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First cohort
The one where you have scanned the whole street before you have even clipped the lead on. You pick the quiet route. You go at the odd hour. You have got the treats in your pocket and your hand half on the harness before anything has even happened. You have been pulled over more than once. Your world has got very small.
And then a dog comes round the corner.
He has seen it before you have. The stare, the stiffening, and then he is off: barking, lunging, dragging you towards it or away from it.
The other owner looks at you. You are saying “sorry, he’s friendly, he’s just…” and you are not even sure that is true any more.
By the time you are home, your shoulder hurts, your dog is panting on the floor, and you are thinking the thing you have thought a hundred times:
I just want to walk my dog.
What Another Six Months Of This Looks Like
Reactivity does not sit still. Every walk where your dog rehearses the reaction, the pattern gets a little deeper and the trigger distance gets a little bigger.
And it is not just the dog…
It is you walking less, because walks have become a nightmare. It is your stress going down the lead and coming back up it.
It is a dog who is under-exercised and under-stimulated, which makes the next walk worse.
The dog that used to react at twenty metres often starts reacting at forty.
The dog that only reacted to big dogs starts noticing joggers too.
It is the 4am routine becoming permanent. It is the slow decision to stop going anywhere with him at all.
Most owners we speak to have already spent money on this: a class where they were told to wait it out and he got worse, a behaviourist who said increase the distance and it made no difference, a course they did not finish. Not because they did not try. Most have spent more on this than they would like to admit.
Because none of it gave them someone looking at their dog, week after week, and adjusting the plan as they went.
If that is you, you are not a bad owner and your dog is not a bad dog. You have been handed advice built for dogs that can still think.
Owners Who Have Written To Us Put It Like This
Real words from dog owners who told us about their walks:
“She can be sat no problem, then try to walk past and she lunges from nowhere. Tried behaviourists, not helpful.”
“He pulls and pulls, leash completely out of my hand if he sees another dog. Last time dragged me to the ground and broke a finger.”
“We either take him out at 4am, or any other time he is muzzled.”
“I’m at my wits’ end with her. It’s so stressful walking with her. I would just like a calm dog.”
“Stares, then lunges, barks. Yet he will play with other strange dogs when off lead.”
“I have had many trainers but none can resolve our problem.”
“He’s often not into treats when he’s over aroused by other dogs.”
If that sounds like your walks, it is not a character flaw in your dog.
This programme starts somewhere else than the advice you have had so far.
Why This Works When “Just Train Harder” Has Not
Needs first. Then management. Then, and only then, training.
Most reactivity advice starts with the lead in your hand: a cue, a treat, more distance, wait it out. It falls apart on the pavement, because a dog who is already over threshold cannot take the treat, let alone learn from it. Amelia’s programme is built in the opposite order, and the order is the whole point:
1. Needs first. A reactive dog is usually running hot before the walk even starts, and often because you are too: he reads your arm before he reads the street. Get that right and you are working with a dog who has room to think.
2. Then management. Before any training goes on top, the reaction has to stop being rehearsed on every walk. Management is not avoiding the problem, it is what protects the training.
3. Then, and only then, training. A dog whose needs are met and who has stopped rehearsing can learn something new to do when a trigger appears. Taught in that order it has a chance of sticking. Taught on its own, it rarely does.
What six weeks with Amelia is built to give you:
A dog who is reacting less and recovering faster, and an owner who is too
Walking past a dog instead of crossing the road
A plan for your dog, adjusted week by week as Amelia sees him
Seeing it coming before he does, and knowing what to do
A walk that is a walk again, not a job
What this is not: a promise that your dog walks calmly past every dog by week six. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.
Six Weeks, Three Topics, One Dog: Yours
Every Tuesday at 7pm UK time you are on a live group call with Amelia and the rest of the cohort, 25 owners at most.
The weeks alternate: one week Amelia teaches the topic in depth, the next week the call is spent on the cohort’s videos, yours included, and each plan is adjusted.
The topic call runs around two hours. The review call is shorter and is all about what happened on your walks. The thing people fear most about doing this online is doing it wrong with nobody there to tell them. That is what the weekly video review is for. Between calls you have pre-recorded training material and example videos, so you can see how something is done before you try it with your own dog.
Every week, whatever the topic:
This Is For Dogs Who…
Bark, lunge, growl or freeze at other dogs, people, cyclists, joggers, cars or traffic while on the lead. Fine at home, and it is the outside world that falls apart.
Pull you over when they spot a trigger
Frustrated greeter or fearful dog: both are over threshold and both need the same order of work. Amelia adjusts the plan to which one you have.
Meet Amelia Steele
“I knew I could bring something more to the table.”
Amelia Steele
Reactivity & Aggression Specialist
Amelia is a qualified dog trainer and behaviourist who specialises in reactivity and aggression, holds the VSA-PDT qualification from the Victoria Stilwell Academy and is a member of the IAABC and the UK Dog Behaviour and Training Charter.
Amelia works exclusively with methods that are force-free and science-based.
Amelia’s story started in 2018 with Cassius, an eight-week-old German Shepherd puppy.
When the advice on offer did not fit Cassius, Amelia retrained in force-free methods and has since worked with dog owners and animal charities across the world, including hands-on fieldwork with shelter dogs in Romania.
Since 9 September Amelia has run the weekly reactivity call for our Premium members at Stressless Dogs, every week.
Watching Amelia work through members’ dogs on those calls is why we asked for this programme.
What Amelia’s private clients say: “Amelia is an excellent dog trainer. Her knowledge is extremely wide ranging and in our case she has helped our 4 year old Vizsla to get over a recent attack he had suffered.” (Eric) “Sammy has come leaps and bounds since working with Amelia and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her.” (Sammy’s owner, Border Collie)
These are from Amelia’s one-to-one clients, with Amelia’s permission. This is the first cohort of the group programme, so we are not going to show you testimonials for it that do not exist yet. What we can show you is who is teaching it.
Everything That Is Included
Six weeks, one specialist, one dog: yours.
First cohort: 25 places
You have already spent more than this on advice nobody reviewed.
This time, someone watches your dog every week.
£500 in one payment
or two payments of £275 (£550 in total). Charged in GBP, roughly $660 USD in full or 2 x $360.
Free cancellation until 1 November, and Amelia checks your dog first
Reserve your place now, do the onboarding, meet the group. If you decide before 1 November that it is not for you, you get every penny back. No questions. And it works the other way too: Amelia reads every onboarding form and watches every baseline video personally before 1 November. If Amelia thinks your dog needs one-to-one work instead of the group, we refund you in full and tell you so. Your money is not at risk until a specialist has looked at your dog.
After 1 November the free cancellation ends, because a place you give up is one someone else could not have. Your statutory rights are not affected.
25 places. When they are gone, the cart closes. There is no second cohort date.
Buying Is The Start, Not The Wait
You do not sit around until 1 November.
Tuesday 3 November, 7pm UK: first live group call.
Today you join the WhatsApp group with Amelia and the cohort. This week you fill in the onboarding form: your dog, the triggers, what you have tried, what a bad walk looks like.
Before the first group call you film a short baseline video of a normal walk and send it in the WhatsApp group. Amelia reviews it before you have even met, so the first call is already about your dog. If the video shows that your dog needs one-to-one work instead of the group, Amelia says so and you get a full refund before 1 November.
Reserve your place and start the onboarding today.
This Programme Is Not For Everyone
Amelia reviews every video personally, so we would rather be honest about who it fits.
Here is how you know if it is right for you…
This is NOT for you if:
You cannot physically hold your dog on a lead, or walk him with safe equipment. Amelia covers handling in the management weeks, but cannot be at the end of your lead
But this IS for you if:
If you belong to the second group, reserve your place below. Not sure? Email Grace at grace@stresslessdogs.com and she will give you an honest answer before you pay anything.
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Questions People Ask Before They Join
My dog has bitten another dog. Can I join?
It depends. A scuffle at the park with no injury, yes. A dog who has caused injury, or who has bitten a person, needs one-to-one work first. Email Grace at grace@stresslessdogs.com with what happened and she will give you an honest answer before you pay anything. And if you do join, Amelia sees your onboarding form and baseline video before 1 November; if Amelia thinks the group is not the right place for your dog, you get a full refund and honest advice.
Is my dog aggressive, or scared?
From the pavement you usually cannot tell, and that is the point. A frightened dog, a frustrated greeter and a dog who means it can all look like barking and lunging on a lead. The plan is different for each: a fearful dog needs distance and a way out before anything else, a frustrated greeter needs an outlet and a different way to get to the other dog, and both need the same order of work first. Amelia works out which one you have from your baseline video and the first calls, not from a text box. If there is a real bite risk Amelia will tell you, and tell you what to do instead.
He was attacked once and has been reactive ever since. Can that still change?
Yes, and most of the dogs in this programme have a story like that: a rescue, an attack, a bad experience at a class. What changed cannot be undone, but how he feels when a dog appears can. That is why the programme starts with needs and management rather than training: first the dog has to stop rehearsing the fear on every walk, then there is room to teach him something new.
Is this for frustrated greeters as well as fearful dogs?
Yes. The dog who lunges because he wants to say hello and the dog who lunges because he wants the other dog gone look different, but they are both over threshold and both need the same order of work: needs, management, then training. Amelia adjusts the plan to which one you have.
Are the calls one-to-one or with a group?
With the group, online. Your dog is at home with you, not in a room with 24 other dogs. Every Tuesday the whole cohort, 25 owners at most, is on the call with Amelia. The teaching week is for everyone; in the review week Amelia goes through the videos that came in, so you learn from the other dogs as much as from your own. The video review itself is personal: Amelia watches your clip and gives feedback on your dog, your timing and your handling.
What if I can’t make Tuesday 7pm?
Every group call is recorded and you can send in your video for review whether or not you were live. But the review weeks are where Amelia works through the cohort’s videos, yours included, so plan to be there for most of them.
How much time does this take each week?
The call (two hours in a topic week, shorter in a review week), one video to film and send, and short daily practice on walks you are already doing. This is not a programme that adds an hour a day.
I’m a Premium member and I already get Amelia’s Wednesday call. Why would I pay for this?
The Wednesday call is open Q&A for everyone, on whatever comes up that week. This is six weeks on one problem, with Amelia reviewing your videos every week and a plan for your dog that Amelia adjusts as the videos come in. Afterwards, the Wednesday call is where you keep it going.
My dog is older. Is it too late?
No. The first four weeks, needs and management, work at any age, and for an older dog they are usually where most of the change comes from. The training in weeks five and six simply moves at his pace. If pain or stiffness is part of the picture, say so in the onboarding form; Amelia will build that into the plan.
My dog won’t take treats when he’s wound up. Does that matter?
That is exactly the problem the first four weeks are built around. A dog who will not eat is a dog over threshold. The programme starts with getting him to a place where he can, rather than trying to train through it.
I have two reactive dogs.
Join with one. Working them separately is almost always the right call to begin with, and Amelia will tell you how to bring the second dog in.
I’ve already done the Stressless Communication Course. Is this different?
Yes. The course gives you the foundation: reading your dog, calming signals, the basics of a calmer home. This programme is a specialist, six-week, hands-on track for one problem, with Amelia looking at your dog every week. If you have done the course, you will move faster.
Is there a guarantee?
Free cancellation until 1 November, full refund, no questions. It cuts both ways: before 1 November Amelia reads your onboarding form and watches your baseline video personally, and if the group is not the right place for your dog, we refund you in full and tell you honestly. After 1 November the free cancellation ends, because the places are limited and a place you give up is one someone else could not have. Your statutory rights are not affected.
Does Amelia use corrections, slip leads or e-collars?
No. Force-free, science-based methods only. If you are looking for a trainer who will “show him who’s boss”, this is not it.
What happens after the six weeks?
You leave with your dog’s plan, the call recordings, the pre-recorded training material and the games you have learned. Premium members at Stressless Dogs keep access to Amelia’s weekly reactivity call for ongoing support.
Ready To Reserve Your Place?
You now have all the information you need:
The question is: what do you want to do now?
You can continue as you are now, and keep planning your walks around other dogs.
Or you can have a specialist look at your dog every week, and start walking past dogs instead of away from them.
A plan built around your dog, adjusted as he changes.
Click the button below to reserve your place in the first cohort:
Onboarding starts today
Weekly video reviews by Amelia
Free cancellation until 1 November
25 places, cart closes when they are gone
100% force-free & punishment-free
See you on the first call!
Amee de Bruijn
Founder of Stressless Dogs
