I was born, brought up, and educated in England, United Kingdom and left the UK in 2006 when my husband's job took us abroad. We lived in 3 European cities with our 2 West Highland White Terriers before making the long journey from Switzerland to Northern California where we resided for 3.5 years. I have a business background having worked in the field of Human Resources since finishing University where I studied Business and Finance and then went on to complete my Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management.
From a young age, I always had a passion for animals. I love dogs, cats, birds, horses, and mammals. When we moved to California, my husband encouraged me to take the opportunity to venture into something related to my love for animals. Since I really enjoyed training our 2 West Highland White Terriers, I looked into becoming a dog trainer at a well known dog training franchise in California.
Career Progression
While employed there, I started out as a dog trainer and became certified to train for the franchise. I worked my way up to head trainer and also had responsibilities for training the other trainers. I ran classes in puppy kindergarten, puppy obedience, and all levels of dog obedience. I ran a variety of workshops including shy dog, nosework, loose leash walking, recall workshops, therapy dog, calm down, and Urban Herding.
Additionally I ran one to one Private training sessions for owners whose dogs could not participate in group classes either because they were too fearful or were either reactive or aggressive which required more specialized training such as behavior adjustment training, systematic desensitization and counter conditioning. While working at the franchise, I became a certified AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator and ran classes to help prepare owners and dogs to take the test.
Continuing Education
I continued my education at the Animal Behavioral College and became a Nationally Certified Dog Trainer. This qualification is recognized throughout the USA and Canada. When my husband’s job brought us to Boston, Massachusetts I decided that with all of the experience and knowledge I had acquired, the time was right to branch out and set up my own business as a professional dog trainer.
Furthermore in July 2020 I graduated from the Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training and Behavior. The Victoria Stilwell Academy is the world’s premier institution for professional dog trainer education founded by renowned dog behavior expert Victoria Stilwell, and graduates of VSA have been individually taught in-person by Stilwell and other VSA faculty. All VSA graduates are rigorously assessed at the highest level for both skills and knowledge in the areas of dog training, behavior modification, canine ethology, creative problem-solving and more.
Additionally, great emphasis is placed within VSA’s industry-leading curriculum upon effective and empathetic human communication skills. This unique focus results in professional dog trainers who are prepared not just to train dogs successfully using powerful force-free, positive reinforcement-based tools and techniques, but also to help dog owner clients to learn how to truly transform canine behavior and set their dogs up for success using the latest in modern behavioral science methods.
Learn more about the Victoria Stilwell Academy here.
https://www.vsdogtrainingacademy.com/
