Tealing ‘dog whisperer’ Margaret Thomson has won a prestigious industry award.
Margaret, who has been running dog training classes in Tealing Hall in Angus for more than 30 years, clinched the title of ‘best dog trainer of the year’ at the Local Pet Awards Scotland 2023.
The awards ceremony, hosted by TV personality Carol Smillie, took place at Glasgow’s Marriott Hotel earlier this month.
Margaret says she had “absolutely no idea” she would take the top title, and that she “nearly fell over” when Carol announced her as the winner.
“My friend said my face was a picture!” she says.
“I really hadn’t expected to win because my name was mixed in with loads of others. It was such a surprise. I was so chuffed!”
The award – dog trainer/obedience class of the year – was well-deserved, with Margaret having built up a long-standing reputation as a dog-whisperer in and around Angus.
She’s been running weekly dog training and ringcraft classes – which focus on prepping dogs for showing championships – at Tealing Hall for “30-plus years”.
It’s here that she works her magic on the young, the unruly, the troublesome, the cheeky and the downright rude – she certainly knows her stuff.
Margaret travelled to Glasgow for the awards with her friend Lynzi Duncan – a regular at her classes and the owner of a cocker spaniel – and Jeremy Barron and Lorraine Watt from Happas Canine Centre.
Rottie lover
The owner of three Rottweilers, Roxy, Daz and Dolly, Margaret has been a fan of the breed all her life, getting her first around 50 years ago.
She’s keen to dispel any negative perceptions of the breed.
“I just love Rotties,” she says. “They’ve got such a loving nature; they’re so caring and friendly.”
Her Rottweiler, Becky, won the Pets As Therapy’s PAT Dog of the Year in 2006, while her champion Rudi won the top Rottweiler in the UK award in 2009.
Training dogs is hugely important to Margaret, and she says it’s important for owners to be responsible.
“I love working with dogs and have a great rapport with them,” she says.
“I love helping people to train them and it’s so rewarding to see them come on.
“A lot of people bought dogs in lockdown and many had never had them before, so they had very little idea of how to cope, and how to train them.
“Some people ended up handing them back, and of course many ended up at rescue centres which is a huge shame.”
Tealing Dog Training class was nominated for the Pawscars in 2018, an awards ceremony which recognises success, hard work and effort in the UK dog scene.
- Margaret runs four classes at Tealing Hall on Mondays from 5pm to 9pm. She also runs Ringcraft classes on Tuesdays at 7.30pm which focus on prepping dogs for showing championships.
Conversation