ACEing Wellbeing:
See more.
Understand more.
Connect more.
with Janet Finlay, ACE Instructor
Join this brand new four-week live programme to explore how ACE Free Work and mindful observation can transform the way you see your dog and how you support them to thrivee every single day.
First programme starts 8th May 2026
ACEing Wellbeing:
Helping you and your dog truly thriveÂ
with Janet Finlay, ACE Instructor
Join this brand new four-week live programme to explore how ACE Free Work and mindful observation can transform the way you see your dog and how you support them every single day.
First programme starts 8th May 2026
Your dog's wellbeing matters
Your dog means everything to you.
You want the best for them - not just in terms of food and walks and vet care, but in the deeper sense.
You want them to feel safe.
You want them to feel comfortable in their body.
You want them to have a life that is genuinely the best it can be for them.
Whether your dog is cautious or confident, young or old, bouncy or chilled, ACEing Wellbeing is for you.
Why wellbeing comes first
We talk a lot about canine wellbeing - physical health, emotional needs, enrichment, connection. But it can sometimes feel hard to pull it all together in a way that is practical and personal to your own dog.
ACE gives you that framework.
It starts from the understanding that behaviour, physical health, and emotional state are not separate things. They are always connected. A dog who is stiff or in discomfort will express it in their mood and their choices. A dog whose nervous system is quietly working overtime will experience it in their body. A dog who has no outlet for natural, self-directed exploration will channel it in ways that might surprise you.
And this is as true for the most confident, easy-going dog as it is for a dog who struggles. Wellbeing is not only something to address when things go wrong. It is something to tend to all the time, because every dog deserves it.
Why wellbeing comes first
We talk a lot about canine wellbeing - physical health, emotional needs, enrichment, connection. But it can sometimes feel hard to pull it all together in a way that is practical and personal to your own dog.
ACE gives you that framework.
It starts from the understanding that behaviour, physical health, and emotional state are not separate things. They are always connected. A dog who is stiff or in discomfort will express it in their mood and their choices. A dog whose nervous system is quietly working overtime will experience it in their body. A dog who has no outlet for natural, self-directed exploration will channel it in ways that might surprise you.
And this is as true for the most confident, easy-going dog as it is for a dog who struggles. Wellbeing is not only something to address when things go wrong. It is something to tend to all the time, because every dog deserves it.
The ACE difference
Animal Centred Education (ACE), developed by Sarah Fisher, is a holistic, choice-led approach that puts the whole dog at the centre of everything we do.
At its heart is a simple but powerful truth: you cannot separate behaviour from physical and emotional wellbeing. They are not different things. They are the same thing, showing up differently.
ACE gives you a framework and practical tools to see your dog more clearly, support them more effectively, and build a relationship rooted in trust and genuine understanding.
What if you could give your dog a richer, more comfortable life right now?Â
This programme is for anyone who shares their life with a dog and wants to understand them more deeply. Whether your dog is reactive or relaxed, young or ageing, full of energy or quietly pottering through life, ACEing Wellbeing will give you tools and insight you will use every day.
Through ACEing Wellbeing, you will learn how to:
- Recognise and understand the physical, emotional, mental, and social dimensions of your dog’s wellbeing
- Observe your dog with new eyes, spotting subtle clues in posture, coat, movement, and behaviour.
- Identify and reduce the “candles” that quietly undermine your dog’s resilience
- Set up ACE Free Work to give your dog choice, enrichment, and a way to self-regulate
- Use what you are learning to plan meaningfully for your individual dog - without pressure or rigidity
- Deepen your relationship through connection, play, and gentle engagement
What if you could give your dog a richer, more comfortable life right now?
This programme is for anyone who shares their life with a dog and wants to understand them more deeply. Whether your dog is reactive or relaxed, young or ageing, full of energy or quietly pottering through life, ACEing Wellbeing will give you tools and insight you will use every day.
Through ACEing Wellbeing, you will learn how to:
- Recognise and understand the physical, emotional, mental, and social dimensions of your dog’s wellbeing
- Observe your dog with new eyes, spotting subtle clues in posture, coat, movement, and behaviour.
- Identify and reduce the “candles” that quietly undermine your dog’s resilience
- Set up ACE Free Work to give your dog choice, enrichment, and a way to self-regulate
- Use what you are learning to plan meaningfully for your individual dog - without pressure or rigidity
- Deepen your relationship through connection, play, and gentle engagement
What you'll experience
Over four weeks together we will build from the foundations of wellbeing and ACE all the way through to building a richer, more attuned relationship with your dog.
Week 1: Understanding wellbeing and ACE
We will start with the big picture - the different elements of wellbeing, what ACE is and how and why it works.Â
Week 2: Getting started with Free Work and detailed observation.
This is where we get really practical. You will learn what to look for in your dog's posture, movement, coat and nervous system responses and how to set up ACE Free Work tailored to you and your dog.
Week 3: Goals, NATO and flexible planning. Here we will adjust what we do with curiosity rather than rigid expectations. We will look at how to build both predictability and novelty into our set ups and how what we do contributes to our dog's wellbeing.
Week 4: Building relationship within ACE
In the final week we focus on you and your relationship with your dog. You will discover how to introduce yourself gently into your dog’s Free Work, how ACE becomes a form of play, how to remove pressure from your interactions, and how to use touch in a way that your dog genuinely welcomes.
What you'lll experience
Over four weeks together we will build from the foundations of wellbeing and ACE all the way through to building a richer, more attuned relationship with your dog.
Week 1: Understanding wellbeing and ACE
We will start with the big picture - the different elements of wellbeing, what ACE is and how and why it works.Â
Week 2: Getting started with Free Work and detailed observation.
This is where we get really practical. You will learn what to look for in your dog's posture, movement, coat and nervous system responses and how to set up ACE Free Work tailored to you and your dog.
Week 3: Goals, NATO and flexible planning. Here we will adjust what we do with curiosity rather than rigid expectations. We will look at how to build both predictability and novelty into our set ups and how what we do contributes to our dog's wellbeing.
Week 4: Building relationship within ACE
In the final week we focus on you and your relationship with your dog. You will discover how to introduce yourself gently into your dog’s Free Work, how ACE becomes a form of play, how to remove pressure from your interactions, and how to use touch in a way that your dog genuinely welcomes.
What's included
➜ 4 x live 90-minute sessions (Fridays, 6pm UK time, throughout May 2026) with ACE Instructor Janet Finlay
➜ Lifetime access to all recordings, transcripts, and slide PDFs
➜ Step-by-step home activities for you to do each week - video your sessions for feedback
➜ Personalised feedback on your work including videos in a private community
➜ Certificate of completion (6 CPD hours)
➜  After-care support -a follow-up Q&A session a month later, so you can return with your questions, share your progress, and refine your skills.
➜  Bonus journal template: A downloadable observation journal to help you keep track of what you’re noticing and build your confidence over time.
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Why now?
The group for this programme is kept deliberately small so that every participant gets meaningful feedback and support. When it's full, it's full.
If you have been wanting a way to support your dog that starts with who they really are - this is it.
Why now?
The group for this programme is kept deliberately small so that every participant gets meaningful feedback and support. When it is full, it is full.
If you have been wanting a way to support your dog that starts with who they really are - this is it.
Presented by
Dr Janet Finlay
ACE Instructor
Janet has been working with dogs for over 25 years and has been an ACE Instructor since 2020. She is well known in the dog industry for her work on the human side of the dog-guardian relationship, and for her deeply holistic approach to human and canine wellbeing.
Over the years, her focus has shifted increasingly towards looking first at the needs of the dog - and the human - before ever considering training or behaviour modification.
She has worked with guardians both online and in person, and supports other professionals to develop a holistic, dog-centred approach to their work.
As well as being an ACE Instructor, Janet is a member of the APDT UK (01046), a Family Dog Mediator, and a Level 7-qualified coach for people.
Presented by
Dr Janet Finlay
ACE InstructorÂ
Janet has been working with dogs for over 25 years and has been an ACE Instructor since 2020. She is well known in the dog industry for her work on the human side of the dog-guardian relationship, and for her deeply holistic approach to human and canine wellbeing.
Over the years, her focus has shifted increasingly towards looking first at the needs of the dog - and the human - before ever considering training or behaviour modification.
She has worked with guardians both online and in person, and supports other professionals to develop a holistic, dog-centred approach to their work.
As well as being an ACE Instructor, Janet is a member of the APDT UK (01046), a Family Dog Mediator, and a Level 7-qualified coach for people.
ACEING WELLBEING LIVE
ÂŁ150
- 4 x live online sessions
- Access of a private community
- Feedback on videos and other work done in the practical activities
- A follow-up Q&A session a month later to answer your ongoing questions
- A bonus workbook to support your observations
- Life time access to all resources.
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The first course runs in May 2026
ACEING WELLBEING LIVE
ÂŁ150
- 4 x live online sessions
- Access of a private community
- Feedback on videos and other work done in the practical activities
- Life time access to all resources.
First course starts 8th May 2026 for 4 weeks
This is not about fixing something.
It is about giving your dog the very best of what you can offer them, wherever you are both starting from.
And it is about discovering, along the way, just how much there is to see when you really learn to notice.
Join us in May!
Frequently Asked Questions
Are you against training?
Not at all - but we believe we need to rethink training and consider instead what is meaningful to our dogs and our lives together. Focusing on wellbeing first helps us ensure our dog is ready to learn the skills they need to share our lives comfortably and with joy. ACE can then become a context for training that is relevant to you both.
Do I need special equipment?
No. Snuffle mats, lickimats, and toys are handy, but we’ll also show you how to improvise with what you already have.
It will also help if you have a smart phone to record your ACE sessions but nothing else is required.
Is this suitable for professionals?
Yes the lessons you learn here with your own dog will also help your client dogs.Â
What if I can’t attend live?
You’ll get lifetime access to all session recordings, transcripts, and materials and you will be able to get feedback on your activities and ask any questions you have in the private community.
Will it work for all dogs?
In ACE we encourage curiosity and not being attached to a particular outcome, so I am not going to guarantee a specific result. But I do promise that you will see your dog differently and that, whatever your dog’s specific needs, we will be able to adjust what we do to support you and them.Â
What does lifetime access mean?
Great question. It means the lifetime of the course.Â
We can't guarantee it for your lifetime as we may be long gone! And we may want to retire one day so our lifetime won't work either.Â
The course's lifetime means just that. While it is relevant, while we still have servers to host it on, while the technology used is not obsolete, you will have access. That gives you plenty of time.
And to be honest if we ever do retire the course we would give you the opportunity to download it for you to keep!
I have done your ACEing Reactivity course. Is this different and will it still be useful to me?
Great question.
The ACEing Reactivity course focuses specifically on how we can use ACE to support dogs who struggle with unknown dogs or people.
This new course is designed to introduce ACE for any dog. Obviously there will be overlap between the topics covered on these two courses (both are about ACE!) but the focus is different.Â
To be honest, as Sarah Fisher always said, learning comes in layers. Whatever your ACE experience, you will learn new things through each experience and with each dog. For each group our teacher dogs are different and we learn most from them!
Frequently Asked Questions
Are you against training?
Not at all - but we believe we need to rethink training and consider instead what is meaningful to our dogs and our lives together. Focusing on wellbeing first helps us ensure our dog is ready to learn the skills they need to share our lives comfortably and with joy. ACE can then become a context for training that is relevant to you both.
Do I need special equipment?
No. Snuffle mats, lickimats, and toys are handy, but we’ll also show you how to improvise with what you already have.
It will also help if you have a smart phone to record your ACE sessions but nothing else is required.
Is this suitable for professionals?
Yes the lessons you learn here with your own dog will also help your client dogs.
What if I can’t attend live?
You’ll get lifetime access to all session recordings, transcripts, and materials and you will be able to get feedback on your activities and ask any questions you have in the private community.
Will it work for all dogs?
In ACE we encourage curiosity and not being attached to a particular outcome, so I am not going to guarantee a specific result. But I do promise that you will see your dog differently and that, whatever your dog’s specific needs, we will be able to adjust what we do to support you and them.Â
What does lifetime access mean?
Great question. It means the lifetime of the course.Â
We can't guarantee it for your lifetime as we may be long gone! And we may want to retire one day so our lifetime won't work either.Â
The course's lifetime means that. While it is relevant, while we still have servers to host it on, while the technology used is not obsolete, you will have access. That gives you plenty of time.
And to be honest if we did retire the course we would give you the opportunity to download it for you to keep!
I have done your online ACEing Reactivity course. Is this different and will it still be useful to me?
Great question.
The ACEing Reactivity course focuses specifically on how we can use ACE to support dogs who struggle with unknown dogs or people.
This new course is designed to introduce ACE for any dog. Obviously there will be overlap between the topics covered on these two courses (both are about ACE!) but the focus is different.Â
To be honest, as Sarah Fisher always said, learning comes in layers. Whatever your ACE experience, you will learn new things through each experience and with each dog. For each group our teacher dogs are different and we learn most from them!