Weekly in-person adult dog training at the Will Atherton Canine Centre
Keep building the calm, reliable and well-mannered dog you can confidently enjoy life with.
Continue developing your dog’s manners, obedience and socialisation through weekly, practical coaching with Will Atherton and the WA Academy training team.
Strengthen the foundations you have already built, raise the standard around greater distractions and keep progressing as your dog matures.
9+ months
Suitable dogs
Weekly
In-person training
£75 / month
Per person
Sat 10:30
1 hour sessions
See what the Perfect Canine Companion Club is all about.
Watch Will explain how the club works, who it is designed for and why continued training is so important as your dog moves through adolescence and adulthood.
Weekly in-person training for suitable dogs aged nine months and over.
Training does not end when puppyhood does
The foundations may be in place. Keeping them strong is the next challenge.
A lot can change as a dog moves through adolescence and into adulthood.
The puppy who once followed you everywhere may become more independent. The recall that felt reliable can suddenly disappear when something more interesting appears. Calmness can become overexcitement. Loose-lead walking can turn into pulling. And skills that once seemed solid can begin to fade when they are no longer practised consistently.
Independence
Unreliable recall
Overexcitement
Pulling on the lead
Fading skills
New distractions
Skills not practised
This does not necessarily mean the training has failed.
01
The puppy who once followed you everywhere may become more independent
03
Calmness can become overexcitement
02
The recall that felt reliable can suddenly disappear
04
Loose-lead walking can turn into pulling
It means your dog is developing, the world is becoming more interesting and the standard now needs to rise.
What often happens
Many owners complete an initial course, solve the immediate problem and then stop training altogether. But there is no point at which a dog simply becomes “finished.”
Your dog’s life changes. Your life changes. New routines, environments and challenges appear. And skills that are not maintained can gradually become less reliable.
The club
The Perfect Canine Companion Club gives you somewhere to keep practising, progressing and receiving guidance long after the initial foundations have been established.
A well-trained dog is not created through one course. It is maintained through continued practice.
The club gives you the structure and support to make that practice an enjoyable part of life with your dog.
Ongoing training for real life
A place to keep developing your dog long after the basics have been introduced.
The Perfect Canine Companion Club is a weekly, in-person training club for owners who want to continue developing a calm, reliable and well-mannered adult dog. It is the natural next step for graduates of Perfect Puppy Club Live and for suitable dogs who have successfully worked with us through one of our private training or behaviour clinics. Each week, you will continue working through the same three pillars that underpin everything we do: Manners. Obedience. Socialisation. But as your dog matures, we can raise the standard.
Weekly live coaching
Better manners around greater distractions.
Built on the Perfect Puppy Course
More reliable obedience with increased distance, duration and freedom.
Small groups, real support
Socialisation that creates calm, confident neutrality rather than uncontrolled excitement.
01
No two sessions need to be exactly the same.
03
The situations you encounter in everyday life will continue to create new questions and challenges.
02
The dogs attending will change. The environment will change.
04
The club gives you somewhere to bring those questions, practise the skills and keep progressing under the guidance of Will and the WA Academy training team.
The goal is not a dog who behaves perfectly once. It is a dog whose skills remain reliable as life changes around them.
The three pillars behind an exceptional adult companion.
Every session is built around the areas that shape how your dog behaves at home, out on walks and around the wider world.
Manners
A dog who understands how to live calmly around everyday life.
Good manners are what make a dog genuinely enjoyable to live with. We will continue developing the behaviours that help your dog remain calm, respectful and composed as the world becomes more exciting.
What this can include
- Place training
- Settling while life happens around them
- Calm behaviour around visitors
- Appropriate greetings
- Boundaries within the home
- Impulse control
- Calmness around doors, food and exciting events
- Switching off around other dogs and people
- Remaining settled when routines change
The standard can increase as your dog improves. A dog who can settle in a quiet room may begin practising around movement, visitors, food or other carefully managed distractions.
Obedience
Reliable communication when your dog would naturally rather do something else.
Obedience becomes most valuable when it continues to work around distraction, at distance and with greater freedom.
What sessions may include
- Engagement
- Recall
- Loose-lead walking
- Heelwork
- Sit, down and stay
- Place commands
- Distance and duration
- Emergency stops
- Responding around dogs, people and movement
- Holding position while distractions pass
- Building reliability with increased freedom
The aim is not simply to practise commands repeatedly. It is to help your dog understand that your communication still matters when the environment becomes more rewarding.
Socialisation
Calm, confident neutrality around dogs, people and new situations.
Adult-dog socialisation does not mean your dog needs to greet, play with or enjoy every dog they meet. The goal is a dog who can remain calm, make good decisions and continue listening while other dogs and people are present.
What we are aiming for
- Calmness around other dogs
- Appropriate greetings
- Neutrality around people
- Confidence in unfamiliar environments
- Better decisions around movement and excitement
- Engagement when distractions are present
- The ability to move away and settle
- Greater trust in your guidance
All interactions and exercises are carefully managed around the dogs in front of us.
Training that develops with your dog
Keep raising the standard as your dog matures.
The Perfect Canine Companion Club is designed around the reality that adult-dog training is never truly finished.
Your dog may become more confident
Their interests may change.
New environments
New environments may expose weaknesses you had not noticed before.
Skills need more development
Skills that work reliably in one situation may need more development before they work somewhere more challenging. Each week, the club revisits the core foundations while gradually increasing the level of distraction, freedom, distance and difficulty.
Example training areas
Calmness and settling
Place training
Impulse control
Appropriate greetings
Engagement with the owner
Loose-lead walking
Heelwork
Recall around distractions
Obedience at distance
Duration and reliability
Neutrality around dogs and people
Confidence in new environments
Managing excitement
Not every dog attending will be working at the same level. Exercises can be adjusted to create an appropriate challenge for the individual dog.
One dog may be learning to settle while another dog is present at a distance. Another may be practising the same skill while people move around, food is nearby or other distractions are introduced. This allows every owner to continue progressing without expecting every dog to perform the same exercise at the same standard.
More than a weekly class
The structure and support to keep your dog’s training moving forward.
Maintain the Skills You Have Built
Training can fade when it is not practised consistently. The club gives you a regular opportunity to revisit the foundations, identify any weaknesses and prevent useful skills from gradually disappearing.
Raise the Standard
Once your dog understands a behaviour, the next step is teaching them to perform it around greater distraction, at increased distance and with more freedom. The club provides a structured environment in which to develop that reliability safely.
Solve New Challenges Early
Your dog’s behaviour and circumstances will continue to change. Regular access to Will and the training team means you can raise new questions and address emerging problems before they become established habits.
Practise Around Other Dogs
Many dogs can perform well at home but struggle when another dog is present. The club gives you a carefully managed environment in which to practise calmness, engagement and obedience around suitable dogs and owners.
Improve Your Own Handling
Progress depends on both ends of the lead. You will receive coaching on your timing, communication, body language and consistency so you become clearer and more confident when guiding your dog.
Keep Training Enjoyable
Training should not feel like something you only do when there is a problem. The club helps make it a regular, social and rewarding part of life with your dog.
Is the Perfect Canine Companion Club right for you?
The club is designed for suitable adolescent and adult dogs who already have the necessary foundations to train safely and productively within a small group environment.
The club may be right for you if:
- Your dog is aged nine months or over
- Your dog is graduating from Perfect Puppy Club Live
- Your dog has successfully completed work with us through a private clinic
- You want ongoing practical coaching
- You want to strengthen manners, obedience and socialisation
- Your dog can work safely within a carefully managed group
- You want to improve reliability around distractions
- You want somewhere to keep practising as your dog matures
- You are willing to continue the training between sessions
Suitability note
Every dog must be suitable for the club environment. Dogs displaying significant fear, aggression, uncontrolled reactivity or behaviour that requires further assessment may need to begin with—or continue through—the Perfect Canine Companion Behaviour Clinic.
For dogs who have previously struggled with reactivity, the club may provide an appropriate next step only once sufficient progress has been made and the training team believes the dog is ready to work safely around others.
Simple, ongoing support
How the Perfect Canine Companion Club works.
01
Confirm Suitability
The club is open to suitable dogs aged nine months and over. Graduates of Perfect Puppy Club Live and dogs who have successfully worked with us through one of our private clinics may be invited to join. If we have not previously seen your dog you may be asked to complete a 1-1 session first to determine suitability for the group class.
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Join the Club
Membership costs £75 per month. Places are limited to 10 dogs per class.
03
Attend Weekly Training
Join Will and the WA Academy training team for practical, in-person sessions at the Will Atherton Canine Centre. Each 1 hour session will take place on Saturdays at 10:30.
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Practise Between Sessions
Take the exercises, priorities and guidance from the club into everyday life with your dog.
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Keep Progressing
Continue developing your dog’s manners, obedience and socialisation as their ability and confidence improve.
Membership summary
Perfect Canine Companion Club
£75
/ month
Weekly in-person training
Suitable dogs aged nine months and over
Coaching from Will and the WA Academy team
Manners, obedience and socialisation
Higher-level training around distractions
Carefully managed group environment
Available following suitability assessment
Places are limited to protect the quality of coaching and the training environment.
Practise the skills that matter in real life.
The Perfect Canine Companion Club takes place inside the purpose-built Will Atherton Canine Centre.
Our different training environments allow us to develop the behaviours owners genuinely need at home, out in public and around other dogs.
Living-Room Environment
Work on calmness, place training, visitor routines, boundaries, impulse control and helping your dog switch off while everyday life continues around them.
Controlled Group Environment
Practise engagement, obedience, neutrality and appropriate behaviour around other suitable dogs and owners.
Coffee-Shop Environment
Develop settling, calmness and appropriate public behaviour around tables, people, movement and realistic distractions.
Secure Outdoor Training Space
Work on recall, lead skills, engagement, distance, duration and control as the environment becomes more exciting.
The goal is not a dog who only behaves inside a quiet training room. It is a dog whose skills continue to work in the situations you encounter together every day.
Expert support from Will and the WA Academy team.
The Perfect Canine Companion Club is led by Will Atherton and supported by the WA Academy training team.
Will is a clinical canine behaviourist, the founder of WA Academy and one of the world’s most recognised dog-training educators.
His approach focuses on helping owners understand their dogs, communicate more clearly and build calm, reliable behaviour through manners, obedience, socialisation and strong leadership.
The club brings those principles into a practical group-training environment.
Will and the team will help you understand what your dog is doing, identify where your training needs to improve and show you how to raise the standard without progressing too quickly.
Where can your training go next?
Keep developing the relationship you have with your dog.
The Perfect Canine Companion Club can remain part of your dog’s life for as long as the training continues to be useful, enjoyable and appropriate.
There is no fixed point at which every dog reaches the same standard. Some owners may want to maintain reliable everyday manners and obedience. Others may want to work towards greater freedom, stronger recall or more advanced control around distractions. And some dogs may benefit from an additional outlet for their natural instincts.
Suitable dogs may also have the opportunity to join the:
Outdoor Path
Country Canine Companion Club
Use retrieving, searching, steadiness and gundog-inspired training to develop fulfilment, responsiveness and a stronger working relationship outdoors.
Private Assessment
Perfect Canine Companion Behaviour Clinic
When a new or more complex behaviour problem appears, private assessment and support may be more appropriate than trying to resolve it within a group class.
The team can help you choose the next step based on the dog in front of us, the progress you have made and the goals you want to work towards.
Real puppies. Real owners. Real progress.
See what happens when owners have a clear plan.
A weekly, in-person training club for owners who want to raise their puppy properly—and enjoy the process.
Calmer walks in 2 weeks
“We tried everything before this. The structure was exactly what we needed. Highly recommend to anyone struggling.”
Sleeping through night
“We tried everything before this. The structure was exactly what we needed. Highly recommend to anyone struggling.”
Can visit parks again
“We tried everything before this. The structure was exactly what we needed. Highly recommend to anyone struggling.”
Ready for weekly coaching that grows with your puppy?
£75 per month, per person · Max 10 owners · Saturdays 09:30
Questions, answered clearly.
Everything you need to know before you book.
What age does my dog need to be?
The Perfect Canine Companion Club is designed for suitable dogs aged nine months and over.
Does my dog need previous training?
Yes. The club is intended for dogs who already have suitable foundations and can work safely within a carefully managed group environment. This may include graduates of Perfect Puppy Club Live or dogs who have successfully worked with us through one of our private clinics.
How do I know whether my dog is suitable?
Suitability will be assessed by the training team. If your dog has not graduated from the Perfect Puppy Club Live or previously attended a 1-1 session with us, a 1-1 will be required to determine their suitability for the club. If your dog requires more focused assessment or support, the Perfect Canine Companion Behaviour Clinic may be the better starting point.
Can reactive dogs attend?
Dogs with a history of reactivity may be suitable once they have successfully completed appropriate work through the Perfect Canine Companion Behaviour Clinic and the team believes they are ready to train safely around others. The club is not designed to assess or begin working with uncontrolled reactivity for the first time.
How much does membership cost?
Membership costs £75/month.
How many dogs are in each class?
Classes are limited to 10 dogs. This allows the team to provide meaningful coaching while creating a useful training environment around other dogs and owners.
What will we work on?
Training may include calmness, place work, engagement, loose-lead walking, heelwork, recall, obedience at distance, appropriate greetings, impulse control, socialisation and reliability around distractions. The focus will vary according to the dogs attending and the challenges being worked on.
Will the dogs be allowed to play together?
The club focuses on calm, appropriate socialisation and neutrality rather than uncontrolled group play. Any interactions will be carefully managed and introduced only when suitable.
Will Will personally teach the classes?
The club includes practical coaching from Will with the support of the WA Academy training team.
Where does the club take place?
The Perfect Canine Companion Club takes place at the Will Atherton Canine Centre located in Church Broughton, Derbyshire. The exact address will be shared after booking.
How long is each session?
Each session will last 1 hour.
What should I bring?
You will receive a full preparation list before attending. This may include your dog’s lead, suitable food rewards and any equipment required for that week’s training.
Can more than one family member attend?
Membership is priced at £75 per month, per dog. A maximum of 2 people per dog can attend the class.
Can I cancel my membership?
Yes, cancel any time with a month’s notice. You will pay for each month in advance and any missed sessions will not be refunded.
Keep building the dog you always wanted to enjoy life with.
Join the Perfect Canine Companion Club and continue training with Will and the WA Academy team every week at the Will Atherton Canine Centre.
Strengthen your dog’s manners, improve their obedience and build calm, reliable behaviour around the distractions of real life.
£75 per month
For suitable dogs aged nine months and over
Weekly in-person training
Suitability assessment required
Places are limited to maintain a safe, productive and supportive training environment.