Mandy Gibson
My journey as an animal behaviourist began when I adopted my first dog Daisy (a Chinese Sharpei) almost 16 years ago. Up until then my partner and I had considered ourselves "cat people". Daisy was a very special and easy going dog and opened our world up to the very special bond of living with dogs. Looking for a training approach that offered a proven approach based on science, but didn't involve force and offered a method that fostered mutual respect and understanding, I found Tellington T-touch. Once I attended the first workshop with Daisy I realized that I had found exactly what I was looking for.
After a 3 year training period I became a qualified Tellington T-touch practitioner in 2013.
We then adopted Sledge, a border collie / husky cross from DARG, and it was time to take my training to the next level and I enrolled with COAPE (Centre of Applied Pet Ethology) to complete my Diploma in animal behaviour in 2014. I volunteered with my dog Daisy as a therapy dog with Pets as Therapy until she retired from visits, and served as one of the assessors for new dogs entering the organization until 2019.
I currently work with one on one clients, offering private home behaviour consultations and assessments to help clients with various behaviour challenges with their dogs and cats, using a combination of Tellington T-touch and purely positive reinforcement methods. Together with my colleague and fellow animal behaviourist Mari Yaganawa, we also offer Tellington T-touch workshops. Mari Yaganawa and I offer Canine Lifeskills classes for adolescent and older dogs.
My mission is to bridge the gap between humans and animals using up to date science based methods to increase understanding and enhance the relationship and bond of trust shared, while addressing behaviour challenges.
As an animal behaviourist, my philosophy is that animals are our best teachers.
