A Fairy Tails handler in hi-vis with a small dog on the lead at the foot of a steep flight of stone steps in a wooded Hastings park

Intensive behaviour training · Hastings, East Sussex

Real change — your dog home every night

Structured one-to-one behaviour training, five days a week, using our TAR method — with full day school included. All the work of board & train, but your dog sleeps at home.

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TAR method — focused, no more than two issues at a time
Full day school included, five days a week
Home every night + parent training from week 5

One or two big things you’d love to finally fix?

Intensive training is for the focused, stubborn issues — the ones that need proper repetition to shift, not a weekly class. We train five days a week on what matters most:

Pulling on the lead
Recall
Loose-lead walking
Reactivity to dogs or people
Jumping up
Focus & impulse control
Door & barrier manners
Limited anxiety-related issues

TAR works best on no more than two issues at a time — so if your list is longer, tell us the one big thing you’d most like cracked, and we’ll prioritise together. (For a whole-dog reset with overnight stays, that’s our Board & Train.)

Intensive one-to-one training in the park at The Fairy Tails — Focused work, in the real world

Our method

TAR training — Train · Adjust · Repeat

The key ingredient to successful dog training is not a golden solution that only a dog trainer knows — it is in the repetition.

The repetition of training protocols at a suitable distance, for a timed duration, with below-threshold distractions is far more likely to succeed than an ad-hoc approach to an issue. Repeat – treat – Repeat – treat – Adjust – and then Repeat. Sometimes, it is also known as creating a conditioned emotional response.

Our intensive plans feature TAR training and consist of well-planned, structured sessions, five days a week, for issues such as lead walking, recall, pull training and limited anxiety-related issues — carried out by a member of our staff. TAR is only effective against no more than two issues at a time, but is available to adult dogs and puppies alike.

Why it works

How does it help?

Knowing when to stop

We break the training into shorter sessions, where we focus on one key behaviour at a time. It’s better to do multiple short sessions with breaks than one long one to keep your dog on task and focused. It’s not about how long a session is, it’s about how effective it is.

Consistency

We make sure every dog handler uses the same cues, gestures, timing, and tones — and a number of trainers take turns leading a session to ensure that your dog responds equally to all.

Exposure to places

We train in different environments, so your dog knows that cues mean the same thing no matter where they are.

Working our way up

We gradually increase distractions throughout training sessions to get your dog used to doing their behaviour even when more exciting things are going on. We reward consistently with high-value training treats.

The line we won’t cross

Pain-free dog training — and exactly what that rules out

We are pain-free dog trainers. Nothing we put on your dog, and nothing we do with your dog, is designed to work by hurting them — no choke chain, no prong collar, no electric collar, not on the toughest case, not on the worst day.

We never use: Choke chains

A sliding metal loop that tightens around your dog’s neck whenever the lead goes tight, and only loosens when the pressure comes off. Repeated use can damage the windpipe, and a sudden jerk can strain the neck or spine.
We never use: Prong collars

Metal links with inward-facing points that press into the skin around your dog’s neck every time the lead tightens. Repeated use can bruise, break the skin and damage the nerves underneath.
We never use: Electric collars (e-collars, shock collars)

Contact points on your dog’s neck that deliver an electric shock by remote control. Even on “low”, it works by being unpleasant enough to stop the dog — who may link that to whatever they were looking at, often the other dog.

What we use instead

Positive reinforcement dog training, applied properly — and it works on the hard cases too, not only the easy ones.

Read what choke chains, prong collars and e-collars actually do to a dog →

Positive reinforcement. We pay for the behaviour we want with food your dog will actually work for, plus toys and play — so they learn what to do, not only what to avoid.
Work kept below your dog’s threshold. We set the distance and duration your dog can cope with, then close the gap as they steady, rather than correcting them for not coping.
Counter-conditioning. We change how your dog feels about the thing they react to, rather than suppressing the reaction and leaving the feeling underneath. On our training programmes that work happens where the problem does: the high street, cafés, traffic, the seafront.
Ordinary, well-fitted kit. A well-fitted harness, a non-retractable lead, a collar with an ID tag — ordinary kit, nothing corrective. Your programme’s own kit list is the one to pack from.

Why we say pain-free, not force-free: a lead, a collar, a harness, a muzzle where safety requires one, a nail trim, grooming restraints, a bathing noose, holding a dog steady in a busy street — every one of those applies a degree of force, and not one of them is there to cause pain. Force-free isn’t a promise any trainer can honestly keep. Pain-free is.

The journey

What the two months look like

Every dog’s plan is tailored with you before they start — but here’s the typical shape of a full intensive course. Your dog trains with us by day and comes home every evening.

Week 1

Settling in & assessment

Your dog joins us for full day school, meets the crew and settles into a calm routine while we assess exactly what we’re working with. A relaxed dog is a dog who can learn — and they’re home with you every evening from day one.
Week 2

Foundations & first target

Core calm behaviours and the first of your two priority issues, taught in the quiet around the barn — space and tranquillity, no distractions.
Weeks 3–4

TAR in motion

Train · Adjust · Repeat on the first issue: structured repetition at the right distance and duration, with distractions layered in gradually as your dog grows more reliable.
Week 5

Parent training begins

You come in to learn the cues, timing and tones we use, so your dog’s new responses transfer cleanly to home and your everyday walks. This is the part that makes it last.
Weeks 6–7

Second issue & the real world

The second priority issue, plus real-world proofing: on-lead at local parks, along the seafront promenade and through busy high streets — wherever your dog’s plan needs us to be.
Week 8

Tighten up & handover

The last pieces are polished one-to-one, with a final parent session, and we hand back a dog you can take anywhere — plus a simple schedule to keep it all going.

Puppies are different: puppies aged 12–16 weeks run a focused four-week course, and they board with us rather than coming in by the day. Puppies travelling to us from London and beyond board for the whole four weeks; families local to Hastings can keep it flexible — home each evening, home at weekends, or boarding right through.

Included by day

Full day school is part of the price

Between training sessions your dog isn’t sitting in a kennel — they’re at our day school, walking, playing and socialising with the pack, then home to you every evening. It’s all included in the course price, with no day-rate stacked on top.

The introductory assessment is folded into your dog’s intake, so there’s nothing extra to book or pay for separately.

See what a day at day school looks like

Training days, out in the real world

Your part matters most

You’ll see the progress — every single evening

Because your dog comes home each night, you’re part of the journey from day one. Lasting change is always a partnership — the families who follow through are the ones whose dogs keep blossoming.

A daily handover

At every pick-up we talk you through how the day went — what we worked on, what clicked, and what to gently practise at home that evening.

A weekly summary

Each week you get a written and video summary of where your dog is up to, so you can see the change building session by session.

Parent training, from week 5

You come in to learn your dog’s new language — the same cues, timing and tones we use — so everything transfers cleanly to your everyday walks.

Investment

Programmes & pricing

Our flagship programme

Intensive Dog Training

£2,000 for 2 months

+£300 for large dogs

Dogs with behavioural issues

TAR method (Train, Adjust, Repeat)
Full day school included
Parent training from week 5

Enquire about this programme

Live further away, or prefer your dog to board overnight? The same training, residential, is our Board & Train.

The science

Conditioned Emotional Response (CER)

You may not have heard of the phrase “Conditioned Emotional Response,” abbreviated as CER, but if you own a dog, you have most definitely observed this phenomenon. If your dog pricks his ears and comes racing joyfully in anticipation of a walk every time you grasp the leash, he has formed a CER — but let’s take a deeper look at how it unfolds from a scientific standpoint.

Animals, like humans, are born with a biological system that allows them to experience pleasure and pain, eliciting emotional reactions. In humans, the sound of a drill may create goose bumps if you had a bad dental experience, or the sound of the phone ringing may make your heart race if you link it with the voice of a loved one. These emotional responses occur swiftly and automatically, with little rational thought involved.

Similar reactions occur in dogs. Your dog’s eyes may light up when he hears the click of a clicker because he has learnt to link its sound with rewards. Pleasure-related (appetitive) reactions stimulate approach and contact, while fear-related (aversive) responses urge retreat and avoidance. From an evolutionary standpoint this makes sense: to survive, animals should seek life-sustaining reinforcers and avoid life-threatening events.

How a conditioned emotional response is built

Conditioned emotional reactions are based on associative learning (classical conditioning). In the instance of Pavlov’s dogs, a dog learns through connections that a leash equals a walk, a clicker equals a treat, and a white coat equals food. The brain, nervous system and endocrine system are all involved.

The amygdala — often called the “smoke detector of the brain” — processes memories and emotional reactions, signalling the adrenal cortex to release the hormones (cortisol, adrenaline) that prepare for fight or flight. The dog’s brain operates in a “hardwired,” reflex-like manner in reaction to each event, based on earlier learning by association. This is why standard training approaches aren’t very effective at changing behaviour: we are working on an emotional, not a cognitive, level.

Instead, behaviour modification works because we change emotions through counter-conditioning — one conditioned response to the same stimulus is replaced by another. A good emotional response eventually clashes with, and overrides, the fearful one. During counter-conditioning, neurons are re-joined so the nervous system’s adaptability improves: we change past connections between neurons, transforming a frightened response into a pleasant, pleasurable one. That is the whole point of TAR.

Straight talk

Is intensive training right for your dog?

We’ll always be honest about what we can and can’t do. TAR is brilliant for focused, repetition-led change on no more than two issues at a time — it isn’t a magic wand for a dog’s whole character. If your dog needs something we’re not the right fit for, we’ll tell you and point you in the right direction.

Adult dogs

A two-month course of structured, five-days-a-week training for one or two priority issues. We train on positive reinforcement and never use aversive tools — no choke chain, no prong collar, no e-collar.

Puppies

Puppies aged 12–16 weeks run a focused four-week course — at that age they’re a blank canvas, and four weeks sets a wonderful foundation. They board with us: puppies travelling to us stay for the whole four weeks, while local families can keep it flexible — home each evening, home at weekends, or boarding right through.

Local, and home-ready

Because your dog attends day school daily and goes home each night, intensive training is for local families. Dogs need to be up to date on their vaccinations (DHP, Lepto and Kennel Cough). Not local, or want overnight stays? See Board & Train.

What to bring each day — the kit list

Intensive is a day programme, so there’s no overnight kit — just the day-to-day essentials:

A well-fitted harness with a top handle (Y-shaped — Perfect Fit, Hurtta or similar)
A non-retractable lead, plus a collar with an ID tag
Your dog’s usual food / lunch, named
High-value training treats (plain boiled chicken is perfect)
Fresh water and a travel bowl
Up-to-date vaccination card on your first day

Anything specific to your dog’s plan we’ll agree with you before the first day.

Proof, not promises

Some of our doggy clients in training

We’ll never sell you a guaranteed fix — no honest trainer can. What we can show you is how we actually work, every single day.

Drag to explore

An intensive success story

A real before-and-after from an intensive course — the dog, the two issues, and the change — is coming to this spot.

What our families say

Real words from an intensive-training family are coming here.

Getting started

How our intensive plans work — four simple steps

1

Contact us

Contact us by phone, email, or via the contact form. Tell us your needs by describing your dog’s struggles and tell us your aim.
2

Approve estimate

We’ll prepare a plan for you to review and approve.
3

Training begins

Once we’ve agreed on all the details, we’ll get started!
4

Training ends

Training ends on time, and when you’re satisfied to take over.

This page was last reviewed and updated July 2026.