Kelby’s story: How studying Animal Behaviour and Training transformed her dog training skills

The most rewarding part of being a dog trainer is being able to create that relationship between dog and owner, seeing people work together with their dog.

We got my beautiful boy Finn and I wanted to train him, so I started doing training within different dog sports and fell down the rabbit hole and wanted to do what my trainers were doing with me.

I think it’s important for people to hold a formal qualification because it sets the standard and then you’ve got the backing of all the theory and the practical that we do in the course that you can be confident to go out and help other people.

Two of the main things that I learned through the course is how to talk to people, like how to empathise with them in one-on-ones or in groups. How to initiate conversation with maybe difficult subjects that you might need to talk to about dogs. Then the other one was just learning the real intricate parts like body language but then how to use that within consults or look at it from another perspective.

What I enjoyed most about the course was all the people I got to meet because it’s an interstate course I’ve made friends from people all over Australia now and we still chat, and we bump ideas off at one another. It was just fun. All the theory is fun, and the zooms and the practicals intensives were just my favourite.

Each Zoom session can be a little different. Laura or Fiona would put us into groups and we’d have to discuss it or we just have to yell out our answer so it was always very interactive. Some other ones we actually did some group presentations and then some we did actual group classes, so we all had our dogs in our living rooms doing a class with one another, so it was really fun.

I had already started training because I had done the courses through IMDT and started my own business, Full of Beans Dog Training but after the course because I had all more knowledge, I was able to take on a bit more difficult cases. I also have started pet sitting I’ve been able to offer that now and I’m fully booked for the year because I’m able to help people who have dogs who may need a bit more help or can’t just be left with anybody so because I have that qualification now, they feel more trusted with me looking after their dog.