Nick McMechan, the Reactive Dog Coach
Hi! My name is Nick and I love what I do as a Dog Trainer, I really can't imagine myself doing anything else. Here's a little bit about my story
I've always had a love of Dogs. The first Dog we had was called Shelly who came to live with us when I was at Primary School. She was an absolutely wonderful Dog that I loved very much. I used to take Shelly for walks to the Park with the Neighbour's Dogs when I was 10 years Old. I loved it but still have vivid memories of being dragged along the street face down by four Dogs whilst desperately gripping the leashes. Unfortunately Shelly used to shred Sofas. These days we would call it "Separation Anxiety". There weren't really many Dog Trainers back then so, as a poor Family, Shelly had to go. I never saw her again. I was devastated. When I do what I do now, I hope to help Owners avoid ever having to face that decision.
As I grew up my Family was proud that I was the first in the Family to gain a University Degree. As it happened circumstances meant that I couldn't follow my chosen Career path and ended up in Retail. After many successful years I finished my Career with Boot's as an Area Manager and then, the obvious choice was to become a Pet Professional . I had been competing and involved in Working Trials (picture opposite is myself and my German Shepherd Dog, Max, competing at a Tracking Rally) for years and learnt awesome things from truly awesome people. I was known at work as the Dog Guy. People came to me for advice and help. I became a bit of Geek about Dog Training, always reading books and watching YouTube videos as well as grilling my Expert friends. So, when the time came to leave Boots, I followed my passion. I started out with Dog Walking, but soon became known and recommended by many as a Dog Trainer. One recommendation, led to another, and another.....and so I became Nick the Dog Trainer. I've been doing this for a few years and its one of the best life decisions I've ever made. I'm now extremely proud of all my work and the wonderful Testimonials my Clients write for me. I'm proud of the wonderful work I do in all aspects of Dog Training and I'm proud to be Midlothian's Number One Loose Leash Walking Specialist
If you can give a thousand star review I would! Amazing, trustworthy and safe are the words that come to mind when I think of Nick. Nick is very knowledgeable and conveys information in a down to earth and understanding manner.
We asked Nick to support my husband and I with some pointers on a very stubborn basset hound. Our dog loves Nick. We think he acts up just for the possibility of seeing Nick again. We have used Nick over the past few years for different pointers and tips. Most recently to help with anxiety our dog has faced since a newborn has come into our lives. Nicks support has been amazing. I know if we were stuck or if needing more support Nick will come over and pick up from where he left off. He treats our dog like his own and remembers all of his little quirks.
I’ve been meaning to write a review for a while now!
Our experience with Nick has been great. Our dog had started to become a bit leash reactive following some negative experiences with certain dogs and I wanted to get a handle on that behaviour before it spiralled, we also wanted to improve his recall and general engagement with us when we walked him as he had a tendency to pull ahead and although his recall was decent I knew it could be improved.
We signed up for the walk and train package and noticed a change immediately which has only continued to improve. Now we have great engagement, no more pulling, instant recall and virtually zero leash reactivity. It’s become such a pleasure to be with our dog now so I really owe a lot to Nick. Pirate loved him too!
Highly recommend Nick for any training requirements. I contacted him for some assistance working on recall for my 6 month old puppy Ralph and he’s been fantastic. Nick offered a free introductory session to meet Ralph at my home and find out about him and the subsequent session we’ve had so far was very detailed, fun & beneficial for Ralph as I’ve already seen improvements after just the one training session. After the session, Nick provided a detailed list of what we covered in order for me to work on techniques and games to help train Ralph. This was very helpful as it allows me to simply refer to that list on my phone before & during the training as a reminder/guide. Nick is very pleasant, accommodating & Ralph loves him, taking to him right away. Give him a shout
Max, is our wonderful German Shepherd Dog. He's 11 years old and is certainly getting on in years. We now live with Max's conditions as he ages, Arthritis. IBD, a small Lesion on his Brain and his Seizures. We love him dearly and he certainly fills our lives.
Max came to us at 12 weeks old from German Shepherd Rescue Scotland, a wonderful local charity run by wonderful Volunteers.
In every way I was so proud of Max as a Puppy. Everything was perfect and went so well with his early upbringing. I look back and, I'm not blowing my own trumpet, but couldn't have done better. He was an absolute star.
At seven months old, when all his hormones started to kick in, he changed, and he changed dramatically. All of a sudden the Perfect Puppy became the Terrible Teenager. However the change was more dramatic than anything I'd ever seen. Max became reactive to both other Dogs and People and the change was extreme. All of a sudden I had an 80lbs beast who wasn't happy with the world. This was a huge wake up call for me.
I worked hard on Max's issues and it did take a long time. Max did move from the Dog who would demonstrate extreme reactivity to any person or dog over 200 metres away to a dog I could walk along the street with and pass by other people and dogs...off leash...I make that sound simple and easy - it wasn't and I fully appreciate with my Clients how it feels to live with a Reactive Dog. It's hard on the Dog and it's hard on you.
As with Breeze, Max has taught me so much and I've learnt more from Max than I've learnt with any Dog I've ever owned or what I've learnt from elsewhere. Yvonne Walker at Darcregan Dog Training will be forever in my debt for the support and guidance she gave me with Max
What Max has taught me
Edit, Max sadly crossed over rainbow bridge in January 2024. I will forever be in his debt for everything he taught me. To this day he is the inspiration, drive and deep rooted reason I help, coach and support so many reactive dog owners with their dogs.
Breeze came to us four years ago at 14 weeks old. She was part of a litter of Pups rescued from a hill Farm in the Wester Isles by Protecting Pre-loved Border Collies) (PPBC)
The Farmer had neglected the litter, leaving them to fend for theirselves, whilst the Mother was sent out to work during the day. He was ready to dump the litter in the Sea when the team at PPBC stepped in to save them. The Pups underwent a difficult journey back to the mainland where the team at PPBC did an excellent job, along with the care of their Vet, to get them back to full health and ready to re-home. This was no easy task, given their state of Nourishment, being fled ridden and full of worms.
When Breeze came to us she had missed the critical socialisation period of 8 to 11.5 weeks old. However things started to go well until she had a terrible accident down to a collision injury with our other Dog, our GSD, Max. Breeze's hips were knocked out of alignment and I cannot thank enough the wonderful work done by the Canine Physiotherapist the Bush Vet to help her live a fulfilling life running about just how a Collie should again.
At the same time this meant that Breeze not only missed the first, critical socialisation period, she also missed out a lot of early life socialisation opportunities as she was so restricted in the exercise she could do due to the injury.
Breeze also presented Resource Guarding issues, The litter had been left to fend for themselves and, at an early age, it was imprinted upon her to fight and guard for food to survive.
This may all sound like a sad story but I'm so glad she came to me as she has taught me so much (all my Dogs I've owned have taught me an incredible amount, more than can be gained by any book I've read)
What Breeze has taught me
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