My name is Kiri Downes & I have been a Professional Dog Behaviourist & Trainer for over 27 years. I am animal mad. 

At the beginning of my journey as a dog professional I was blessed to have worked alongside some of the very best within the industry, being positively influenced & encouraged to study our canine companions with what was perceived at the time, the best educators. Forward thinking science-based learning that was kind, fair & effective

I have trialed a variety of sports for canines on my journey including Fly Ball, Agility, Treibball, Obedience, Trick Training & Heel work to music/Freestyle. My wonderful Retriever Alfie was my teacher & embraced the variety of learning I wanted to explore.

My rescue Inca, a black Labrador, taught me all about Gun Dogs & we learnt together what being a gun dog in practice was all about. Observing a dog within its natural environment is an enlightening experience.

Being a professional within the industry means we are always evolving & must be open to new ideas. Regular CPD is part of all the certified & accredited organisations that I belong to & we are encouraged to engage with each other, support each other & share ideas & experiences.

I love working with families & individual caregivers. I love working with children. Children are often accurate in their timing of reinforcement delivery & they absorb information well if the subject matter for them is enjoyable & bite size.

I have naturally been drawn towards more organic learning over the last few years. Understanding the importance of time, the importance of observation, the importance of environment & its effects on our dogs & their human caregivers. Dogs teach us so much if we allow everything to slow down, removing immediate emotional pressures that society often expects from a dog & just observe.

It is a skill to communicate with a dog nonverbally & it is a skill to assist in caregivers own new learning & understanding of their dogs without overloading them with too much information. Light bulb moments are awesome for a caregiver & for me too. It can be emotional, but it is often extremely rewarding.

Scent work is a new passion of mine. Understanding how a dog’s nose can benefit a dog’s well being internally is often a revelation for caregivers. Scent work is fun. Scent work is a learnt skill, but it is fun for both dog & caregiver.

Mantrailing brings so many different people together. Learning how to find a human, learning how to read a dog, to support a dog over many different terrains & different environments. Group activities that are fun but focused can be extremely enriching for both the dogs & their caregivers. 

Our dogs’ noses have 300 million olfactory receptors compared with 6 million of ours, which is 40 times greater than ours. How awesome are they!

I love dogs.
I love their ability to learn new tasks.
I love helping them to solve a problem.
I love being able to make their lives happier and more stress free.
I love being with them every day that I breathe.
Dogs are amazing.

Animals are amazing - imagine just living in the moment.