Dog Trainer & Behaviourist for York
Relationship Centred Training. International Expertise.
Built on a Foundation of Dog Psychology.
The Dog's Way is a specialist dog behaviour service working with clients across York and the surrounding area — including Helmsley, Thirsk, Malton, Tadcaster, Easingwold, and the wider North Yorkshire region. Based at Underhill Farm near Stokesley, James McMahon offers one-to-one behaviour sessions for dogs of all breeds and ages, covering reactivity, aggression, separation anxiety, fears and phobias, recall, and more.
York is consistently ranked as the second most dog-friendly city in the UK — ahead of Glasgow, Manchester, and Cambridge according to the Lords and Labradors dog-friendly cities index — with 25 parks and green spaces and 45 dog-friendly cafes and restaurants. That's a wonderful thing. It also creates a specific set of challenges. The city centre brings unpredictable tourist density year-round — narrow Shambles streets, Wizarding crowds, and busy markets that can turn a routine walk into something your dog wasn't ready for. The Ouse riverside, beloved by every dog owner in the city, floods regularly enough that it displaces hundreds of dog walkers into the same shared spaces at the same time. And the Knavesmire, for all its space, attracts enough off-lead dogs to test even the most confident animal. York is a city that genuinely loves its dogs. It's also a city that quietly asks a lot of them.
"I love York. Ever since I moved up from the South West over ten years ago, it's been my local city and the place I call home. It's also one of the best places in Yorkshire to own a dog - so many fantastic places to get out, explore, and work.
The Knavesmire is a hotspot for dog owners and off-lead activity - both the good kind and the bad kind. It's one of those places people either love or dread. For me it's one of the best real-world training environments around - busy enough to test your dog, open enough to give you room to breathe. Learning to stay calm in the chaos, read other dogs, and respond rather than react - that's the work, and the Knavesmire is where it happens.
I also love taking clients along the Ouse riverside and into the Museum Gardens - calm, well-managed spaces that are ideal for relaxed socialisation and exposure work with younger dogs. It was my go-to when my Labrador was a puppy. Still is. Reliable company, well-behaved dogs on lead, and more squirrels and pigeons than you'll ever need.
Yorkshire has so many beautiful places to train. Showing people a different way of looking at the world - through a dog training lens - is one of my favourite parts of the job."
- James.
Over A Decade working with Dogs.
What we’ve learned to do differently.
James McMahon has worked with hundreds of dogs across Yorkshire and the North East, with particular depth in fearful dogs, spaniels, and complex behavioural cases. He is trained through Cesar Millan's TCW Fundamentals programme and is a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP).
The Dog's Way works with clients from across the York area — including Helmsley, Thirsk, Malton, Tadcaster, Easingwold, and the surrounding villages.
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Every case starts with a full assessment — not a set of techniques waiting to be applied, but a genuine attempt to understand what’s driving your dog’s behaviour at its root. We’ve learned that taking the extra time to understand is always time well spent.
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A frightened reactive dog needs a completely different approach to a frustrated one. Get that wrong — or skip it entirely — and you can spend months working on the wrong problem. We make sure that never happens.
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Most behaviourists arrive with just their knowledge. We arrive with ours — and theirs. Our ambassador dogs are an integral part of how we work, providing a calm, balanced presence that no human can replicate. For reactive, anxious or socially struggling dogs, working alongside a psychologically healthy dog from the very first session accelerates progress in a way that words and techniques alone simply can’t.
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The most powerful tool in changing your dog’s behaviour isn’t a technique. It’s your relationship with them. Every session is built around making sure you leave with genuine understanding — not just instructions to follow.
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No group classes, no generic programmes, no divided attention. Just focused expert support built entirely around your dog’s specific needs.
Your Training journey in York and Beyond.
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There's a reason I start with clients at the farm. Something happens when you turn onto the farm track. The noise stops. Not just the road noise — the particular kind of mental cacophony that comes with navigating a busy town with a dog who isn't coping. I've watched dogs step out of the car at Underhill and visibly exhale. Owners too.
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The farm sits on the edge of the North York Moors National Park, surrounded by fields and woodland. It's about fifty minutes from central York, which sounds like more of a journey than it is, and definitely worth a visit. I like to drag my clients out of the city. Most people don’t realise how much they need it.
Early sessions here are about giving your dog room. Room to settle, room to make mistakes without the world pressing in, room to show you what they're actually capable of when the pressure is off. That's where the real picture emerges — not in the middle of a pavement standoff on Leeds Road, but somewhere quiet, with time.
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After your first session with us, we bring it back to the places local to you. Because the goal was never to have a dog that behaves at a farm in North Yorkshire. The goal is a dog that can walk through the York Museum Gardens on a Saturday morning without you dreading every corner.
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We carry out follow up’s in the locations we know will challenge you and help you succeed:
York Knavesmire
Marygate, Museum Gardens & Riverside Walk
Sutton Bank National Park Centre
Nunnington Hall
Helmsley Market Town
Thornton le Dale
How our Clients feel - in their own words:
