Calmer pets, happier homes, real stories
Every pet is different, but the outcomes speak for themselves. Here are some of the families we've helped.
Ralph
The Brittain Family
Over the past 18 months, Irene Welford-Christie has been working with my family to help my now 23-month-old Whippet, Ralph, with his separation anxiety. Ralph came to our home at 8 weeks old; he was always the more timid one out of his litter but seemed to settle well over the first couple of months as his confidence grew. He would always follow you around the house, but as a breed, they are known as ‘Velcro’ dogs, so this didn’t cause too much concern.
When Ralph was 5 months old, he started to develop very unsettling behaviour; he became very distressed and destructive when left. This was all very new to us, as a family had all grown up with dogs and had never experienced this level of anxiety. We spoke to Irene as we could not see a way forward and were questioning whether what we had done bringing a puppy into our lives and whether we could continue.
Irene advised us to stop everything we were doing and to hit the reset button. Ralph was put on medication to help with his anxiety, and we very slowly introduced Ralph to different methods of helping him cope on his own. This was not a quick fix and has taken many months for Ralph to be comfortable being left for short periods on his own. Thankfully, today we are in a position that we can leave Ralph for a couple of hours at a time, and it is lovely to see on the camera that when he is left, he has grown in confidence and learned that being alone is ok. The progress has been life-changing, not just for Ralph but for us too. We can now leave the house knowing our dog is calm and settled, something we never thought would be possible.
We honestly can't thank you enough for everything you've done to help Ralph overcome separation anxiety. Before working with you, we felt completely overwhelmed and heartbroken seeing how distressed Ralph became whenever we had to leave the house. It was affecting all of us, and we weren't sure things would ever improve.
From the moment we met you, your kindness, patience, and genuine understanding gave us hope. You never made us feel judged, and you took the time to explain everything clearly while creating a plan that suited both Ralph and our family.
We will always be grateful for your help and wouldn't hesitate to recommend you to anyone whose dog is struggling with separation anxiety. You have truly made a lasting difference to ours and Ralph’s lives.
Charlie
Gareth, Wendy and Charlie
Charlie is our much-loved Working Cocker Spaniel. We brought him into the world on 13th March 2013, when his late mum Lola gave birth to 6 gorgeous puppies. We decided to keep the first born, and from the very start he was a lively typical working cocker, with endless energy and enthusiasm to please.
Sadly, his mum died in 2023 when Charlie was 10 years old. This was the first time he had ever been on his own. This brought on a change in behaviour and he became a very anxious dog, who would get very stressed if he didn’t know where we were. This meant we couldn’t leave him alone.
We also noticed he was slowing down and was not as keen as he always had been to do the long walks we were accustomed to.
We sought advice Irene Welford-Christie. Along with the anxiety, she thought that Charlie was suffering from some arthritic pain in his hips (something his mother had also suffered) This along with the loss of his mum and closely being followed by the upheaval of a house move and subsequent renovations were a lot for poor Charlie to deal with.
Irene gave us behavioural counselling on how to deal with the separation anxiety. She helped us to identify the trigger events and came up with action plans to help Charlie learn to cope with his new situation. Irene also prescribed pain relief and medication to help Charlie stay calm.
Charlie is now much calmer, happier and able to cope.
Kiera
Louise, Martin, Kiera & Nala
We cannot thank Dr. Irene Welford-Christie enough for the incredible impact she has had on our 4-year-old Samoyed, Kiera. When we first started working with Irene, Kiera was struggling with severe anxiety. We were dealing with house soiling, immense stress around walks, grooming challenges, and resource-related tension with our other dog, Nala. We felt stuck, but Irene’s structured, compassionate, and science-based approach has completely turned things around.
Since moving from the "Reset" phase into her "Rewire" programme, the progress has been nothing short of amazing.
Kiera has completely overcome toileting in the house, a massive milestone for her comfort and our peace of mind.
We have transitioned from stressful "pack" walks to being able to take Kiera out on peaceful, stress-free solo walks.
Kiera is overall a much calmer, happier dog. The tension between her and Nala has improved significantly, and they are getting on so much better.
Grooming went from a stressful chore to a relaxed activity, with Kiera now calmly tolerating sessions of 10 minutes or more.
What we appreciate most about Irene is her compassionate, realistic, structured, and highly encouraging approach. She doesn't just give you a list of commands; she explains the psychology behind the behaviour, helping us understand "trigger stacking" and how to build Kiera's optimism through gentle desensitisation and counterconditioning. She also celebrates the "wins" with us, which has kept us incredibly motivated.
We are continuing our ongoing support with Irene, setting new goals, and working hard to give Kiera the absolute best, happiest life possible. If you have a troubled or anxious dog and are looking for a highly skilled, deeply empathetic behaviourist, we cannot recommend Irene highly enough. She has truly transformed our family's life!
Let's help your pet change their behaviour, by changing how they feel
Get in touch to discuss a referral, or find out more about how we can help.
