About Kay
So who am I and why choose me?
What inspired me to gain my qualifications in Dog Training, Behaviour and Canine Psychology?
(Level 3 with Excellence)
For as long as I can remember, dogs have been a passion. My very first dog, Sheba, was a dream and we were inseparable. We grew up together, had adventures together, learned together and she was my first canine teacher. A border collie/golden retriever cross, she was gentle, intelligent and supremely patient. In short, bomb-proof!
My next dog couldn’t have been more opposite! I began sharing my life with Holley, my challenging German Shepherd shortly after losing Sheba and learned, very quickly, that I had a big job to do! She had nerves of jelly, was cursed with every anxiety known to man and dog and I had no experience of this, so I went to school! She is responsible for the personal canine interest path I then followed. I studied everything I could get my hands on and eventually, after many stumbles and setbacks, we triumphed. I loved her dearly through all the frustrations and hiccups, and will forever be grateful to her for setting me on a path that would eventually lead me here.
I spent over 25 years as a photography tutor and photography is still a passion. Observation is something that is key to this, especially when photographing animals and wildlife – my favourite subjects. Noticing tiny details is something that helps enormously when studying behaviour and this translated perfectly into my canine work. I began by helping friends and their dogs, and there is a standing joke that I dog-trained my daughter! (she ‘stayed’ perfectly when she was a toddler!).
I have met and worked with a wide variety of canine personalities, from pets and rescues to show and agility dogs and I realised that the real passion when I photographed these dogs was actually the behaviour work, so more study and more qualifications were achieved and here we are.
I strive to help achieve a stress-free, strong bond and partnership for every dog, and their people, that I meet. I use only positive, force-free training techniques and work closely with people, handlers and families. There is something very special about the bond between any dog and their person, and I am privileged to be a part of this process.
My own original working partner, Molly (the sweet face on the front page), came such a long way from the timid, waif like Kelpie girl she was when she arrived age 6. She and I worked, lived, slept and played our way through 10 amazing years before she ran free over that rainbow bridge. She was the very best partner I have ever had and my best friend.
Rescues have always played a big part in my life, and in 2018 I went to meet a very troubled Border Collie Pup. She had been abandoned, tied up on a 60mph road, at the end of the drive to a rescue centre. 'Chaos' was just 10 months old. She couldn’t walk on 4 legs, panicked at everything and had given the rescue staff a lot of split lips. Her potential new home had refused to take her when they saw how severe she was so – yes, you guessed it! – I adopted her, changed her name to Luna, and for the next 3+ years spent 24/7 loving her, teaching her and playing with her. Games were the key for this clever girl and she was a really fast learner, but the outside world was a very overwhelming place and she had such sensory overload. She turned out to be the most honest (get it wrong and those teeth would flash) and fine tuning teacher I have ever met! Ours is a well documented story (Facebook “Chaos Reigns”) and she was really beginning to let some of her many issues go when her poor brain became her worst enemy. We lost beautiful Luna at just over 4 years old. Heartbreaking and leaving a big hole in our lives.
Her Legacy will live on in the work I do with rescue rehabilitation dogs.
Luna's Page
In 2022, after 6 months without a dog, and with hundreds of rescue faces looking out at me from various websites and pages, I spotted Rosie. Another 6 year old Kelpie who hadn’t had a great time of it. She moved in, took over the sofa and we are fast becoming a good team. She has overcome lots of fears, mostly to do with her years in a kennel, enabling her to now ride in lifts, cope with big traffic and, despite her hatred of water, accompany me on my kayak and camping adventures! There are still some wrinkles to iron out, but she is a sweet, funny and very cheeky girl who is learning to have fun again.
Rosie's Page
​
​
​
I have added a very special role to my working world as one of the Behaviourists and Assessors for RATS (Rehoming Animal Telephone Service), where I work closely with the team at Highfields Kennels in Buntingford, to support surrendered dogs and adopted dogs and their new families. I have been working with them in a small role for the past 18 months and I love it!
I will be assessing dogs coming into the kennels, working closely with new adopting families and supporting the adopted dogs into their new worlds.
