About Us

DogBasics is mainly run by Caroline Kjall. Helping out with driving services, maintenance, advice and coping with a house full of dogs is partner Paul Jackson. Their dog Toby, a Saluki cross, mainly helps out with keeping the boarders in check, guarding the property and putting spanners in the works for boarders eager to stay at the DogBasics boarding or day care...

About Caroline...

I'm Swedish, but I have lived in the UK since winter 1997. I took my first dog instructor diploma at an Anders Hallgren school in Sweden, in 1994. Click here to see my Swedish Dog Instructor Certificate, translated into English. I quickly followed that with an instructor diploma in Agility and one in Competitive Obedience, for Kent Svartberg. I've taken a clicker course run by Cilla Danielsson at Hundens Hus. I've also been training privately for Eva Bodfält.

I have held courses in: Puppy training, General obedience, Competetive obedience, Agility, Shaping, Search, Tracking, Activity exercises, Private Training and Behaviour Consultations.

I keep myself updated on the latest training techniques and behaviour knowledge by reading books and going to seminars. You can read reviews of my favourite books on the book page.

My favourite book to date is Kontaktkontraktet by Eva Bodfält. I'm hoping it will be translated into English very, very soon.

My two favourite seminars to date (since I moved to the UK) was Jean Donaldsons talk for Barking Jones (click the link to get updates on when Jean Donaldson will return for her next talk) and the 1st European Dog Training Conference arranged by friendlywithdogs.com. At the conference I saw Suzanne Clothier speak for the first time and was very impressed. I would recommend anyone to read her book - Bones would rain from the sky. 

Rescue and Rehoming

I have worked with rescue dogs and dogs with behaviour problems in Sweden as well as in Britain. In Sweden I worked in two rescue organisations - HOPP and Hundframjandet. In the UK I've worked at Battersea Dogs Home, in their rehabilitation unit. Working in rescue centres has taught me so much about dogs. Not only do you get to see a multitude of breeds, you see so many 'problem' behaviours every day and can see which training techniques work and which ones don't, in a very short space of time.

Published material about DogBasics

* DogBasics featured in an article about dog day care by Jackie Cosh in the October 2003 issue of Dogs Monthly (vol. 21, no 10).
* A local magazine called 'Village Affairs' wrote an article about us in October 2004. You can read it by clicking here.
* We had a small feature in the July 2005 issue of B Magazine.

Published material by DogBasics

I have written a number of articles about dogs and dog training. You can find links to them all on the advice page.

My hobby outside the dog world is mainly web design. I've designed and run a web site called LocalPetPeople.com, where you can find your local dog sitter or dog walker, pet service or house sitter. I also design other people web sites, as you can see on www.dogbasicsdesign.com.

You can find out more about IMMI (abbreviation for "Individually shaped Methods Motivated Instructors" if directly translated), the instructor organisation that I am a member of, if you click on the name link. Unfortunately the site is not yet available in English.