About Down Dog

What We're About

If you want the best for your dog, you're in the right place

To make your Pet Perfect, YOU need to be trained. Using games & reward-based training, we help you and your dog build a much closer bond so that YOU are the most interesting thing in your dog's life

Down Dog Training & Behaviour was set up in 2008 and has grown from strength to strength. Down Dog's aim is for everyone to enjoy, understand, and have fun with, their dogs.

Whether it's:

bringing up your new puppy or rescue dog the best way possible to prevent any future problems
signing up for group training or a personal package to teach your pet to be a great family member
or
getting help for an existing behaviour problem you've got with your dog

We train you in your own home or at our conveniently located base. You can find directions to them HERE.

We don't do cheap, average dog training. If that's what you're looking for, you're in the wrong place. But if you want the best for your dog, Down Dog's the place for you.

Who We Are

Carol Clark - Owner, Lead Trainer & Behaviourist

As a child, Carol wanted two things. The first was to be a doctor. The second was to have a dog - but her parents said no. She worked hard to achieve aim number one in 1981 and eventually worked in various medical jobs at senior level in the NHS. Having married another doctor, she achieved her second aim, getting a Border Collie called Ben in 1983. Several other dogs followed, she learnt a lot about training dogs and then she taught at a local dog training club. Some years later she took on a dog with severe fear aggression. To help him, and to avoid being bitten so often, she trained as a dog behaviourist, too.
In 2008, after 7 reorganisations in 11 years each requiring her to reapply for her own job, she got fed up, took early retirement and relocated to the beautiful Ards peninsula. Being easily bored and wanting a new challenge, she set up Down Dog Training and Behaviour. Carol has over 35 years experience of dog training and behaviour work and there's not a lot she hasn't seen or done by now. She has the honour to be the first Kennel Club Accredited Instructor for Companion Dog training (at advanced level) in Northern Ireland and the first and only Kennel Club Accredited Instructor in Behavioural Training in Ireland. She holds the Advanced Diploma in Canine Behaviour Management (with Distinction), is a Guild of Dog Trainers Master Trainer (GoDT 138) and is a Qualified International Dog Training Instructor. Her passion is teaching people how to understand, train and help their dogs so they can have a perfect life together.

Gus - Original Down Doggy

I am quite well known for being the titular character of my mammy's second book. Don't believe everything you read though, I'm a good boy! So good, I can even train my mammy!

Gareth Smyth - Trainer

Gareth has been involved with dogs his whole life. He attended a Down Dog puppy course in 2013 and was so impressed he came to join us! Gareth has completed the Think Dog course with Sarah Whitehead and has undertaken several other courses with top international trainers including Ian Dunbar, John Rogerson and Chirag Patel. He has been with Down Dog since 2014 and progressed through assistantship to become a Trainer in 2017.
He competes very successfully in KC Rally, competing as a member of the Northern Ireland & Isle of Man team at Crufts 2019. He runs our Perfect Pet and other training courses, and assists with the Doggy Doctor Behaviour 1-2-1 work. He has been instrumental in helping develop and running Down Dog's Graduate Get-together - Putting it into Practice (PiiP) courses.
Gareth is also the technical lead for Down Dog and helps develop, film, edit and publish our webinars and online courses. He also bravely puts up with Carol's technological ineptitude and stops her crashing the Down Dog website too often.

Tippi May Hadron

Starting life in an animal sanctuary was not something Gareth could stomach. I was a young six weeks old when he saw me and couldn't bear to leave me there for even one night. I was suppossed to just be fostered for two nights, but I batted my my eyelashes and got him to keep me for... a little while longer.

Catherine Moore - Assistant Trainer

Catherine first came to us for work experience in 2017 and we liked her so much she's stayed.

Catherine has always loved animals and, after much pleading, got her first puppy in October 2018. Regular email subscribers have been watching the weekly updates of her adventures and ups & downs with Cali. She has successfully completed her Animal Care course at college and has recently also started her own Grooming Business in Lisbane. She is undertaking suitable training courses with top trainers to develop her knowledge and skills, starting with the intermediate Think Dog course with Sarah Whitehead.
She helps run all our basic courses and is learning about our more advanced classes. As Carol gets more decrepit, she will take on more and more work within Down Dog.

California Dreaming - L-plated doggy

My mummy needed a little companion so I decided to steal her heart! Thankfully she doesn't mind all of my extra skin, she says beauty is on the inside anyway. We love to go out and enjoy the outdoors together which is where we do most of our training, but I must admit I think I'm doing a very good job at training her!