I have always had a love for all animals (although I’ll admit that I'm not that keen on the

slithery type), but it’s thanks to my dad that I developed a passion for dogs and training from a young age.

He was an amazing trainer who trained several obedience champions and at one time during the 70’s had the most qualified obedience champion in Southern Africa (21 CC’s) with his German Shepherd, 'Rip'. I owe a lot to him for providing me with the foundations of dog training, although we undoubtably would have differences of opinions these days about techniques but having stated that, I do not train for a competition environment as I focus on the synergetic relationship between a loving owner and their dog.

Growing up, I spent every weekend at ‘Dog Club’, and having to put up with being squished

in the backseat of a Renault R5 to travel there, with my face being constantly licked on both

sides by two GSD’s. However, all I wanted was to be a ballet dancer and I was lucky enough

to be trained by the very best, but due to a severe injury I had to put the dream aside and I

switched to being a dance teacher instead.

I have pursued various career paths and life adventures, all focused on interacting with

people and working with animals. These included roles in Special Needs education, the Aged Care sector, my own business offering pet care services, exercising and training dogs for

busy professionals and working in animal transportation - although it took a while before I

could actually find the time for study to add the qualification of ‘Dog Trainer’ to my resume.

Ultimately helping people to understand their dogs is the perfect space for me to fulfil my

intrinsic desire to contribute meaningfully to society.

I drew a whole new level of knowledge while working with neurodivergent children as

Special Needs Education Assistant and became intrigued with the work of the renowned

animal scientist, Temple Grandin. Grandin believes (from her own experience with Autism)

that people with autism think in a similar way to animals. I can certainly see a similarity with learning styles and environmental sensitivities from my own experience both teaching and learning from my Border Collie Aero.

Recognising patterns in these learning styles between neurodivergent children and animals, especially dogs, inspired a fresh perspective on my training approaches. By altering the way, we interact and teach, and through understanding we can mould our dogs' natural behaviours to build a cohesive relationship that will inevitably enrich our lives and create a bond like no other.

I am truly obsessed (my husband will tell you) and fascinated with my Border Collie, which

has inspired me to work with herding breeds that struggle a bit more than other breeds with living in suburban environments. Suburbia can be overstimulating in many ways to dogs that are intrinsically wired and fired up to control movement and are bred to work tirelessly, and this can result in them creating their own form of (mostly undesirable) employment.

However, I do hope that no matter the breed of your dog that you will find some useful

information in these pages and the help where you need it.