My Bio
I have been a trainer of both companion animals (including horses, dogs, cats and even gold fish!) and humans for many years. Although I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics, I have always been a keen animal lover and therefore completed minors in Zoology and Psychology as part of my Science Degree. However, I also went on to complete my Diploma in Education to become an educator of teenage humans. Meanwhile, I also trained horses and riders and was a Level 1 National Coaching and Accreditation Scheme Coach with the Equestrian Federation of Australia for over ten years. In that time I also assisted many an equestrian rider with their dogs and/or puppies behavioural problems. I have always been drawn to positive reinforcement methods but it wasn't until I gained my Professional Dog Training Science and Technology Program certificate through Companion Animal Science Institute, Canada that I was able to prove by science why positive reinforcement training works best for teacher and learner alike. I have been training humans to train their dogs successfully for over fifteen years and been a member of APDT Australia and APDT USA, the Association of Animal Behaviour Professionals (AABP), the Pet Professional Guild (PPG) and is a CLASS (Canine Life and Social Skills) Evaluator. I received the award of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, Dog Trainer of the Year 2016. Being a teacher and on leadership at my other "human training" job in a school I have developed teaching and leading skills that have enriched my expertise in teaching people how to train their animals. As a strong believer in life long learning and making training inspiring and fun I continue to update my skills by attending seminars and webinars of some of the best positive reinforcement trainers in the world.
