Up here in Cumbria we certainly get our fair share of wintry weather - wet, windy and damp is the general theme from now until spring.

But, this doesn't effect our dog walking and training, whatever the weather my team and I are up and out on the fells everyday whether it's our daily long walk with the dogs or the one to one training lessons, the weather can't stop us.

Although I love being outside, I don't love being wet and cold (as I'm sure you don't), so this year I'm delighted to announce that I have a lovely warm (and dry) barn as an alternative venue when the weather is being really foul.

I am very grateful to a lovely friend who is lending us the barn for the winter (I think he felt sorry for us after seeing us day after day getting wet and blown about the fells), it is a stones throw away from the house so really convenient and it means you don't have to arrive head to toe in waterproofs for your training courses.

We are looking forward very much to working from the barn and are really happy we can offer this alternative venue to you on your training courses.    

Scandle Sunny Lass (Beauty)
(9^th July 1997 – 24^th July 2011)

Over the years many of you have met and befriended my very special friend, Beauty.
She came to me when she was 2 years of age and had been fully trained by her previous owner. For various reasons she was looking for a new home due to  unforeseen circumstances. As soon as we met each other we knew that it was  meant to be. She was the happiest, most contented and best Labrador that I have  ever had, and who gave 100% of herself each and every day.

Initially there was just Beauty and Rosie. After Rosie left us Emma came into our  lives and lastly Twinkle. Although Twinks was originally not allowed into the kitchen by Beauty, over a period of time they became the very best of friends. Towards the end of Beauty’s life Twinkle was the one who cared for her, washing her eyes and ears every evening making sure she had the most comfortable bed and warmest spot by the Rayburn appreciating that although Beauty’s health may have been failing Twinks respect never did.

Sadly on the 24th July after struggling with her walking, which she enjoyed up until the end, she decided her time had come and laid down in front of the Rayburn for the last time for a peaceful sleep. Saying goodbye to a dear friend is never an easy thing to do but I had tremendous help and support from the vets and friends who really helped to make the end extremely beautiful for Beauty and myself.

The dear old lady is now peacefully sleeping in my garden next to her best friend Rosie, who passed on many years ago.

Thank you Beauty for giving me so much love and pleasure over the years.

Holker Flower Festival - Yet again we were excited as Holker Flower Festival opened its gates. We set up our stand in the most wonderful sun and spent the next three days thinking what a beautiful place Cumbria is, especially at Holker Hall Estates, to live, work and walk in.

As usual we were in our normal spot right next to the sticky toffee pudding company (which is either the best place or the worst place depending on the diet!) The WI tent next door always has the kettle on and wonderful home baking too good to resist.  But we were there to work although meeting our clients and their dogs is so enjoyable we forget that show work is suppose to be hard.

Holker Hall Flower Festival attracts visitors from a wide variety of locations throughout Cumbria, Lancashire and further afield. Some of the dogs that came to see us had been initially on my one to two day training courses but were now frequent visitors to my Active Holidays for Dogs. I am always surprised that people will travel so far to ensure not only the best training for their dogs but that while they are away on their holidays their dogs are equally (if not more so according to some owners) enjoying their wonderful safe holiday exploring the Cumbrian Fells and Woodlands while meeting new doggy friends.

It was a pleasure to meet Lord and Lady Cavendish as indeed my good friend Mary Cookson and of course dear Poppy.  Poppy, who is a frequent visitor to us here at Crosby Ravensworth for her holidays with her two good friends Emma and Twinkle – who seem to look forward to Poppies arrival.

We ended our last day feeling a little sad, as we usually do, we know that we have another 12 months to wait until the Holker Show but this year we were fortunate enough to have been invited to attend the Holker Driving trails which took place in early August.

Our expectations were high as we drove down the wonderful drive to Holker Hall and we were not disappointed by the end of the two days. Although the weather was not as warm and sunny as the earlier visit we were made to feel extremely welcome by the show staff and visitors alike. The stands were around a central position so we not only got to view the amazing driving action but I had space in front of the stand to enable me to demonstrate to visitors my training techniques and their effectiveness on their wayward dogs.  Throughout the two days we had a few visitors whom we had seen at previous shows including as far north as Carlisle who had made the journey, with their dogs, to demonstrate to me how my training, even in such a short space of time, had reformed their dogs life.

Many people we spoke with over these two days were disappointed that their fell walking, or even town walking, was becoming a traumatic experience for both dog and owners. Livestock chasing (mainly sheep but did included fur and feathers as well) was a huge issue with many dogs facing life on a lead. I reassured these owners that a 1 hour lesson with me would change their lives and the lives of their dogs forever enabling them to have their dogs free amidst livestock but remaining under trustworthy control.

Writing this just two short weeks after the show I have already transformed some of these dogs lives and I am looking forward to working with the others as they come to Crosby Ravensworth for their 1 hour lesson. Speaking with both local farmers and land owners they are re-assured that there are many responsible dog owners who are willing to pay for a short lesson, which lasts a lifetime, to prevent chasing issues therefore maintaining a more harmonious relationship with the custodians of the countryside whose livelihood depends both on the land and livestock that graze upon it. 

Yet again we packed up the show stand feeling confident that we had prevented many dogs from either spending their lives on a lead or being shot. It was an interesting two days for us getting involved with the horsey world and we learnt a lot about the interaction between horse and man and its similarities between dog and man.

The day dawned wet cold and windy and spirits were rather low. Arriving at Carlisle Racecourse we felt slightly better as everybody was so friendly and helpful. Setting up the stand was great fun as usual and with practice we now have a good routine.

We were well supplied with tea and coffee which was a good job as we spent the day chatting to lots of clients and their wonderful canine companions. We also met with quite a few new people who had come especially to see me. I was very impressed as some had come as far as Dumfries and Galloway with their young dogs that were ready to start on my 6 week basic training course. It has been great fun meeting them again as they now come in for their training.  

Meeting past clients with such well behaved dogs was an absolute pleasure, and a joy to see how their owners had kept up with the training over the years. Many of these owners are on their second or third dogs and are still TRAINING THE INGRID GRAYLING WAY - tried and tested for now well over 25 years with 100% success rates - all very inspiring and encouraging for me.

As I didn’t have my own gun dogs with me it was wonderful to see Polly Dunkley and her amazing field trial working dogs in the main ring. What an inspiration she is!

At the end of the day tired, but inspired we returned home ready for the evening dog walking across the Cumbrian Fells.

Penrith show ground was bathed in the morning sun as we arrived early to set up our show stand. The tent had not even been set up before I was inundated with the first visitor of the day. This set the pattern for the next 8 hours.

Various people from as far as field as Workington and Keswick plus closer to home in Penrith and the surrounding villages came in a steady flow throughout the day especially to discuss issues that they were having after attending a group dog training classes. Some of these owners had been attending group classes over a period of anything up to 12 months but were now completely discouraged as they had not achieved what they had hoped for by the end. These owners were under the impression that their dogs had behavioural issues when in fact training on a one to one through pack leadership, as I demonstrated, achieved responses from their dogs within minutes.

The owners and the people, who were watching, as I seemed to attract small groups each time, were amazed at how good their dogs were. As I explained training outside in the world (which is were a dog lives) on a one to one, with pack leadership, continuity, consistency and with respect from owner to dog and dog to owner is all it takes to achieve a happy, well balanced, confident dog. These owners went home with inspiration and confidence, with a date in their dairies knowing that their dogs did not have behavioural issues only needing follow up training with myself.

Unfortunately I did encounter a few people whose dogs did have genuine behavioural issues. These people were often at their wits end and many people whose help they had sought in the past had left them no further forward to a solution. After chatting with them we decided that a visit to me for a full in depth assessment of both owners and dogs would be beneficial before we started on the training.

Our position was perfect over looking the showing rings. By the end of the day as we were dismantling the show stand we had a lovely feeling of fulfilment. Looking back over the day we realised how many people we had reassured, given confidence to, and helped - many of whom would be visiting us here at Crosby Ravensworth.

The Westmorland Show, what can we say about this …..

We thought British Summer was still here but then we went to Kendal. Having abandoned erecting the tent the day before for fear of the hurricane taking not only the tent but us we returned Thursday morning for round two.

The day began, tent up, wellies on, cups of tea in hand and we were all set for the day which we had been looking forward to for months. What a surprise …hundreds of people, all sloshing about with very wet dogs and macs, all with big smiles on their faces and very positive attitudes. What fantastic people and dogs we met on that day. All shapes and sizes with varying degrees of wetness from mildly soaked to totally drenched.

Throughout the day we met many people and were surprised at the distances people had traveled to participate in show. We had people on our stand as far a field as Surrey and Kent. They had heard that we were in attendance and they took the opportunity to seek us out. We were delighted to spend time chatting and now looking forward to them visiting Cumbria to attend our day courses later in the year. Others were much closer to home and we will be seeing them in the near future.

We met many old friends, now on second and third dogs, who had continued training their new dogs the “Ingrid Grayling Way” and were still enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Throughout the day dogs of all breeds came to see us, with their owners and we are happy to report that our diary is full of optimism for the future. The dogs realising that its their owners that need training and they trust Ingrid to do it.

 Ingrid was crowned 'Business Woman of the Year' this month by UK national pet care magazine, Pet Care Community Update. Over 50 small businesses were nominated for this annual award, with the final decision coming from the editor and magazine's team who elected Ingrid for her outstanding service and excellence in her specialist field.

Ingrid is delighted and was awarded a certificate in a small ceremony at her home. "I am totally bowled over by this award - it's amazing and makes me feel really proud of the business I have built and grown. I also feel very proud of my fantastic team who help and support me every day making the business as successful as it is. Thank you for this nomination and award"