IN PERSON OBEDIENCE TRAINING
CONNECTED OBEDIENCE
I guide dogs and handlers to achieve 'connected obedience' in seminars, and in a monthly training group.
My focus is on connection in the partnership.
This means observing and listening to our dogs, playing, and making 'obedience' the most fun game that our dogs would have ever asked for.
Whether you are looking for more connected heelwork (my favourite exercise to teach)
More enthusiastic and accurate retrieves
A more precise position
I love to guide dog/handler partnerships to SHINE in training and in the ring.
WHERE TO FIND ME:
- Monthly connected Obedience group at Eye to Eye, Bristol
-Weekend Workshops:
-
"I first remember seeing you do a practice round at the side of a ring....I can still see it so clearly now in my mind's eye. I knew then I was witnessing something great. I even felt it. I couldn't take my eyes off you. Just a few seconds of observing and it was like I understood your bond and knew this was special. I've watched you go from success to success and been cheering all the way. You were given a gift and you lifted us all up. You changed the field, the game and even the perception of the breed. I'm sure that doesn't come without its battles and scars but the divine chooses his soldiers wisely. Shanti was meant to come to you and you were destined to achieve great things together. Her legacy continues in so many ways. Thinking of you kat, but also celebrating the Team you are."
Thank you to the kindness of an Arun for this perspective of me working beautiful shanti.
MY STORY
At the age of 14 I was awarded the Kennel Club Junior Organisation Gold Medal. I ran my own dog club, competed with my dogs in agility and breed showing and was passionate about teaching dogs and educating their people. Fast forward to now, and I reemerged into the world of dog sports as a serious competitor, a decade ago, with my homebred Australian Shepherd, Shanti. We started at the lowest level, at pre-beginners, and in just 4 years, we were working Championship Class, and we were the highest placed female Aussie in the Crufts Obedience Championships. My journey with Shanti was meteoritic.
And four years later, I had made up two Obedience Champions, Shanti and her daughter, Gracie.
Gracie has now won 5 Obedience Challenge Certificates!! The most of any Australian Shepherd in the UK. Gracie has now qualified for the Crufts Obedience Championships 2026, as the only non-collie female.
Gracie also competes in IGP and is the only Aussie to qualify IGP3 in the UK in history. She's now made history being the first ever Australian Shepherd to compete at the IGP FCI World Championships and what's more, she was the top scoring dog on team GB! Not bad for a female Australian Shepherd!!
With the right mindset + great training, anything is possible!
Often, the thing that's holding us back isn't our training, it's the stories in our minds.
What's my secret sauce? Undoubtably, it's the gift of unshakable confidence which my life dedicated to the practices of yoga and meditation have gifted me, learning the tools of self-inquiry, and the secret of getting into flow state, as well as my connection with my dogs, which has given me the ability to achieve so much and so quickly.
My work has included:
- International Speaker at events on the importance of mindset
- Yoga Expert for Psychologies magazine
- Speaker at Mindful Living Show, OM Yoga show and other events
- Contributor to Susan Garrett's Agility Nation platform
- Appeared in Tatler, Vogue, Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday, the Guardian and many, many more publications on yoga and mindset and regular columnist for OM Yoga Magazine and Be Kind magazine.
- Qualified as a Yoga Teacher in 2003.
- Qualified as a Dog Trainer in 2006.
- Qualified as an Obedience Judge in 2007.
- Breeder of Australian Shepherds since 2009
I'm combining my skills of mindset and yoga, teaching celebrities and setting up Movement for Modern Life in 2013, with my lifelong passion for dogs and learning.
I realised that the tools and techniques of mindfulness, nervous system regulation and self-discovery were crucial to the very quick successes I've demonstrated in the field of dog sports. And all with a breed that we don't associate with high-level dog sports! And I learned that once you step into who you really are, there's no going back.
I'm sharing the tools and techniques that I've learned over the decades, which have given me the competitive edge. I'm absolutely delighted that my students have experienced more success, more connection and more fun with their dogs since joining my programmes than they've ever experienced before. What has worked for me, is working for others, their success now speaks for itself.
It really is a case of life before Mindset Mastery for Dog Sports, and life afterwards. Because everything will change.
If you're ready to walk away from your own limiting beliefs and work on your own end of the lead, I am ready to lead the way.
