meet us
Welcome to our site and thanks for having a look around. Animal behaviour and training has been a life long passion of ours. We pride ourselves on finding effective solutions for our clients that prioritises the welfare and wellbeing of both the dogs and the families that we work with.
Lewis & Hannah live on a big lifestyle property (aka private Dog Park) in the Tararua District with their three resident dogs - Poodle the 7yr old Standard Poodle, Adira the 5yr old Deaf & Blind Collie x (pictured left) and Sunny the 9yr old rehomed Rough Collie, and typically a foster or two!
When not working with dogs, Lewis can be found pumping iron or restoring old axes in his workshop and Hannah can be found long distance running with Poodle or creating leather dog gear in her workshop.
hannah
MSc clinical animal behaviourist
Since 2009 I have been studying behaviour and training dogs professionally.
I specialise in behaviour modification for fear, anxiety and aggression. My priority is always to improve dog's psychological wellbeing and to develop emotionally robust family pets; dogs which can focus and thrive in our lifestyles.
I pride myself on using gentle and effective methods. As research in the industry grows so to do my methods and techniques.
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I am most passionate about husbandry and cooperative care training, which works to reduce fear and stress during handling procedures such as grooming or vet visits, and where dogs are taught to volunteer for (and hopefully enjoy) these day to day inevitable procedures.
lewis (taz)
dog trainer
I started out using traditional methods, which focused on using ‘corrections’ and applying outdated ideas about dogs being part of a pack and having then to assert the position as the ‘pack leader’. As my interest grew, so did my interest in behaviourism, cognitivism and the science as a whole. I soon learned that what I was doing was not only unnecessary but also somewhat damaging to a lot of dogs.
Fast forward 10 years and I am now applying evidence based methods when resolving behavioural issues. I like to understand how the method works and I will opt to use the methods that are the least intrusive and minimally aversive to the dog that I am working with.
I have many key interests in dog training but have noticed a select few that seem to have more benefits than others for pet dogs. I am fascinated with how incredible the dog’s nose is and have a keen interest in scent work training. Not only do I think it is a fun thing to teach, I also believe it has so many applications to help with so many problems people face as well. Simple exercises that engage the dog’s nose has been shown to reduce overall stress levels in dogs and this leads me to another keen interest of mine. How stress can impact a dog's behaviour and how we can help them reduce their stress levels using a training programme that focuses heavily on positive reinforcement based methods.
