Me – Welcome To The Paddock

I’m a nurse, turned coach, transformed by dogs into an outdoorsy dog mum, who developed a passion for dog sports, and a knack for helping folks figure out how to blend their quirky interests together to create beautiful, meaningful, lifestyle friendly work.

For me dogs and dog sports are a way of life. A way of expressing myself. Where I feel most alive. Where I thrive.

It’s my art.

I can’t not do it.

It’s much more than a simple hobby. It’s a way of seeing the world through a dog’s eyes. Experiencing deep connection with another creature, and all that nature has to offer, whilst competing to win.

I simply love it.

“In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn’t merely try to train him to be semi-human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.”
Edward Hoagland

A bit more about me...

I spent the last decade and a half working as an on the road executive coach and training consultant.

As a principal trainer at a leading coach training company, I’ve had the privilege and joy of training and mentoring thousands of independent and in-house coaches and leaders.

I’ve won accolades for making a difference to the leadership capability of GP’s.

I’ve taught coaching skills to Medical Educators as a member of faculty and course facilitator at NHS England (and still do).

I’ve travelled the United Kingdom delivering talks at conferences, leading workshops, and team development events.

I thought I’d cracked it…

Until I started to feel increasingly unhappy every time I packed my suitcase, waved goodbye to the dogs, and hit the road to deliver another training course.

When the world stopped, I took a deep breath, and ended that career. I spent the next 3 years unpacking and unlearning what I’d been through. Why didn’t I enjoy it anymore. How had I got swept up in the busyness of it all? It took time but I began to find a better way to work and a lighter approach to life in general.

During a time of personal reflection and solitude, (ie whilst I was walking the dogs) I looked back on what my life experience had taught me, and what my experiences doing what I do with the dogs had taught me, and here’s what I came to see…The Big 5. The essential ingredients that can transform your experience of life.

They are…

A Light Touch (when you approach things too seriously, life seems way harder and goes way worse . A light touch is way more fun and way more effective).
Lifestyle first (who you are and how you live).
Declutter your mind and your life. (Transform overwhelm into productivity and action).
Outdoors (walking, star gazing, connecting with the nature around you and within you, makes you feel alive)
Commit (to a clear and passionate intention and bring your dreams to life)

Then I created a business, under the banner of Mellow Dog Mumma, where I could share the understanding I’d come to: a meaningful life means we wake up in the morning and we’re generally very happy with what we’re doing. Not just with our work, or income, but with our hobbies/interests, our lifestyles, our personal lives, our 2 legged and 4 legged family time. All of it.

I STILL train and mentor coaches online (rarely in-the-room), but I blended it with the Big 5 -simply, how to design your life – your way – regardless of the challenges.

I swapped the suitcase for a laptop and puppies, and I now work 1on1 from The Paddock, or online from the comfort of my pyjamas at my home, or a cottage by the sea, or anywhere the dogs and my competition journey takes me. (Some folks are very happy with life on-the-road – and should do that. But I wasn’t. Unless it was for a dog show 😉 ) When I can, amongst other things, I tend to be good at helping other dog-crazy folk train their dogs for Competitive Obedience, and always for fun.

Point is, nothing has really changed but everything is different. I’m still Angela the same dog-besotted coach and coach trainer, only NOW, this is how I do it.

Now I spend my days mostly…

Hanging out with the dogs – walking, travelling, camping, training, competing
Training other people’s dogs
Talking about The Big 5
Helping folks figure out WTF they want to do next.
Teaching & Mentoring Coaches
Restoring human beings to their natural ability to take care of themselves, of other living creatures (human & non-human), and the Earth.

You don’t have to be anyone or anything to work with me…

Whether you come to The Paddock, or we share a cuppa on Zoom, or we speak on the phone whilst I’m pottering (pawtering :-)) about with the dogs, if you’re meant to be here, you’re meant to be here.

Your life is your art. Whether your art looks like being self-employed, a new venture, being a parent, making films, training dogs, leading, coaching, teaching, caring designing, your art is welcome.

Most coaches work with people from a certain niche or demographic, and follow a prescribed system or process.

They conduct their sessions in sterile or stuffy consulting rooms, or the corner of a busy coffee shop (I’ve done this…it’s not great), or on Zoom with a fake background to hide the imperfections of how they live, or somewhere remote, far removed from real life.

I am not most coaches.

Our work together transcends niches, labels, job titles, vocations and demographics. because you are not any of these labels.

There’s no curriculum, structure, or system because you do not fit into a system.

Instead I invite you to show up in all your quirky, bedraggled, life-loving glory.

My coaching couch is The Paddock, or a walk in the woods, or a glade of bluebells.

And if that’s not practical (I have clients all over the world), we meet on Zoom from the comfort of our pyjamas, or our gardens, or our wonky cottages.

Either way it’s a deep 1on1, personal experience. One conversation, one insight, one moment at a time.

Every experience is bespoke to the person in front of me, served with a light touch, a dash of humour, and a fair bit of dog hair (golden sparkles).

I work with people for as long or as little as they want. I’ve been working with one of my clients since they were at University, they’re now 28. Another client is a retired doctor in their 60’s. They’re both my kind of lifelong learner.

I’ve coached coaches, doctors, nurses, headteachers, T.V producers, actors, artists, researchers, CEO’s, executive Directors, from all walks of life.

There are no SMART goals, no scripts, and no techniques to remember. No action plans, assignments, workbooks, or one dimensional worksheets. There is likely to be lots of laughter, poems, quotes, insights and stories.

I am 100% committed to helping folks figure out how to sew their hundreds of quirky interests and talents together in a way that feels good, helping them to unleash the potential they always knew they had in them to make a meaningful contribution in the world.

I see folks for the amazing human beings they are, and help them see that for themselves, so that they can shine brightly from the inside out, like the strong, resilient, multipotentialite, diamond that human beings are.

My clients love that I don’t buy into their old stories and bullshit, and that I lovingly call them out on old sushi, that’s way past it’s sell by date.

The way I listen can move people to tears of recognition, and you’ll feel seen and heard like never before.

The way I put people into a reflective headspace can ignite avalanches of change.

I can’t predict what your life will be like after working with me. No-one can. This is an adventure into the unknown, where whatever happens is the plan, and we expect the unexpected.

But I can promise you this…wherever your journey takes you, as your thinking partner, confidante, and guide by your side I’ll walk with you as far as you want.

Feel like it might be a fit?

Contact me here to get started.

This website and this work is about helping folks who feel a deep desire to figure out their own unique way they can help their corner of this world and also live a sane and satisfying personal life in the most beautiful way possible – a way that’s meaningful for all involved.

Even if we never work together, I hope you will find a few golden nuggets in what’s written here and on this website to help you feel lighter about the whole ‘ WTF shall I do now’ connundrum.

Love, Angela, Berty & Jasper x