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Scout & Angie at Castor Bay Beach-1.jpg
THE FIDO AND FRIENDS STORY

Hello, I'm Angie, owner and founder of Fido and Friends - nice to meet you!

My life has always been filled with animal friends and I hold many cherished memories. 

In 2004, when the time was right and after much research on the right dog to fit my lifestyle, puppy Ella arrived bringing much much joy and a sense of purpose. It was also a reality check - turns out puppy raising isn't all rainbows and unicorns!

In 2017, after volunteering with rescue dogs for a few years, Fido and Friends opened a boutique service, offering individual and small group dog walking. Our focus was on an enriching experience with lots of encouragement and reinforcement for good behaviour, along with carefully matching dogs who walked together.

I'm passionate about learning, understanding and the practical application of dog behaviour, attending and completing numerous courses, conferences, webinars and workshops, along with learning from books, blogs, podcasts, video training and being mentored by top trainers.

Fido and Friends offers training and behaviour modification for puppies and dogs which has the dog-human relationship at it's core, taking a holistic, fear-free, pain-free, humane and positive, approach to training both ends of the leash. I'm committed to ongoing learning and keeping up-to-date. Methods and techniques are backed by peer-reviewed research and real life studies. Our underlying values and ethics align with the APDTNZ (read their Code of Ethics here).

Fur Family

Ella my beautiful natured, patient, gentle and joyful girl was my heart and soul. In 2019, aged 14, saying goodbye was one of the hardest days of my life. She left big paw prints on my heart!

Scout (pictured above) came to me with big feelings at 18 mths. He has a history of guarding many different things and biting. At social maturity (~2 years) life was very challenging - it's been a rocky road at times! His issues are complex and he's not some electronic device we can "fix" but we've come a long way and continue to improve his view of the world by building trust and making sure he feels safe.

My cat, Oscar was an amazingly resilient cat who could purr like no other! At nearly 18, and with arthritis and pain meds no longer helping, Oscar spent his final days over Xmas 2023 being showered with love and yummy treats.

Many cats came before Oscar, including my beloved Cameo who lived to 16 and our first family cat Sandy who was my cherished companion from infancy to 18 years.

The journey teaches us more than the destination.

As we progress, we reassess, regroup, reframe our expectations and adjust our path accordingly.

CURRENT MEMBERSHIPS & STUDY

 

APDTNZ - Full Member

Grisha Stewart - Diamond Member

Canine School of Science - Behaviour Bible

Canine School of Science - Scent for Six

Pet Professional Network - Gold Member

Janet Findlay - Reframing Reactivity 

Glasgow Dog Trainer - Dealing with aggression and reactivity in dogs

CERTIFICATES


Behaviour Works: Dr. S Friedman - Living and Learning with Animals

Karen Pryor Academy - Dog Trainer Foundations

Michael Shikashio - Aggression in Dogs and Defensive Handling

Canine School of Science - Puppy Lab

Canine School of Science - 30 Days of Canine Science

K9 Education - Certificate in Dog Walking

PetTech/PFAT - Certificate in Pet First Aid & Senior Care

CONFERENCES

With leading international dog training and behaviour specialists

Lemonade Conference with FDSA & IAABC (2021)

International Dog Trainers Winter Summit (2020)

Aggression in Dogs (2020, 2021)

Association Professional Dog Trainers NZ (APDTNZ): 2016 - 2019

WEBINARS, WORKSHOPS & MORE


Reactivity Roots and Responses (Kiwi Vet Behaviour)

Fenzi Dog Sports Academy:

  • Real Life Skills for Performance Dogs (Hannah Branigan)

  • Shoot the Dog (Photography - Amy Johnson)

  • The Play Way (Amy Cook)

ThinkDog Mentorship

Susan Garrett - Recallers

Animal Training Academy - Former Member

Association of Professional Dog Trainers NZ
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Aggressive Dog Defensive Handling Certificate
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