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 of a high-end pet resort and spa in Oxford, MS, and continues to operate her own Dog Training and Pet Care business in Texas. Rebekah’s current business roles include Vice-President of Doggone Safe, Director of Operations at The Pet Professional Guild, and Student Coordinator and faculty member at the DogNostics Education

Rebekah has a Bachelor of Science and a Master’s degree from West Texas A&M University, Canyon, Texas. Rebekah’s current business roles include Vice-President of Doggone Safe, Membership Manager at The Pet Professional Guild, and Student Coordinator and faculty member at the 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
• PDA Instructor/Assessor
• The Pet Professional Guild “Pet First Aid Certified”
• DogNosts Faculty and Co-Presenter for
  • Pet Care Certification Program
  • Pet First Aid Certification
  • Canine Enrichment Technician

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

Having spent almost 50 years training dogs, 13 years as an obedience judge and many years in formal canine studies, Debra has a passion for helping others to better understand dogs and how to train them. Establishing her own training centre in 1979, back when aversive training was the only way known in Australia, she was ahead of her time in seeking new and better ways to build positive relationships with our 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.

Attaining a Diploma in Dog Training and Behavior Consulting and another in Animal Behavior Science and Technology from the Companion Animal Sciences Institute, she consolidated her theoretical skills by gaining perfect scores in the Competency Assessment Program (CAP) Levels 1& 2, a demanding skills program out of the UK.

Debra 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 is currently an international assessor for the practical component of the Pet Professional Accreditation Board’s three credentials for training technicians, professional trainers and professional behaviour consultants.

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

Having spent many years teaching puppy pre-school Debra has now spent almost 20 years as the Senior Volunteer Trainer for Canine Behavioural School Inc (CBS), a not-for-profit, volunteer dog training facility run by professional dog trainers in Adelaide, South Australia. Over the last several years she has helped to establish the CBS Aspiring Instructor program that educates future dog trainers, allowing them to gain experience under the mentorship 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. Graduates from this course receive partial credit transfer for PPAB credentials. There is now interstate interest in volunteers from other dog training clubs participating in this course, with one club already having completed the two year program.

Debra is constantly learning from her two best teachers – Ned and Laila – two ‘second hand’ Brussels Griffons and together they have earned many trick and noseworks qualifications and the two Griffs have appeared on several occasions for promotions for canine adventure parks and on canine calendars.