Welcome to 
Naughty Dog School

Hi, I'm Dawn. I currently work as a receptionist at a vets, and I've grown up around dogs my whole life.

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My training journey began with my first Dalmatian, Duke, when I started attending obedience classes with him — and I fell in love with the bond it gave us. Sadly, Duke passed away very early in his life, and I was quite lost without a dog. So along came my rescue Dalmatian, Daisy. Training her had its challenges — Daisy was deaf — but she turned out to be a wonderful teaching dog in her own right, especially with puppies.

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Daisy led me to becoming an obedience trainer at a local dog training school, where I taught for many years, running the puppy, beginners and advanced classes. It was there that I also began my scent work journey — and I still compete in scent work trials today with my third Dalmatian, Dougal. It's a great sport, and it tires a dog out mentally rather than just physically!

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Then one day, Naughty Dog School visited us as a guest trainer. They introduced their positive reinforcement games, and we got to try them with our own dogs. WOW — what a game changer! Dougal absolutely loves playing these games.

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When the school I taught at closed its doors, I felt quite lost — dog training had been part of my life for so long. Then Lynette asked if I'd like to come along and see about working with dogs with behaviour struggles. I jumped at the chance — though I was rather nervous, as I'd only ever done obedience training. What an eye-opener! Helping owners understand that their dogs aren't naughty — they just need to be understood — and seeing the joy between owner and dog grow in such a positive way is simply the best experience.

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Every member of the team welcomed me into the family and has supported me from day one. I feel very honoured to be part of Naughty Dog School.