Our Story

My love of animals began when I was very young; "saving" snails from the rain as a 3 year old and letting them sleep in my bed so they could be warm and dry; to 10 year old me, enticing stray dogs to follow me home from the park in the hopes I would be allowed to keep them; and now in my late twenties, my home a constant revolving door of stray, injured and needy foster animals from ducks, dogs, cows and cats! And of course a menagerie of rescue animals that we have adopted permanently. 

​

There was never any doubt that I would work with animals. After graduating high school, I was accepted into veterinary science at Sydney University, and I was on my way to fulfil my dreams of becoming a veterinarian. It wasn't until my first pracs at the local vet clinic that I realised being a vet was not for me. I loved the science, I loved the animals, and although we were helping the animals in our care, pinning them down against their will to carry out procedures wasn't for me.

After dropping out of veterinary science, I began researching into a career in animal training. The industry is unregulated in this country, and at the time the courses available to study dog training were very short. I wanted something much more comprehensive. I wanted to study and learn and soak up all I could about animal training and behaviour, so that I could be the best that I possibly could be when it came to training animals. With this goal in mind, I came across the prestigious International Animal Behaviour and Training College (IABTC) and made the life changing decision to travel to the U.K with my dog at the time, and study full time as a dog behaviourist and animal trainer. 

​

I enjoyed every minute of my study abroad, and had the privilege to work with an array of animals at college, including pigs, cats, parrots, horses, sheep, and of course dogs! Whilst every single animal is unique, both across and within species, the science of learning and behaviour is universal. The science of behaviour and learning can be applied to every living being, from fish, to foxes, to dogs, horses and humans! Whilst there are a lot of differing opinions about how to train animals, the truth of the matter is that behavioural science is no different to any other scientific field, including medical science, neuroscience, biology, chemistry and physics! So my goal is to take the guesswork out of training animals. Seeing the damage done by faulty "training" techniques has made me very passionate about industry regulation for dog and animal training, and to help make science and ethics the foundation for all animal training.

​

With these goals in mind, after returning to Australia, I founded The Dog Nose, a business focusing on ethical and science based training for pets and their people. Several years on and I am proud to say we are one of the leading animal behaviour services on the Northern Beaches.

​​