You will soon see our passion for helping you and your four-legged bestie find balance.

Michelle is the owner of Friends Of The Dog New Zealand. Her love for dogs, behaviour modification and dog training is so strong that it has lead her to devote her life to improving the relationships people have with their furry companions. She gained her formal qualifications in South Africa, but currently resides in New Zealand with her husband and their two beloved Jack Russell Terriers.

She is passionate about what she does and she truly wants to make a difference in the lives of all the dogs she can reach. Michelle strives to achieve this by educating dog owners, and those interested in a career with dogs, on all things dog-related and by volunteering her time and skills to dog shelters in need of Dog Grooming advice and/or Basic Obedience programs that will help make the dogs in their care more adoptable. Some organisations she has volunteered with are:  African Tails, Animal Anti-Cruelty League (AACL) Epping, Change For The Better Foundation, Pug Rescue SA and Valhalla Park Animal Welfare (V-PAW).

Michelle is a certified Canine Behaviour Advisor, Clicker Trainer and Dog Groomer and has been working with dogs in a professional capacity since 2015. As a qualified Canine Behaviour Advisor, Michelle can assist you with common behaviour-related concerns you may be experiencing with your dog. The quicker a potential problem is analysed and attended to, the quicker the behaviour can be modified. She only recommends the use of positive reinforcement training methods. Michelle also believes that whoever dares to teach, must never cease to learn and therefore she is constantly refreshing and updating her knowledge and understanding of dog behaviour, as well as her dog training skills.

Charmaine is the co-founder of Friends Of The Dog South Africa. She stumbled into the world of Dogdom quite coincidentally, but then again there is no such thing as a coincidence – she just was not planning on it!

She has been privileged to be under Scotty’s mentorship and has aided in various workshops, which have been an utterly fantastic experience for her. Through the excellent knowledge she acquired by completing the Canine Behaviour Foundation Course through FODS Academy and the practical experience gained from workshops, she realised that she was in a position to train dogs and educate their owners to help the humans understand their furry companions – thus, a passion was born! Charmaine currently instructs at the Friends Of The Dog Puppy and Dog School over weekends and loves every moment of it. They present Puppy 1 classes, Puppy 2 classes, as well as Adolescent classes. In addition to this, they present a series of Let’s Have Fun classes, where the object is to learn and well… have fun with your dog! Charmaine is also very involved in the education aspect and, together with Scotty, presents courses at shelters and rescue organisations to improve the lives of the dogs in their care and their chances of a successful adoption. In addition to this, she co-hosts all the practical sessions that tie in with the FODS Academy Canine Behaviour Courses. Charmaine’s vision for Friends Of The Dog is that it will benefit every person who visits the website and that people will come away with a better understanding of man’s best friend.