As the founder and President of The Pet Professional Guild, DogNostics Career Center and The DogSmith, Niki has substantial leadership experience in the pet industry. Niki has published numerous articles on dog training and dog behavior and her pet dog training businesses have been featured in many publications including The New York Times. Niki’s professional credentials include; AABP-Professional Dog Trainer, AABP-Professional Dog Behavior Consultant, PCBC-A and PCT-A through the Pet Professional Accrediting Board and she has earned diplomas in Animal Behavior Technology and Canine Behavior Science & Technology through the Companion Animal Science Institute. Along with Niki’s business degree and MBA from Oxford Brookes University she is also a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, a HCITB TS1, TS2 & TS3 certified people trainer and a certified Facilitator and Project Manager.

Louise is a Partner and Faculty Member of DogNostics Career Center and Board Member of The Pet Professional Guild. Louise has constantly built on her knowledge and furthered her education in the field of force-free, rewards based, science-based pet training. The creator of the DogNostics’ Dog Trainer Certification Program, Louise has presented at conferences internationally and has gained a reputation for expertly teaching and training humans and canines at her own establishment, The DogSmith of Estepona, in Southern Spain, where she offers a wide range of both group and private classes and pet dog services.

Rebekah’s childhood aspirations to work with animals led to her earning a degree in Animal Science while working full-time for a vet and graduating with a Master of Business Administration from West Texas A&M University! Rebekah then rounded out her experience by teaching school for a year gaining another invaluable skill. Most recently Rebekah was the Manager for a high-end Pet Resort & Spa in Oxford MS and continues to operate her own Dog Training and Pet Care business in Texas.. Rebekah’s current business roles are as the Vice -President for Doggone Safe, the Membership Manager at The Pet Professional Guild and the Student Coordinator and a faculty member here at DogNostics Career Center.

Rebekah has a Bachelor of Science and a Master’s degree from West Texas A&M University Canyon, Texas. Rebekah’s current business roles are as the Vice -President for Doggone Safe, the Membership Manager at The Pet Professional Guild and the Student Coordinator and a faculty member here at DogNostics Career Center. Over the last few years Rebekah has earned the following credentials.

• Pet Professional Accreditation Board PCT-A
• DogSmith – Certified Dog Trainer
• DogNostics – DN-FSG1
• American Kennel Club “Canine Good citizen Evaluator”
• The Pet Professional Guild “Pet First Aid Certified”

Paula Garber is a cat behavior professional and owner of LIFELINE Cat Behavior Solutions in Westchester County, New York. She holds a master’s in education from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a diploma in feline behavior science and technology from the Companion Animal Sciences Institute. She is also a certified animal training and enrichment professional and certified feline training and behavior Specialist through the Animal Behavior Institute, a Fear Free certified animal trainer, and is certified in Low-Stress Handling for Dogs and Cats. Paula is the Editor for BARKS from the Guild and serves on PPG’s Steering Committee, and she recently joined the faculty of DogNostics Career Center.

Qualifications
Pet Professional Accreditation Board
Professional Canine Behavior Consultant – Accredited
Companion Animal Sciences Institute (PCBC – A)
Diploma of Animal Behavior Science and Technology (Dip ABST) with distinction
Diploma of Dog Training and Behaviour Consulting (Dip DTBC) with distinction
Association of Animal Behavior Professionals
Certified Animal Behavior Technologist (CABT)
Certified Dog Behavior Technologist (CDBT)
Certified Dog Trainer (CDT)
Delta Society (now Institute)
Cert IV Dog Behavioural Training
Learning About Dogs
Competency Assessment Program (CAP 1, CAP 2 each with distinction)
HBA Learning Centre
Cert IV Training and Assessment (for humans)

Board Member of
Pet Professional Guild
Association of Animal Behavior Professionals
Companion Animal Sciences Institute
Doggone Safe

Debra was born in Adelaide, South Australia where she happily resides with her husband and her two wonderful canine teachers Mace the Bouvier des Flandres and Roux the rescue Griffon Bruxellois. Deb’s first dog, Scruffy, a Border Collie mix was part of her family before she was born and there have been very few months since that time that she has been without a dog.

Having spent 40 years training, dogs, 13 years as an obedience judge and many years in formal canine studies, Deb has a passion for helping others to better understand dogs and how to train them. Establishing her own training centre in 1979 back in the days when aversive training was the only way known in Australia, she was ahead of her time in seeking out new and better ways of building relationships with dogs. Travelling to the UK and Europe enabled her to learn new techniques and the wonderful world of force-free training revealed itself to her. There was no going back to the old ways.

Attaining a Diploma in Dog Training and Behavior Consulting and another in Animal Behavior Science and Technology she consolidated her theoretical skills in gaining perfect scores in the Competency Assessment Program (CAP) Levels 1& 2.

She spent two years as Director of Animals on Course (a registered training organisation within the Australian educational framework), developing educational packages for Animal Studies and Companion Animal Services programs.

She currently is the international Assessor for the practical component of the Pet Professional Accreditation Board’s Canine Training Technician – Accredited (CTT-A) and the Professional Canine Trainer – Accredited (PCT-A).

Debra has spoken at the Pet Professional Guild’s Inaugural Education Summit in Tampa FL and the New Zealand Inaugural Association of Pet Dog Trainers Education Meeting in Wellington. She has also spoken at the Australian Association of Pet Dog Trainers Meetings in Sydney and Melbourne and the 2016 Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) – Animal Welfare Seminar in Melbourne. Debra has run (and still does run) many workshops, both nationally and internationally covering topics such as canine body language, how to choose which dog is right for you, cross-over workshops for those transitioning to +R methods, further education workshops on pet dog manners classes and CAP preparation workshops.

Debra chairs the Australian Committee that created the Pet Professional Guild’s international Pet Dog Ambassador Program which was launched in May 2016. She is on the Lead by Example Campaign Committee for the South Australian (SA) Branch of the RSPCA and has been working with the RSPCA and the SA Dog and Cat Management Board to help better educate the team in this government department with regards to best practice in current dog training.

Debra is currently the Head Instructor of Canine Behavioural School Inc (CBS), a volunteer dog training facility run by professional dog trainers. Over the last several years she has created the CBS Aspiring Instructor program that educates future dog trainers, allowing them to gain experience under the tutelage of professional trainers. This program now attracts people from all over the state and has been instrumental in teaching cross over trainers the ways of force free training.

Although Deb is slowly relinquishing some of her practical dog training pursuits, her interest remains in education and ensuring that as many dogs as possible come under the care and guidance of trainers who have been taught, tested and found competent in force-free training techniques.