Clara Bonfield is the director and founder of Clara’s Canine Academy. For over 5 years she has dedicated her life to studying our canine counterparts as well as a range of other animals, namely horses. She began her journey studying BSc (Hons.) Equine Science at university, focusing on the anatomy and physiology aspects of the course.
Upon completion, she continued into a Postgraduate Diploma in Animal Therapy and Rehabilitation. Alongside her diploma, she founded a bespoke doggy daycare based in the heart of Wimbledon Village. The daycare was small and focused on quality over quantity, ensuring each dog was in their element and not overwhelmed. During this time, she found herself fascinated by the dogs’ behaviour, attempting to decipher interactions between them and understand their body language. This prompted her to begin researching further into canine behaviour, at which point she discovered and enrolled in the VSA dog training course.
Upon graduation, she founded her training business, Clara’s Canine Academy. Her techniques encourage problem-solving, facilitating the growth of the human-animal bond. The methods used help to prevent the rehearsal of undesirable behaviours and set the dog up for success. The dogs are encouraged to make educated choices about their actions through positive reinforcement, creating stronger behaviours than those learnt through aversive methods. Her techniques help to set the dog up for success, creating a happier and more confident dog in the long-run.
At home, Clara has an Australian Shepherd who she trains in her spare time and hopes to compete in agility in the near future. She is also an avid horse rider and implements a range of positive reinforcement techniques to help aid in her training, with proven results on their competition record. She is a strong believer that all animals can be trained through positive reinforcement techniques and continues to uphold her methodology throughout everything she does. Finally, she is an avid supporter of animal welfare and rescue, sharing her home with her adopted rabbit who acts as a second dog, free-roaming across the house.
Alongside her various animals, Clara strives to continue widening her knowledge into canine behaviour. She regularly attends behaviour conferences, most recently the Dog Behaviour Conference, ensuring she is up-to-date with current literature and research on canine behaviour. Watching the development of the field enables Clara to fine-tune her training and problem-solving skills with new and up-to-date methods constantly emerging. She has a wide knowledge base, with experience from teaching basic behaviours to treating severe aggression and reactivity cases. She sees every dog as an individual, identifying their needs and wants, as well as the owners and fulfils them appropriately, thus facilitating a harmonious relationship between them.
She loves watching the bond grow between clients and their dogs as they begin to speak the same language and understand each other.
‘Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen’
Get in touch to start your training journey today…
Other Certifications
- UK Behavior & Training Charter Practitioner
Clara's Business
Clara's Canine Academy
Woking, Surrey
United Kingdom
0 (742) 542-7406
www.clarascanineacademy.co.uk
[email protected]
Services Offered
- In-Home Training
- Virtual Training
- Board & Train
- Other Pet Services