So, you got a dog and they didn’t turn out how you imagined…

Back in June 2021, I was exactly where you are.

I had just adopted my first dog, with dreams of it being love at first sight. I imagined us jumping straight into a life of long walks, coffee dates and pub gardens, and running off into the sunset together.

Except that wasn’t what happened.

Meet Lila, a little street dog from Romania.

Adopting a street dog as your first dog is not for the weak, but Sunflower K9 wouldn’t be possible without this feral little beastie who turned my life upside down back in 2021.

Lila came to us from Romania in a pretty bad condition and was very nervous of the world around her. She couldn’t be walked due to her fears, and we were completely out of our depths.

Her behavioural rehabilitation journey consisted of a lot of confidence building, finding ways to fulfil her, and ultimately understanding how her brain is wired. Her genetic traits and breed characteristics play a huge part in how she behaves and learns, and it was extremely important for me to work with her rather than against her and try and turn her into a dog that she simply couldn’t be. It was on this journey with her that I decided I wanted to become a dog trainer, and the rest is history.

I ended up with the dog I didn’t think I wanted, but she turned out to be exactly the dog I needed.

After falling in love with the process of behaviour modification and training, I decided that a career in sports academia was no longer for me, and started shadowing a couple of established trainers before going full time working with dogs in March 2024. I spent the next two years gaining hands-on experience with a huge variety of pet dogs of all different breeds, ages and behavioural issues. I also attended courses, workshops and seminars to continue learning and expand my knowledge as much as possible. This included a Scent Detection Instructors course and beginning a mentorship programme with Phoenix K9 USA.

Towards the end of 2025, I started to really understand my values as a dog trainer and the ways I enjoyed to work with dogs and their owners. I found myself wanting to spend more and more time unpicking the process, helping the owners understand everything on a deeper level, and really focusing on building dogs — not just training them.

In April 2026, I took the plunge and launched Sunflower K9.

find out more about training with me