Suffolk Trusted Trader Case Study - The Ipswich Dog Trainer

Friday 05 June 2026

How a redundancy launched one of Suffolk’s most trusted dog trainers

The Ipswich Dog Trainer is a Trading Standards Approved Suffolk Trusted Trader, offering force free, reward based dog training for owners across Ipswich and the wider Suffolk area.

For 14 years I worked as a flight attendant. When I was made redundant during Covid, it turned out to be the push I needed. I had already been planning to open a dog training business, and I had the qualifications and the experience behind me from freelancing with a nationwide dog training company, so the timing felt right. I started out running sessions over Zoom while restrictions were still in place, and for around the first 12 months it was just me. Once the rules eased I secured a venue, took on my first assistant, and the business grew from there.

This June we will have been trading for six years. Today I run group training across three locations, alongside one to one training in clients’ own homes and in public spaces. I have two trainers, Zee and Polly who teach classes and deliver one to one sessions, and four volunteers who help out in our classes. Every trainer and volunteer is qualified, and while each of us has our own niche, we all collaborate so that the training joins up.

More than just classes

We have grown into much more than a training service. I host other dog professionals, and I run workshops purely for the humans too, including pet first aid. From September I will be going into schools to talk to children about dog body language, and to help anyone who is frightened of dogs to feel more at ease around them. We are also the only force free gundog trainers in the area, and there are more services to come over the next 12 months.

Everything we do is positive and force free, and we work with the owner just as much as the dog. A great deal of our work comes from long standing clients and from word of mouth, which I think says everything about the standards we hold ourselves to and our down to earth approach.

Why we joined Suffolk Trusted Trader

Dog training is an unregulated industry, so anyone can call themselves a trainer. That is exactly why joining mattered to me. Being a Trusted Trader gives clients the confidence that everything I do has passed a high level of independent vetting. As far as I am aware, I am still the only dog training business on Suffolk Trusted Trader, and clients tell me it gives them a real sense of security and builds trust before they have even met me. It has also helped with our search visibility and our 5.0 out of 5 rating from 12 verified clients.

The vetting process itself was very stringent, which honestly reassured me. It confirmed that this is not just another membership that anyone can buy into. You have to be running your business properly to be accepted, and that is the whole point.

Support when it mattered

I have been really happy with the scheme from start to finish, right down to the regular emails checking whether I need anything. What has stayed with me most, though, was the support I received last year. I had a client who wanted a refund over a complaint I did not feel was justified. After some back and forth, she escalated it to Trusted Trader. I had a phone call from the team asking for my side, and the lady I spoke to had already done her research and agreed with me. I never heard from the client again. The whole experience made me feel genuinely backed by the scheme, and the person I dealt with could not have been friendlier or more helpful.

A trusted name in a crowded field

Something clients often say is that they always look on Trusted Trader for tradespeople, but it had never occurred to them to look there for a dog trainer. Being on the scheme has been a huge positive for them, and for me.

“Being Trading Standards Approved means clients trust us, and we are committed to working to a high standard.”

In 2024 I was named Suffolk Business Owner of the Year, and I genuinely believe my Trusted Trader membership was a contributing factor in that decision. It has helped me build a strong reputation in an industry that is both saturated and unregulated, and it has earned me the trust of other dog professionals in the area, who I now collaborate with regularly. Several of our own volunteers have gone on to open their own dog training businesses, always with our backing, which is something I am incredibly proud of.

And the recognition keeps coming. I have just found out that we are finalists in the national Small Business Awards 2026, shortlisted in two categories: Service Small Business and Business Owner. I am absolutely thrilled, and I have no doubt that being a Trusted Trader has helped along the way.

Looking ahead

We pride ourselves on never standing still and on always expanding our knowledge. The plan is to keep adding services over the coming year, to keep raising standards in an industry that badly needs them, and to carry on supporting the next generation of force free trainers. For me it has always been simple: kind, science based training that works, delivered by people who genuinely care about both ends of the lead.

Leanne Milburn
Owner and Head Trainer, The Ipswich Dog Trainer

Common questions

What does Trading Standards Approved mean?
The business and its owners have been checked and approved by Trading Standards before being admitted to the scheme. The Ipswich Dog Trainer has been a member since 2023. Trading Standards check and approve the business and its owners, they do not check, inspect or approve the quality of the work carried out.

What areas does The Ipswich Dog Trainer cover?
The Ipswich Dog Trainer is based at Martlesham Heath in Ipswich and runs group classes across three locations, plus one to one training in clients’ own homes and in public spaces, for owners across Ipswich and the wider Suffolk area.

What kind of dog training does The Ipswich Dog Trainer offer?
Force free, reward based dog training, puppy classes, dog behaviour and socialisation, reactive dog training and lead walking, along with one to one sessions, advanced classes, force free gundog training and workshops for owners including pet first aid.

• View The Ipswich Dog Trainer Suffolk Trusted Trader profile.
• Read The Ipswich Dog Trainer’s verified customer reviews.
• If you would like to become a Trusted Trader, you can apply here
• If you are a Trusted Trader and would like to leave a case study either as text or as a video, get in touch.