LOCAL business Maher & Hound was recently titled ‘Most Patient Dog Behaviourist’ in the South East after winning Hampshire’s ‘Dog Trainer of the Year’ in March.
Last week, Karen Maher found out she was the lucky winner of the Acquisition International Influential Businesswoman Awards ‘Most Patient Dog Behaviourist’, with the 2022 award due to be announced officially in July.
Both awards were based on the testimonials of Maher & Hound’s clients. The dog behaviourist and trainer said: “Well it’s amazing and quite unexpected actually because I didn’t know I’d been nominated and it’s really flattering because both awards are based on my clients’ reviews- on my website, on Facebook and on Google.
“So it’s all based on how happy my customers are and not just with the work with the dogs but also with how I am with the people. Obviously, that’s a big part of it too, reassuring people.
“It’s very flattering. I do work incredibly hard for my clients as I literally want to get the best results for them and their dog. I’m really understanding because I think the thing is everyone loves their dogs and they come to me because they love their dogs so much.
“Sometimes, if their dog has been running off or jumping up at people in the park, sometimes they come to me and they’re a little bit embarrassed by that. I don’t judge people at all. I suppose that’s where the patience comes from and making people feel like it’s not anything they’ve done wrong, it’s just a dog being a dog.”
After 20 years working in PR in London, Karen, now based in Hursley near Winchester, retrained as a dog behaviourist and trainer. The now 49-year-old has since become fully qualified, vet-recommended and accredited as a behaviourist with the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT).
The dog behaviourist said: “It was always at the back of my mind that I wanted to work with dogs. I’d always had dogs, even when I lived in London and worked in PR, I had a dog which I took to work with me everyday so I’ve always loved dogs.
“But it’s actually coming up to five years ago now, my aunt who was 58 at the time- she was given just a few months to live quite suddenly. And I was really close to her and it just made me realise that life can be a bit short.
“I just thought that I should do something else that I really want to do. I loved PR but at the same time I’d done it for 20 years or something. This is the third year of my business having studied for a couple of years before I started working.
“It was really hard to make the change because your brain is so used to working in one way for years and years and when you’ve done a job for that long, it’s almost automatic. And with the studying that I did, especially for dog behaviour, there’s a lot of science in it, a lot of anatomy, a lot of biology and so to have to go and learn all of that was really quite hard to engage my brain in that way.
“But I passed so that’s good!”
Maher & Hound offers behavioural modification programmes for issues including aggression, separation anxiety, recall, pulling on the lead and resource guarding and individually tailored puppy, dog and pet gundog training. She also has personal experience with anxious dogs: Karen’s own Jack Russell Tiggy was reactive and frightened, and it was helping her regain confidence which inspired the career change.
The 49-year-old is always looking to stay up to date with the latest training. In 2021 she completed a year’s mentorship with Steve Mann, the founder of the IMDT and author of 'Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy' and Dave Brice, head of Dog Behaviour at the IMDT.
The IMDT, models reward based training with all of their trainers and behaviourists using the most up to date science-based dog training techniques that are proven to be effective and have the dog’s welfare at heart.
Karen has additionally studied with pet behaviour counsellor, Sarah Whitehead (BA, MSc) and author of the bestselling book ‘Clever Dog’.
The award-winning trainer will celebrate her success with her dogs at home. Although Karen has already thanked her clients, she’s yet to find out who nominated her.
To find out more about Maher & Hound go to https://www.maherandhounddogtraining.com/.
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