Committee Members
Executive Committee
President - Sarah Campbell
After growing up on a farm surrounded by dogs, Sarah has always been on the path of dog training in one way or another. However, it was her Labrador cross called Seamus and his fear towards other dogs and small humans that lead Sarah towards learning more about dog behaviour and started her down path to become a dog trainer. After completing a Certificate IV in Companion Animal Services, she started Happy Tails Dog Training with a fellow positive trainer (Moire). She offers Puppy Preschool, Group Classes as well as a number of specialised classes such as Out and About Sessions and Adventure Courses and private consultations. She lives with her Red Heeler x Maxi and Border Collie Jack. Jack is fully deaf and the training journey with him has been a unique but rewarding process. Her aim as a dog trainer is to help dog owners form better bonds with their canine companions by giving owners the skills and knowledge they need and inspiring them to teach new behaviours, stimulate their dogs mind and enrich their dogs every day lives in a variety of ways. Happy Tails Training TasmaniaSarah’s professional qualifications and memberships include:
| Vice President - Barbara Hodel
For more than 16 years Barbara has been training and working with dogs of all ages, breeds, behavioural and training challenges. In 2007 she established Goodog Positive Dog Training on the Northern Beaches of Sydney running classes for pet dogs at all levels, as well as topic-specific workshops and agility fun classes. She also delivers in home consultations for problem behaviours. She is the author of How to Love and Survive your Teenage Dog. Barbara is also a highly successful and keen competitor in dog sports, regularly competing in agility and rally events. Barbara is a powerful voice in her community for force-free training methods and has developed a network of like-minded businesses to spread the positive training message. Barbara’s professional qualifications and memberships include:
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Happy Tails Training Tasmania
Goodog Positive Dog TrainingMandy Hedderwick, Secretary
Mandy is based in Adelaide, South Australia, where she runs her dog training business, Praise the Dog Canine Services. Mandy was born and raised in South Africa and grew up with both working and family dogs. Mandy moved to New Zealand in 2003 where she studied and worked in academia. Her love for science and enquiry grew in the years she researched and worked at Otago University in Dunedin. While in New Zealand, Mandy volunteered in Dog Rescue for 7 years where she received practical dog training education and experience, and discovered an aptitude for helping dogs through trauma. After moving to Australia in 2013, Mandy worked as General Manager of the Adelaide Lightning WNBL team, and Chief Operations Officer of the Adelaide 36ers and Adelaide Arena. An opportunity to get back into science proved too good to pass up, and she moved into the Biomedical Engineering field. As she got more involved in dog sports with her own dogs, and experienced changes in her personal life, she took the inevitable leap into the dog services industry and started her own dog training business in 2021. In addition to running her own dog training business, Mandy teaches dog training and handling, and Principles of Animal Behaviour and Welfare at The University of Adelaide's School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. She is the guardian of 2 Clumber Spaniels, Belle and Rafferty, and a Border Collie, Leo. Mandy adopted Leo when he was 15 months old, and he became her greatest teacher. While working through Leo’s anxiety, reactivity, and repetitive behaviours, they developed an incredible bond which fuelled Mandy’s passion and resolve to help other dogs and their people live better together using fear free/force free training methods. Mandy’s professional qualifications and memberships include:
| Kerryn Martin, Treasurer
K9 Manners Kerryn started her career in the health and fitness industry, moving into the community not for profit sector overseeing aquatic and recreation centre contracts and then eventually heading up people, learning and culture for the YMCA in Victoria. After her 19 year old dog passed, she got a new pup and there began an interest in positive dog training. She started studying the Cert IV in Companion Animals while still working, and commenced working with her new dog in things like Flyball, Agility, Responsible Pet Education, Therapy work and then Instructing at Keilor Obedience Dog Training Centre (a very early adopter of positive training methods). This led to gaining more work teaching Puppy School (6-8 classes a week) at Caroline Springs Veterinary Hospital, and private behaviour consultations, working alongside Behaviour Vets at the clinic. Over the past 5 years she has continued to grow k9manners dog training, while juggling her other consulting business, doing people training. On going education is a key part of Kerryn’s current agenda and she has undertaken over 40 courses and webinars over the past few years (and there’s still plenty in the “to complete” pile). She shares her life with two spoodles, Bailey and Indy and two cats, Jax and Jaz. Kerryn’s professional qualifications and memberships include:
| Hilary Paull, Membership Manager
Long standing animal lover and professional dog trainer for 10 years Hilary has had many animals, dogs, cats, alpacas and cows, and gets the chance to train horses and birds at times. Hilary likes to challenge herself by talking on clients behaviourally difficult dogs. Currently therapy and service dog training is her other special interest, along with ongoing education and cooperative work relationships. Hilary has competed and played with, agility, DWD, Scent work, and a little Rally. Hilary’s professional qualifications and memberships include:
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K9 PotentialGeneral Committee Members
Louise Newman
Louise grew up traveling the world. Each posting came with its own set of animals which meant training, good husbandry and health care were taught as part of daily life. Louise moved to Australia in 1997 continuing her teaching career. Then in 2011 she founded Let’s Go Fido! joining forces with local vets to deliver puppy school and dog training. Louise and her team also deliver specialised services like Nosework, Reactive Rover, and Kids and Dogs classes. Louise’s gentle, positive and friendly nature also makes her the perfect trainer to provide in-home consultations for dogs and owners needing that extra bit of support. Louise believes that training goes beyond puppyhood – that it is a way of life. It should be fun, relevant and most importantly add to the bond between you and your dog. With this in mind , Let's Go Fido! was created in 2011 running a variety of training classes on the Lower North Shore and Balmain/ Hunters Hill area New South Wales. Louise’s professional qualifications and memberships include:
| Louise Colombari
Positive Paws & People Dog Training Louise has been working with animals since 2000 and lives on the Northern Beaches of Sydney with her family and her Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Bonnie. After completing degrees in Education and Music, Louise went on to teach and administrate in secondary schools for ten years, until leaving to pursue a career in animal care in 1999. While studying Veterinary Nursing, Louise discovered positive reinforcement training and completed a Certificate IV in Behaviour and Training with the Delta Institute in 2005. Between 2000-2022, Louise worked in veterinary hospitals as a nurse and trainer. During this time, she also trained junior nurses and vets, ran puppy school and teenage classes and assisted the vets with behaviour consultations. In 2020, Louise launched Positive Paws & People Dog Training, where she offers individual and in-home behaviour training. She is also a trainer for mindDog Australia. Louise frequently attends seminars, workshops and conferences both in person and on-line, to maintain and further develop her knowledge and skills to ensure best practice in behaviour and training. The aim of Louise’s training is to teach owners how to communicate effectively with their dog so that they end up with a calm and confident companion. Outside of work, Louise still enjoys participating in and making music and teaching her dog Bonnie. Louise’s professional qualifications and memberships include:
| Jess Sandstrom Howling Success Dog Training and Behaviour After leaving a job in Security Services, Jess began her career with animals in 2012 when she took up a role as a Kennel Hand at Monika’s Doggie Rescue. After attaining her first formal qualification in dog training in 2014 and being taken under the wing of another Professional Trainer Bobby McLachlan she hasn’t looked back. Jess lives with a 3 year old Rottweiler named Odin who is her pride and joy. Jess specialises in dog – dog reactivity and is extremely passionate about helping clients understand their anxious or fearful dog. Jess’s professional qualifications and memberships include:
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Let’s Go Fido!
Adriana Gonzalez
Adriana's love for all animals developed at a very early age, she was one of those children who always came home with a stray. However, her life path took her into the medical field and during her many years working as a Registered Nurse Adriana continued to study anything to do with animals particularly dogs. This was her hobby. Finally in 2016, Adriana made the life jump from Registered Nurse to Veterinary Nurse. Today, Adriana runs her own bespoke doggy daycare facility and doggy hotel and animal training business. Adriana has trained canines of all breeds and sizes as well as cats, birds and exotics. Adriana is also the CEO of Forever Home Pet Rescue Inc; an animal rescue and rehoming charity. Adriana’s professional qualifications and memberships include:
| Heather EngelLittle Angels Dog Training
Heather has a passion for training with deaf/hard of hearing and blind/visually impaired dogs and is owned by two of them. Brock, a bilaterally deaf Dannif, and Stan Doggo Lee, a unilaterally deaf and vision impaired Mastador. Heather discovered games-based training while looking for a positive reinforcement training method to help Brock with disengagement and reactivity and she hasn’t looked back. She teaches puppies, adolescent dogs, dogs with behaviour struggles. Heather’s professional qualifications and memberships include:
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Paws & Claws Academy
Based at the foot of the Blue Mountains in NSW, Heather has been helping guardians and their dogs through her training business, Little Angels Dog Training, since 2018.