The Dog Mentor Blog

🐾 Two Fantastic Dog Mentor Check-Ins with Andy! 🧡 Our brilliant trainer Andy was out and about today, visiting two of our established Dog Mentor teams to catch up, offer support and see first-hand the amazing difference they're making in their schools. This morning, Andy was at Birchills CofE Primary School with Julie and Dougie, before heading to Holy Trinity CofE this afternoon to spend time with Stella and Maggie. It's always wonderful to return to our Dog Mentor schools

🐾 A Wonderful (and Slightly Wet!) Day with Griffin! 🧡 I was at Maple Tree Primary School in Broadstairs today to welcome another lovely new Dog Mentor to our family! The wonderful Griffin was joined by his owner Laura and despite the rather wet weather, we had a fantastic day together! It was lovely to spend time with Griffin and Laura, exploring how he can become part of everyday school life and the many different ways he can support the children and wider school community

🐾 A Wonderful Day with Benny in Lincolnshire! 🧡 I had the great pleasure of welcoming the lovely Benny to our Dog Mentor family today, along with his owners Georgia and Anna! They are part of Need Bright Solutions?, a fantastic organisation that delivers interventions across several schools in the Lincolnshire area. We were very kindly hosted for the day by Winchelsea Primary School in Sleaford, one of the schools they work with and it was lovely to spend the day there. We

🐾 A Brilliant Day with Bramble at Melbourne Junior School! 🧡 While Jenny Sleath was having a fantastic day with Micah in Gloucestershire, I was having a wonderful day of my own at Melbourne Junior School in Derby! I was there to welcome the lovely Bramble to our Dog Mentor family, along with her owner Sarah and Dog Professional Sarah. We had a fantastic day together exploring how Bramble can become part of everyday school life and the many different ways she can support the

🐾 Picture Perfect Micah at Eastington Primary School! 🧡 Today Jenny Sleath was at Eastington Primary School, South Gloucester, working with marvellous Micah, her owner and Headteacher, Natalie, and Teaching Assistants, Julie and Tia. It just happened to be school photograph day so it was important that new staff member Micah was in shot! Everyone agreed that she looked amazing in her new Dog Mentor coat! The school was very welcoming and Class 4 really showed that they know

🐾 Jenny’s Back on Home Turf with Eden at Ysgol Plasmawr! 🧡 Jenny Sleath started the week on Home Turf today at Ysgol Plasmawr in Cardiff. Jenny worked with the lovely Cocker Spaniel, Eden and lead teacher of the Student Resource Base, Ieuan Jones. Jenny worked with several of the pupils, who demonstrated empathy and excellent behaviour around Eden, demonstrating they are Dog Mentor ready. Eden is a wonderful new addition to our Dog Mentor family - she is very enthusiastic a

🐾 A Wonderful Way to Finish the Week with Kiki! 🧡 To finish off another fantastic week, I was at Greenvale School in Catford today to welcome their lovely new Dog Mentor Kiki to our family! Kiki was joined by her owner Katie and Dog Professionals Annette and Christine. We had such a lovely day together in what is a truly fantastic, nurturing SEN setting. It was wonderful to see the care, understanding and commitment that goes into supporting the children and creating an env

🐾 Welcome Maggie to the Dog Mentor Family! 🧡 I was at Parkgate Junior School in Watford today to welcome another wonderful new Dog Mentor to our family! The lovely Maggie was joined by her owner Kellie, who is also the school's Headteacher. We had a fantastic day together exploring how Maggie can become part of everyday school life and the many different ways she can support the children and wider school community. It was wonderful to see such enthusiasm for the programme a

🐾 Welcome Baxter to the Dog Mentor Family! 🧡 I was at William Law CE Primary School in Peterborough today to welcome another wonderful new Dog Mentor team to our family! The lovely Baxter was joined by his owner Faye and Dog Professionals Clare, Emily and Jade. We had a fantastic day together exploring how Baxter can become part of everyday school life and the many different ways he can support the children and wider school community. It was lovely to see the enthusiasm and

🐾 Three Dog Mentors and a Fantastic End to the Week! 🧡 I was at Marjorie McClure School in Chislehurst today for a very special day, welcoming two brand-new Dog Mentors and one familiar face returning to the programme! The wonderful Max, with his owner Rebecca and lovely Presley, with his owner Lauren, both joined our Dog Mentor family today. We also welcomed back Annie, along with her owner Nicola, who are continuing their Dog Mentor journey after moving from another schoo

🐾 A Very Special Return to Endeavour Academy! 🧡 I was back at Endeavour Academy in Bexley today to welcome their wonderful new Dog Mentor Arlo to our family! Arlo is owned by Margaret, who has a very special place in The Dog Mentor story as she attended our very first Dog Mentor course back in 2019! It was fantastic to be back with someone who has been part of our journey right from the beginning. Grace, who joined the programme last year, will be Arlo's Dog Professional. I

🐾 Back with Jasper and Rufus at The Beacon Academy! 🧡 Jenny Sleath spent a fantastic day at The Beacon Academy today, revisiting two very familiar Dog Mentors — the lovely Jasper and Rufus. Jenny Duckworth originally trained these wonderful Cockapoos around four years ago with their owner and Headteacher Claire Chandler so it was brilliant for Jenny Sleath to return and see how their Dog Mentor journey has developed. Today Jenny worked with Jasper and Rufus alongside three

🐾 Welcome Socks to the Dog Mentor Family! 🧡 I was at St Paul’s CE Primary School, Swanley Village today to welcome another wonderful new Dog Mentor team to our family. The lovely Socks joined the programme with his owner Stephen, who is also Head of School. We had a great day together exploring how Socks can become part of everyday school life and the many different ways he can support the children and wider school community. Socks was fantastic throughout the day and I kno

🐾 A Full Dog Mentor Team Rollout Today! 🧡 Today was a real Dog Mentor team rollout day, with our trainers out supporting schools in different parts of the country! The newest member of our training team, Andy, was at St Laurence Junior School in Northfield, Birmingham for a check-in visit with their Dog Mentor team. The wonderful Ted, a Cavapoo, works alongside his owner Jasmin, who is the school’s Attendance and Pastoral Lead. It was a great opportunity for Andy to catch u

🐾 Jenny’s Back on Home Turf with Wilf! 🧡 Today Jenny Sleath was back on home turf at Abermorddu Primary School in Flintshire, welcoming another wonderful new Dog Mentor team to our family. Jenny was warmly welcomed by Sian Furber, teacher and owner of the gorgeous Wilf, her five-month-old Cavapoo. Wilf was certainly a bundle of energy and enthusiasm but when it came to his training sessions he focused incredibly hard and showed everyone just what he can do! Clare Barford, w

🐾 Back with Tilly at High Firs Primary School! 🧡 I went back to High Firs Primary School in Swanley today to catch up with a very familiar Dog Mentor team. The beautiful Tilly, her owner Andrew and Dog Professionals Kelly and Tracy first joined The Dog Mentor programme back in 2022. Since then, they have completely embraced the programme and developed it to such an amazing level across their school. Today I was back to welcome Carol to the team and train her as an additiona

🐾 A Wonderful Start to Jenny’s Week with Mabel! 🧡 Jenny Sleath started her working week today at North Mead Primary Academy, welcoming the lovely Mabel to our Dog Mentor family. Jenny received such a warm welcome from Mabel’s owner and teacher Maria, along with Maryam and Brady from the school’s wellbeing support team. The whole school was incredibly welcoming and Year 3 did a fantastic job of showing just how Dog Mentor ready they are. They created such a calm, regulated e

🐾 Welcome Wanda to the Dog Mentor Family! 🧡 I was at Rowan Wood School, part of Willow Dene School, today to welcome an additional Dog Mentor team at their other site. The lovely Wanda was joined by her owner Ross. Nicky, one of the Dog Professionals from the Willow Dene site, also joined us for the day as she will be working with Wanda too. We had such a lovely day together. It’s always particularly special to see an existing Dog Mentor school expanding the programme acros

🐾 Day Two at Peak School! 🧡 I was back at Peak School in Chinley today for the second of my two days with their brilliant Dog Mentor teams. Today it was the turn of the wonderful Waffle, along with her owner Sarah and Dog Professional Mike. We had another fantastic day together and it was a real pleasure to spend two days with such a great school. The enthusiasm for the programme has been amazing and both Millie and Waffle have fantastic teams around them. A brilliant coupl

🐾 Day One at Peak School! 🧡 Today was the first of two days at Peak School in Chinley, starting with the wonderful Millie the Dog Mentor, her owner Marie and Dog Professional Beverly. We had an absolutely amazing day together. Millie was fantastic and it was lovely to see the enthusiasm for the programme and everything she is going to bring to the school community. I’m already looking forward to heading back tomorrow to meet Peak School’s second amazing Dog Mentor team and