South Wales, Sue Pitcher moved to Cheltenham in 1995. Her love of dogs and other animals started very young. Muffin was her first pet, a dear little tabby kitten that was very affectionate and playful and she also owned five Terrapins, two Budgies and one Hamster. Her grandmother had their first dog when Sue was very young, a Yorkshire Terrier named Dougal but this wasn’t enough for Sue. For years her and her sister begged their parents for a dog of their own. They finally relented and in 1987 they complimented the family with a tiny Welsh Springer Spaniel puppy, they named him Sion. Sion was trained by her father and sister; he became a very successful gundog and show dog. He achieved Best of Breed many times, attended Crufts on more than one occasion and became a favourable stud dog. From his first litter Sue chose another little dog by the name of Griff. They became inseparable with a strong bond; he too was a hard working gun dog and worked on the beating line with her dad.

Much later, Sue and her husband had settled into their first house in Cheltenham and they decided it was time to get a dog of their own. With plenty of research into breeds and what would be suitable, they came across a puppy that needed a loving home. His name was Woody and he was a very active and mischievous Samoyed. They ventured to training classes and really enjoyed them. As their first year passed, Sue decided it was time to get another playmate for her dog. Ella, another Samoyed was rehomed with the Pitchers in May 2004.

Sue became a business partner with Caroline Kelly at Petcarers in late 2004 and both of them eagerly embarked on a clicker training course with the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers www.apdt.co.uk ) in April 2005. Having practised and practised on her own dogs, the clicker opened up a whole new world to dog training for her. Sue and her two Samoyeds then went on to attend Our Way Behaviour Training Classes on the outskirts of Cirencester, run by Lynne Barber and Stella Bagshaw. During this period she also found time to attend a Basic Animal Nursing course in Hartpury College, University of the West of England learning all about First Aid when looking after Petcarers’ animals.

Along with reading various books on the subject, Sue still wanted to further her knowledge and enrolled on a COAPE (Centre of Applied Pet Ethology www.coape.co.uk) Thinking Dog Practical course with Stella Bagshaw and Sarah Whitehead. This covered canine body language and communication, aggression and introducing the clicker and tricks.

Since then Sue has helped train and settle puppies into their new homes with their new owners through the Petcarers one-2-one clicker training courses. Eager to take more courses in Dog Aggression and Behaviour she continues her quest to learn more about our canine friends.