>> Pam Rowley (Instructor)

 

Pam has had a passion for dogs all her life. Since leaving school she has always worked with dogs, initially starting off as a kennel maid at a boarding kennels, then for breeders of toy and giant breeds.

 

She trained and qualified as a canine beautician and for fifteen years had her own pet shop and dog grooming parlour, which specialised in nervous and aggressive dogs that had been banned from many other groomers. As her reputation grew for managing difficult dogs she began studying canine behaviour and psychology in more detail, and has trained under the watchful eye of many well known and respected trainers and behaviourists, such as Erica Peachy and John Rogerson.

 

For many years Pam competed in the breed show ring, handling both her own dogs and handling show dogs for other people. She has also been involved in competitive obedience, agility and flyball; her real passion however is for working trials, in which she has qualified a dog to W.D. Open.

 

Pam started 'Best Friends Dog Training' in 1994 as she felt there was a need for Pet Dog Training in the area. Although there are many dog clubs, most people were wishing to compete with their dogs. Few were aimed at pets dogs and their owners, and even less were based on reward and motivational methods of training. In 1996 Pam became a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) Membership No. 00278.

 

Pam is a listed examiner for the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme and has worked dogs to the Gold level on this scheme.  In addition to training, Pam also works for a Stockport based Animal Care College as a trainer, assessor and internal verifier for animal care and customer service N.V.Q's.

 

Pam's professional development continues by attending many courses and seminars. She has recently applied to the Kennel Club to become a Kennel Club Approved Instructor. This is a new scheme recently launched by the Kennel Club. She is working towards full accreditation which involves building a portfolio of all her knowledge and experience with dogs.

 

>> Karyn Brown (Instructor)

 

Karyn is an associate of John Rogerson (an internationally renowned dog trainer, a Fellow of the Canine Behaviour Institute and considered by many to be the best worldwide), she is a fellow of the Canine Behaviour Institute, has been a member of the Kennel Club Accredited Instructors Scheme since the pilot in 2000 and is working towards fully accredited membership.

 

Karyn assists with 'Best Friends Dog Training in the beginner, intermediate/follow on courses classes as well as assisting with the the Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme courses. Pam and Karyn also run novelty and trick classes on a regular basis.

 

Karyn has worked as the North Regional Assessor with Hearing Dogs for Deaf people, a charity which trains dogs to alert deaf people to sounds; this work took her all over England in search for suitable and potential candidates for the Hearing Dog work.

 

Prior to joining Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and Karyn worked as a volunteer for 10 years caring for assessing, training and rehabilitating dogs at a local animal shelter. She is a devoted owner of a mixed group of rescue dogs herself and dedicates a lot of her free time and expertise to helping rescue dogs.

 

For many years she has studied and trained in canine behaviour, psychology, welfare, rehabilitation and training. For the past five years she has been studying under John Rogerson and assisting on his training courses, including training and instruction for the Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme. She is a listed Examiner for the KCGCDS Bronze award and has worked several dogs (all from rescue) through the Good Citizens awards.