Hi, I’m Amanda. Thanks to my beautiful Romanian collie cross Tilly and our journey through her struggles I created Team Tilly Canine Coaching.
I grew up with a border collie who had been attacked as a puppy and later survived being poisoned you could see the resilience a dog can have but
also the trauma that deepened with age, we also a black Labrador who was very misunderstood and severely panicked when alone. I then had my
German Shepherd cross Labrador who came to me as an adolescent, we had our challenges seeing her struggle with over excitement, frustration,
anxiety and unidentified pain but I couldn’t find the help I felt we needed. It was actually my horse that led me to the brain, pain, behaviour
relationship and I am grateful that my research bought me to better understand the animals in my life.
My current dogs both started life in Romania and found their way through local rescue into my life back in 2016. My older dog Caleb has really
blossomed engaging in games based concept training, he is very sensitive and was quite withdrawn when we adopted him. Applying concepts such
as confidence and optimism and making life fun really helped him find his way out of his shell, he is also testament that age is no obstacle to
learning. Tilly was incredibly worried about life in general, people and other dogs terrified her, she has built a lot of resilience through games based
training. Feeling safe is the first step to being able to build relationships and then start learning, Tilly has made me dig deep and reconsider what
and why we train certain behaviours.
In 2018 I studied how to apply the games based concepts. Something that really helped my dogs. In 2021 I completed the British College of Canine Studies Level 4 Advanced Canine Behaviour Diploma with a merit to gain a stronger background in behaviour. I am passionate about supporting
rescue dogs from overseas and the UK. I am a Gold Member of the Pet Professionals Network, which means I have accountability and am vetted
for membership so you can be assured of my ethical standpoint. I am also a Distinctive Dog Trainer through the Pet Professionals Network.
I am a graduate of the Dynamic Dog Practitioner programme in which I am trained in canine biomechanics, static and dynamic critical analysis, vet
report writing and have knowledge of how pain and discomfort can exacerbate and in some cases cause unwanted and often problematic behaviour in dogs. It is so important to view each dog as an individual and look at the whole picture.
This also supports my love of working with rescue dogs and older dogs in helping them settle into their new homes.