Experience

I’m Alun and I’m the owner and founder of Beacon Dog training. Here’s a bit about me, my background, my education and my continued work.
 
I was brought up around dogs and dog training as a child and got my very own dog at the age of 12 (a Whippet named Jazzi-Blue). After attending classes with her, and disagreeing with the methods and treatment of the dogs during training, I left the class after a few weeks and dedicated my spare time to training Jazzi through play – which worked perfectly for us both.
 
Whilst at school, I worked part-time with dogs in the boarding kennel environment, where my job soon became training the dogs of the Kennel’s owner as well as dogs boarding with us.
 
On leaving school, I had a career outside of the dog training world (although continuing to train my own dogs of course) for many years, before returning to my true passion.
 
On my return, and due to the negative side of training that I had experienced in classes as a child, I wanted to make sure that I gained the knowledge that I needed to allow me to train using the most up-to-date, ethical methods. So, I began my Education with The Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT). Through my years of study, I qualified as a trainer by gaining a level 3 qualification in the Principles of Dog Training and Behaviour, I then went on to qualify as a behaviourist by gaining a level 5 qualification in Canine Behaviour: Analysis and Application. My education was provided by the IMDT and IMDTB, both are formally accredited by the Open College Network.
 
Since then, I have spent 14 years providing everything from basic training to complex behaviour modification, have helped many hundreds of clients and their dogs - and continue to do so with great success. I’m also able to train in specialist areas such as scent detection and tracking.
 
In addition to my own work, I’m also an instructor, assessor, course presenter and mentor with the IMDT, providing education, continued development and mentorship to trainers all over the UK.