Michele is a travelling trainer, living a blissfully nomadic lifestyle in Australia. Together with her husband, canine kids and caravan in tow, Michele can be found almost anywhere in the Great Southern Land at different times. Never in a hurry to move on, this gypsy family often spend many months in places that please them. She may be in your neck of the 'downunder' woods right now.
Having had canine companions all her life, and childless by choice, Michele is passionate about four-legged kids. She bred Shih Tzu for a number of years and has lived with Cocker Spaniels, Poodles, Papillons, Labradors, horses, a couple of birds, and a few pussy cats along the way. In the early years, Michele attended traditional obedience classes with her kids and found them to be rigidly structured, demanding, and bossy. She always found those classes to be quite stressful - for two and four-legged critters alike.
In 2003, Michele attended an animal acting school with her Spoodle, Bertie - where she was introduced to the efficacy of clicker training, and to the great wisdom contained in Karen Pryor's book Don't Shoot the Dog. She was immediately hooked on clicker training! Later she joined a canine freestyle dancing group, also based on positive reinforcement. There she discovered that her choreography needed TAGteach techniques more than her kids needed clicking! Wonderful freestyle seminars, in 2009 with Richard Curtis from the UK and in 2012 with Michele Pouliot, have been highlights in Michele’s dancing career. (Both Bertie and Dylan still display better rhythm than she does!)
Michele was thrilled to be accepted into the Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) International Dog Trainer Program, from which she graduated in November 2011 as a Certified Training Partner (CTP). The KPA program expanded her horizons and introduced her to TAGteach for people. Michele earned TAGteach Level 1 Certification in July 2012. The Poultry in Motion workshop and Instructor Training with Terry Ryan, also in 2012, further reinforced the principles of operant conditioning—and they both were great fun! Always willing to broaden her knowledge base, Michele has recently completed KPA’s Puppy Start Right for Instructors course.
In 2014 Michele earned her Level 2 TagTeach qualification.
In 2015, in line with her commitment to shelter work and ongoing education, Michele successfully completed KPA's Shelter Training & Enrichment Course.
Michele is a member of Doggone Safe - an organisation committed to education initiatives for the purpose of dog bite prevention and increased child safety around dogs. She is a Doggone Safe "Be A Tree" Presenter.
Member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers Australia & Association of Pet Dog Trainers USA.
