About
Melbourne-based, originally from Hong Kong. I have a Veterinary Science degree, a Master's in Early Childhood Education, and fifteen years of work across zoos, wildlife reserves, and assistance dog programs before I started my own practice in 2022.
That mix is unusual for a dog trainer, and it is the whole point. Different species, different stakes, one common thread: every animal I have worked with has an innate desire to be good when its needs are met and the environment makes the good choice obvious. My job is to set that up.
My dog Murphy is a certified assistance dog. She is calm and reliable off-leash and around other dogs. Not because I drilled her. Because I stopped commanding and started listening.
The insight came from a dog before Murphy. Kirin was trained for assistance dog work, built around cues and reinforcement. She was reliable in the right hands. But assistance dog placement requires a dog that works for a handler who may be in pain, managing a medical episode, or hands full with children. Someone who cannot always give a cue at the right moment. Kirin was not suited to placement for that reason. Not because she was not trained well. Because the training depended on the handler being capable.
That is the ceiling. Obedience that requires a capable handler fails exactly when it is needed most. In a normal household, that is most of the time.
That question led me to a different approach. Not how to get a dog to respond to commands, but how to set up a life where the dog makes good decisions because the structure makes the good choice obvious. Murphy is what that looks like in practice.
What I believe
Most dogs I see have not been trained badly. They have been read wrong. They are under-rested, given too much freedom for the brain they have got, and asked to perform when there is nothing left in the tank.
No method on earth fixes that, because the problem is not method. It is diagnosis. Read the dog first. Meet the needs underneath the behaviour. Then good behaviour follows on its own, and it holds up on walks, in cafes, and when visitors arrive, without constant correction.
15+
Years across zoo, wildlife, and private sectors
3,000+
Dogs worked with across Melbourne and online
235+
Five-star Google reviews
BSc + Masters
Veterinary Science and Early Childhood Education
The philosophy, written down
The conversation I have in the first ten minutes of every session, written down. Eight chapters on why your dog is not misbehaving, but unfulfilled, so you can have that conversation with yourself first.
Read the guide — $10 →Whether you have a dog with a behaviour problem, a new puppy on the way, or you are a trainer who wants to learn the method, there is a starting point for you.