Learn | Train | Perform
Who are LTPK9?
LTPK9 are an independent, family-owned and run company based just outside of Epsom, Surrey. We specialise in Behavioural Management and Modification as well as offering training services for everything from new puppies right up to your working-line sport or service animal. We are also able to train therapy animals used to support children and adults on the autistic spectrum or with complex learning needs.
Learn | Train | Perform
Why LTP?
Hi, I’m Ben. My partner Jen and I, along with our own dogs, make up LTPK9 – an independent family dog training team from Epsom, Surrey.
LTP stands for Learn, Train, Perform. It’s the sequence by which everything is perfected. First we learn the subject matter. We begin to understand it and explore it. Next we train it. We practice over and over until we are comfortable with it. We push the boundaries of our comfort zones until we get good. Then finally, we perform in any situation. This is the ethos we apply to dog training. It takes time and consistency but with the right support and encouragement it doesn’t have to be a painful process. The results are always worth it, especially where your dog is concerned.
When we got our first dog, we found that we didn’t know where to start. Everyone had their own opinion on how we should train our dog but nobody could really explain why we should do it that way, except for “because you have to be in charge” or “because a friend of a friend of a friend said so”. It somehow didn’t sit right with us. One person would tell us that you have to “be the alpha!” and put your dog in its place constantly to earn it’s respect, but at the very next turn someone else was telling us that you should reward everything and ignore bad behaviour like it didn’t exist. It made no sense. We had nobody to help us sift through the mindboggling amount of information being thrown at us. We had to go it alone.
It wasn’t long before I found myself in over my head. I couldn’t work out why the clicker wasn’t working like the packaging said it should. I couldn’t get this new puppy to stop chewing on me with it’s little razor-teeth. Why was it constantly whining?! I was sinking – no, I was drowning. I eventually enrolled back in college, studying Canine Behaviour and Psychology under the expert tutorage of Mr James Conroy, Principle BCCS; excelling in the academic field of what is essentially how dogs learn and why they do the seemingly unexplainable things that they do, qualifying as a Canine Behaviourist with Distinction. I started training dogs for free where I could alongside training our own, until word of mouth started to spread and we were becoming inundated with calls to help people who weren’t getting the results they wanted.
Spend 5 minutes on the internet and you’ll see that every dog trainer seems to go on about “the secret to…” or “the hidden tips and tricks that nobody tells you…” and in order to learn anything you’d have to subscribe to an ‘online course’ or a ‘package’ specifically for that one thing you wanted to get your dog to do – walking nicely on the lead, socialising, not jumping up at guests etc. Everything has it’s own price and everyone contradicts each other, or trash-talks other trainers. We quickly realised that the only thing two dog trainers agree on is that they both think the third one doesn’t know what they’re talking about! In 2021, finally sick of it all, we set up LTPK9 to provide a no-nonsense, straight talking training and behavioural service, where the time you pay for is your time to look at learning whatever you want with the full support and guidance of someone who’s been there and made the mistakes so that you don’t have to. No sales pitches, no fluctuating costs and fees for different ‘academies’ or courses. We wanted to offer people somewhere they could go to learn what they want to learn about their dogs that isn’t all about the money. We use an ethical approach of up to date balanced training methods supported by decades of research and behavioural studies from across the globe to help you get the best from your dog and support you in developing the confidence to handle your dog for the rest of your life together. More important than all of that – we use experience.
Since starting out with our first dog, I have immersed myself in all things dog training; enjoying success in Working Trials and Ringsport. I’ve been privileged enough to find mentorship with one of England’s most successful service dog handlers (6x Service Dog of the Year, 2x inter-County Police trials champion and the first person to work a Malinois in law enforcement in the UK) and I’m lucky enough to be able to regularly train with top-end competitors in both sports along with a number of Service Dog handlers. In 2022 I was invited to “run” (decoy) at the UK Working Trials PD Championships. Over the next few years I am hoping to pursue further higher academic qualifications and obtain decoy certification with the NVBK (National Verbond van Belgiche Kynologen) in Europe.
We currently have two working dogs of our own – Cassie-Jean, a German Shepherd rescue and Koda, a purpose bred working-line Belgian Malinois. It’s no surprise then that we’re no happier than when we’re helping someone get to grips with their new four legged friend or than when I’m in a bite-suit working a powerful sport dog (with Jen cheering for the dog, of course…).
We cant wait to meet you and your dog.
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Happy Clients
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Happy Pups
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Straight talking dog training
Put your mind at ease
At LTPK9 we put your dog first above all else
A dog will never lie to you. But often we misunderstand what they’re trying to tell us. By learning to understand them better and learning to communicate clearer, we can build a better relationship with our dogs. A better relationship means a happier, more fulfilled dog. A happy, fulfilled dog is a far less stressed dog. We will always put your dog first and seek to ensure their needs are met.
Learn | Train | Perform
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Are you interested in working together?
Call us for a free telephone consultation.