Jane Armitage

Dog trainer and Committee Member

Portrait of Jane Armitage

Jane Armitage

Four Paws Instructor and Four Paws Committee, Club Chair

Jane joined Four Paws with her puppy Ellie, a Labrador Retriever, in January 2011, aiming to socialise her young dog. Ellie progressed to adult classes and successfully passed her Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards in the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme.

In 2013, Jane adopted Lottie, a Labrador Retriever cross puppy, who also achieved the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards. In September 2015, Jane adopted Dolly, a rescue dog from Romania, abandoned after giving birth to a litter of puppies. Dolly passed her Bronze, Silver, and Gold KCGC Awards and successfully became a Pets As Therapy (PAT) Dog.Clemmie, a Labrador Retriever puppy from Launceston, Cornwall, joined Jane’s family in August 2021. Clemmie has also achieved her KCGC Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards and passed her Pets As Therapy (PAT) dog assessment. Both Dolly and Clemmie are now regular PAT visitors at a Primary School in Oxford.

In April 2024, Jane welcomed another Labrador puppy, Taggie (short for Agatha), from Clemmie’s breeder in Cornwall. Taggie has completed both The Puppy Foundation and The Bronze Kennel Club assessments and is now working towards Silver and Gold certificates. Managing five Labradors is no small feat, but it’s a joyful and fun filled household.

Jane’s goal as a Four Paws instructor is to ensure that you and your dog enjoy classes, learn a great deal, and have fun along the way!

Qualifications

  • Member of the PDTI (Pet Dog Training Instructors) Membership Number 1939.
  • Examiner for the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards

Most relevant training

  • PDTI (Pet Dog Training Instructors) Advanced Instructing Skills Teaching Workshop.
  • 2014: PDTI at Harper Adams University – “Exploring your Dog’s Potential and Bringing Fun to Dog Training.”
  • 2015: “The Canine Collective Noun” – Ross McCarthy and Lez Graham.
  • 2015: “Dangerous Dogs – Are Puppy Parties to Blame?” – Jane Hanshaw and Jeannette Watson.
  • 2015: The “Reactive Dog” workshop – John Rogerson.
  • 2015: Pros and Cons of 5 Reward-Based Training Techniques – Ian Dunbar.
  • 2015: Analysis of Existing Learning Theory – Ian Dunbar.
  • 2016: Canine Behaviour – Dr Muriel Brasseur, University of Oxford.
  • 2017: PDTI Analysing Instructing Skills.
  • 2017: The Aggressive Dog Seminar – Nick Honor, Puppy Stars.
  • 2017: Animal Aiders – First Aid for Dogs.
  • 2017: PDTI Practical Instructing Skills and achieved the Applied Instructing Skills Award with Merit.
  • 2018: “Making Your Classes Fun and Effective” – Kamal Fernandez.
  • 2018: “Shaping Skills” – Kamal Fernandez.
  • 2022: 'The Ultimate Dog Training Instructor Course' by Russell Becque, CEO of The Academy of Modern Canine Behaviour & Training

Committee Role

  • Chair of the Four Paws Committee