Meet The Team.

kelly brown. owner and operator, head dog trainer

Kelly is the founder of Kelly Brown - Waggle Tails and Kelly Brown online dog training and is an internationally qualified dog training and behaviour practitioner. She is the proud parent of Josie, a working line German Shepherd, who achieved her Tracking Dog (TD) title (2023). Kelly has extensive experience working with shelter, pet and Assistance dogs of all breeds, ages, sizes and temperaments and their owners in the USA, New Zealand and Australia. She has helped over 5,000 puppies, dogs and their families achieve outstanding results through in-person group programmes, private consultations and online world-class dog training programmes. She facilitates staff training at dog daycare facilities and provides dog training and handling services for advertising and commercial companies.

Kelly is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), a qualification which is a mark of high professional distinction and demonstrates mastery of humane,  force-free, science-based dog training practices.  She is a Pat Miller Certified Trainer (PMCT1) (Distinction) which involved completing 135 hours of dog training and behaviour modification with Pat Miller in the USA. She has completed the National Dog Training Federation Certificate III in Dog Behaviour and Training (Australia), including Assistance Dogs and Scent Detection. 

Kelly is qualified in both Human First Aid (St Johns) and Pet First Aid (PET First Aid & Training NZ).  Prior to dog training, Kelly spent 15 years working as a Human Resources Specialist in New Zealand, the UK, Asia, Australia and the U.S.A.  Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology (Victoria University, New Zealand) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management (Massey University, New Zealand).  

Kelly is a member of the Pet Professional Guild - Australia, Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT) and the International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants Foundation (IAABC).  She has attended multiple dog training and behaviour conferences and has completed the Aggressive Dog Master course with Michael Shikashio, world renowned dog aggression expert.

Vision: ‘Learn, Love, Play’.

Learn

Every interaction is an opportunity to learn. We read and understand our dog’s body language, tailor our sessions according to each individual’s needs and take time to understand and incorporate their motivators into their training programme.

Love

Each and every dog and person we work with is treated with love, respect and kindness.  We ensure that our interactions with our dogs are stress-free and always put their mental and physical well-being first.

Play

Dogs learn best when they are having fun.  Using play in training contributes to physical and mental well-being and our goal is for our dogs to view learning as play.

Philosophy.

Training is not just about getting our dogs to do what we want.  Training is about our way of being with our dogs and the way we train establishes our whole mind set about how we relate to our dogs.  We communicate with our dogs through mutual trust and respect which guides them into making the right choices while strengthening our relationship.

Through training with rewards-based methods, we show our dogs that there is something good in it for them when they do what we want, and nothing in it for them when they don't - this creates well-mannered, canine companions without using force or intimidation, without getting frustrated and without risking the trust and respect that we want in our relationships with our dogs. Modern, force-free dog training techniques used by Waggle Tails have been universally endorsed by the behavioural scientific community as the most effective, long-lasting, humane and safest methods in dog training.

Scientific studies have shown that using old fashioned 'dominance-based' dog training techniques are confrontational, punitive and break down the trust and relationship with our dogs which is why we choose not to support or utilise these training methods.