About Me
I've been a dog lover for my entire life. I was lucky enough to grow up with dogs, starting with my family’s working gundogs. I discovered my love of training when my family rescued Dyson, a nutty Labrador cross Irish Water Spaniel. Dyson taught us all a great deal, but he required a lot of mental stimulation, so I taught him every trick I could possibly think of!
Since then, I found the wonderful world of dog showing, and now my mum and I co-own four Catalan Sheepdogs - Ruby, Morgon, Brenna, and Carlos.
I also have a love of horses and have spent 5 years studying equine rehabilitation at Hartpury University and have a BSc (Hons) in Equine Science with Therapy & MSc in Equine Science, in addition to an equine sports massage qualification. Having a scientific background enables me to keep up-to-date with current scientific principles behind behaviour and training.
Whilst at university, I worked in boarding kennels which gave me the opportunity to work with a range of dogs; from small breeds to working police dogs; bouncy puppies, nervous or reactive dogs and convalescing dogs. This helped me develop my understanding of behaviour, and my ability to alter my training techniques to suit each individual as dog training isn’t a case one size fits all.
Here to help!
I understand the stress that certain behaviours can cause owners, and I am here to help! I particularly enjoy seeing the changes in the relationship between the dog and owner when they learn to work together effectively, and the enjoyment gained by both parties.
"Never stop learning" is my mantra, and I since finishing university, I have completed diplomas in Canine Behaviour and Canine Massage Therapy to add to my skills, and am regularly completing CPD.
My dogs are part of the family and are able to join us nearly everywhere we go due to the time I have put into their training. My main purpose is to help you and your dog get the most enjoyment from each other! I focus on helping you create a well-rounded dog that allows you to enjoy every aspect of dog ownership as well as specialising in helping owners of reactive dogs.
Meet The Dogs
Dyson
Dyson kickstarted my love of training. He required a lot of mental stimulation, so I taught him every trick I could possibly think of! Dyson was very reactive and it took a year to find a training class willing to accept him but once we did he excelled at every aspect of training. He still struggled in public places due to the overstimulation but he learned to disengage from his triggers and could enjoy himself in busy places. Unfortunately, we lost Dyson very suddenly in 2018.
Ruby
Ruby was my first Catalan Sheepdog, whom we imported from Hungary at four months old in 2013. Ruby has easily been the most chilled dog I have ever met, and spends most of her time upside-down asleep (or pretending to be)! Despite this, she loves nothing more than showing off in class! Ruby still loves training, particularly trick training. She is still very active, and has loved relocating to Devon! She had her first camping experience last year, in Wales and climbed the Brecon Beacons with us!
Morgon
Morgon joined us from France in 2016 as a 16 week old puppy. He is a complete show-off and loves strutting his stuff in the show ring! Morgon lives with my mum in the New Forest, and can usually be found showing everyone his favourite toys or begging to go swimming with New Forest K9 Hydrotherapy. It's a good thing he lives on site! Morgon likes to play the fool, but he is definitely smarter than he lets us think! As far as he is concerned, he is far too handsome for any of this trick-training malarkey!
Brenna
Brenna was one of the lovely puppies in Ruby's first litter and also lives with my mum in the New Forest. She is full of personality, loves a good cuddle and is often referred to as our "smiley, little weirdo"! Brenna is never far from my mum's side unless of course she gets a case of the zoomies and is doing laps around the garden! She is particularly noise sensitive due to a scare during one of her fear-phases but we have managed to work through this. Brenna much prefers affection as a reward, unless sprats are on offer, of course!
