About Us

Growing up in rural Cornwall meant I was exposed to animals right from the get go.

My parents owned a Market Gardens and we spent our childhood digging in the dirt, making mud pies and generally being outside. Early on, good work ethic was drummed into us, with Dad working full time as a builder, and any spare hours in the gardens, we spent our days with mum while she worked planting, growing, and picking.

Our holidays were spent helping Mum in the gardens. On a south facing hill, it was the best way to get a tan, and I preferred it to joining my friends on the beach.

One of my earliest memories was walking along the road, holding mums hand and asking for a dog. Unfortunately, that was not to be. My mum was a die hard cat person. However, when I was 5, I got home from school to find a pony in the yard. That started a love for horses, though I still wanted that dog!

Magic was the perfect first pony, putting up with everything we did as we learnt to ride. My 2nd pony was a different kettle of fish. A 3yr old gypsy pony, he pushed the boundaries of our knowledge, teaching me how to ride in a whole new way. Just before I became a teenager, I got my first horse. A green 6yr old Irish Sports horse, we learned together as we hit the local 1 day events.

After 3 ponies, 3 hamsters, and a lot of begging, mum finally caved and she bought me my first dog.

A Border Collie called Venus. And so started a love for training, always on a quest to find the right methods.

Venus went with me everywhere, even being tied up behind the 6th form while I went to classes. We would walk miles, and ride further, either by bike or horse. Once I passed my driving test, we started agility

When I went off to college, I had to leave her behind, but would come home every weekend to visit. Needing a bit of cash to boost my income, I started working on a neighbouring farm milking cows. I had already done some work experience on a sheep farm and so, my focus at college, though initially based on learning more about animal behaviour, increased to farming.

We only recently lost Venus, and though she spent the latter half of her years living with mum, she remained my dog until the end, a full 17 1/2 years.

Since then, I have acquired 3 more dogs, 2 collies as puppies, a Jack Russel as a 2 year old and bred her, keeping one puppy. And 1 pony, acquired wild from the Chagford Hill pony sales. We currently have 5 dogs, as my partner came with 2, though we sadly lost one 18 months ago.

During my time in Bicton College doing an Animal Management Course, I fell ill with Glandular fever. Little did I know how that was to shape my life. i left college and started work on another farm milking, this is when I found my 2nd dog Flynn. My interest in farming had grown but I was still driven to learn what I could about training dogs, so it was only natural I sought out a local sheepdog trainer. I left the farm to start working as a carer, but took Flynn to train as a sheepdog whenever I could. I can't say we were any good, but what I learned in that field, sometimes in the freezing cold and horizontal rain, stays with me to this day and has often come in handy for both Flynn and I.

By the time I was 21, I had been diagnosed with ME/CFS, and my health slowly declined until I was unable to work any more. To give myself something to focus on, I started Duchy Dashers Flyball Club. A love of Flyball started.

With the birth of my son, and with careful management, I managed to get back to a job I loved, Care Work, defying the doctors, who had said I may never get back to work, let alone care work.

I continued to work for several more years, training on the side, eventually dropping to weekends only to allow me to concentrate on Flyball and set up a dog walking business. Eventually though, the dog walking became to much, and for the sake of my health I gave it up.

In the meantime, I had met my current partner, now my fiancé, and my daughter had come along, so needing a bigger house we moved to a cottage in the country. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago I caught the flu. this triggered a huge decline in my health and yet again, I had to give up work and Flyball completely. However, as I began to improve, it opened up the doorway to concentrate solely on training. I still struggle some days to even get out of bed, and have had to give up running classes on a Saturday, but still enjoy offering 121s.

Over 10 years ago, after much soul searching, and realising that methods based on dominance and force really weren't morally right, I found a training organisation that founded it's methods on up to date science, and actively advocated positive, force free training.

Back then, it was relatively small. Founded by Steve Mann, it was then 'The Alpha Dog Training School' but was renamed the 'Institute of Modern Dog Trainers' just a few years later.

Here, on a 2 day and 4 day course, I learnt all the basics of dog behaviour, training and more importantly, how to train the human on the other end of the lead.

I bumbled along for a few years with this knowledge, reading books recommended by the IMDT to further my knowledge and running classes in Wadebridge, and then in Launceston. Not long after my move to Launceston, my CFS became bad enough that, for a time, I gave up training completely. That's when I found Flyball, and after a quick lesson from a leading club, I concentrated on the sport for a couple of years. I did an extra course with the IMDT that focussed on physical fitness, and now integrate that into my everyday training

A trip to Crufts changed that when, having gone with my mum (yeah, the die hard cat lady at a dog show!!), she and a top IMDT member railroaded me into doing the assessment required to officially qualify as an IMDT trainer.

Unfortunately, I failed! I tend to freeze up under exam conditions, and though I scored a 96.2 in the Q&A proving I had the knowledge, I failed to get that across in the practical side.

This started a renewed drive to improve, and after attending a couple more courses (puppy, reactivity) and shadowing another trainer, I retook the assessment during Covid, and passed with flying colours. I could now move forward with the confidence. To continue to be a member of the IMDT, each year I have to provide an extensive list of learning sources proving up to date knowledge, ensuring dog owners are getting the latest scientifically backed information.

Unlike the dog training, I have no formal education training horses. |During my teenage years, natural horsemanship became popular, firstly, Monty Roberts, then Pat Parelli. Just as with the dogs, I do not believe that harsh methods produce good results, and using a combination of methods from the above and what I have learnt of animal behaviour and learning theory from my own studies, I train the horses in my care carefully and positively.

The Charter aims to make a clear statement regarding the future direction of the dog behaviour and training industry in relation to professional standards, tools and methodologies. The welfare of the dogs lies at the heart of its mandate, making clear representation as to what is, and isn’t, acceptable in a modern, progressive profession.

It also seeks to provide assurance to the public, other professional bodies, and Government Agencies that signatory organisations are committed to open, transparent and robust complaints and grievances procedures that can be supported by independent arbitration if needed.

It is hoped that the Charter will give assurance and accountability to the public and other relevant bodies. Displaying the Charter symbol will show that the dog professional is a member of a Charter organisation, and has aligned themselves to the ethical and welfare and conduct obligations that are at the heart of the Charter.