Wendy
A trained teacher, and having shared my life with lots of dogs, I began to take an interest in dog training in 2010. Living in Dubai at the time, first of all I did a diploma as a Dog Obedience Trainer with the US-based Penn Foster Career School. I then attended a two-day course in England with Steve Mann (IMDT) when his company was still known as Alpha Dog Training School and also took part in a week-long dog training 'boot camp' with PDTI to gain first-hand, practical experience of how to train dogs. After this, I attended dog training classes in Dubai as a participant, not trainer, but always wanted to set up my own dog training school. So on my return to the UK, I attended another practical PDTI course, I completed a course in Professional Instructor Skills and Management with the Cambridge Institute of Dog Behaviour and Training, I did a Training for the Future - Puppy Class Instructor Course with Sarah Whitehead and attended a Dog Training Instructor's Course - Advanced - with the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. I also volunteered with a dog training company in Plymouth and finally, in 2016 I set up my own business: Hooe Hounds Dog and Puppy Training. At that time, there were many new developments in the world of dog training so I completed a Pro Dog Trainer and a Pro Dog Trainer Geek course with Absolute Dogs. I have also done the Puppy Lab and Thirty Days of Canine Science with the School of Canine Science and various courses with Steve Mann of IMDT including The Exercises, The Loose Lead Masterclass and The Recall Masterclass. As I believe in lifelong learning, I am also currently enrolled in Susan Garrett's Recallers and SOCS Behaviour Bible Chapter 3.
I currently live with two dogs: our demo dog Amy who is a 10-year-old Coton de Tulear, and Benji, my crazy 5-year-old Golden Retriever.
Tracey
I started learning about dog training in 2015 after my German Shepherd puppy became very reactive to dogs and people. I didn’t know it at the time, but he had a painful condition in his shoulders, which was part of the reason walks were stressful for him. Fast forward 9 years and I have completed (and continue to study) a multitude of courses in dog training, dog behaviour, identifying pain in dogs, canine fitness, canine therapeutic exercise and canine massage (more details at www.flexandpaws.com). All these subjects are close to my heart, because dogs are complex. Their physical wellbeing can have a huge impact on their mental wellbeing and vice versa. As well as growing my own company (Flex and Paws), I have previously been employed as a trainer in one of the UKs largest training centres and worked with hundreds of dogs. There isn’t much I haven’t seen when it comes to our canine companions!
