About us

Our story

Animal Talent is all about helping humans understand their dogs. Our clients believe their dogs deserve the very best and we think so too!
Our Certified Dog Trainers only use kind, positive reward-based training techniques. Why? Because your dog should be treated with love, patience and respect. Whether you have a puppy just starting out, a pound rescue or a dog who is having a behavioural issue, we can help.

In our Puppy Success and Beginners classes dogs learn The Six-pack of Core Behaviours – Sit, Stay, Down, Come, Quiet and Loose-lead Walking, with fun games and exercises to reinforce their newly acquired skills. In your lessons, you will learn the take-home skills that will help you easily fit training into your daily life.

Whether you choose Group Classes, Online Dog Training Courses, Private Dog Training Lessons or Lessons in your own Home we have an option to fit your needs.

Our Animal Talent Certified Dog Trainers are here to help humans of all experience levels understand how their puppies and dogs think and how to train them. Group Classes including Puppy Success, Agility, Obedience and Beginners are held at our fully-fenced and grassed Dog Training School in Woy Woy.

Our philosophy

Simply, kind and holistic. Our training accommodates all ages of puppies, dogs and humans alike. We teach owners to train the whole dog, encompassing the physical, mental and environmental. Our focus is educating owners on how their dogs think, what makes them tick and why they do what they do. Owners are encouraged to concentrate on training the dog they have in front of them rather than the one they imagined.

We believe that training can fit into your busy lifestyle. It isn’t about setting aside large chunks of time, rather it’s about using our everyday interactions as an opportunity to either change existing behaviour or to encourage a new one.

Using proven reward-based techniques and our unique 5 Star Training System, owners encourage their dogs to make better behaviour choices which result in their dog receiving an appropriate reward. We individualise our training focusing on the strengths of each dog’s personality and genetic traits. Owners and dogs share their journey.

Meet Louise

Chief Visionary and Top Dog

Louise is a Master Dog Trainer, Professional Animal Wrangler, Author and owner of Animal Talent. She has trained dogs professionally for more than 20 years and multiple animal species for performance work in the film and television industries both in Australia and New Zealand. Over the years she’s written and implemented instructor training at multiple dog clubs, trained obedience champions of her own and clients, founded a successful sled dog racing club and trained multiple sled dog champions. Louise continues to compete with multiple dogs in obedience and agility.

Her passion is helping humans understand dogs. This passion has led her down many paths including training and support of working guide dogs, assistance dogs and emotional support dogs, running council dangerous dogs programs and educating pet owners on the Companion Animals Act.

What our clients say

Louise is a lengend at training dogs (actually to be honest me lol). My baby has done so well with the lessons and what I have learnt.

Narelle Seckold

“Louise helped us remedy behavioural problems with our 10-year-old dog. Millie only began with these problems recently after immigrating here from the UK. Being in an environment that is in vast contrast to the UK; let's say her homeostasis became extremely unbalanced. This led to anxiety and then separation anxiety and behavioural issues. Thank God for Louise!! We can live again and so can our Millie.”

Marie Milner

Experienced, knowledgeable, friendly, positive training methods for dogs and their owners with great outcomes achieved. Happy to recommend Louise & Animal Talent.

Charmaine Bright

“Our little dog Buttons enjoys his school days...where he sees his friends and Louise and loves his agility course...and learning different things…”

Janice Teefy McDougall

“Louise is a fantastic trainer. I can highly recommend her for all your training needs from puppy to adult dog.”

Thom Newman

Careers with Animal Talent

Now Recruiting – Canine Educator

Animal Talent is embarking on an exciting new growth phase, and we are seeking a suitably qualified Canine Educator to join our dynamic team. This role is a great opportunity for an imaginative educator interested in delivering innovative dog training programs, fun classes, workshops and pet life skills modules. The successful candidate will be passionate about delivering positive and force-free dog training to clients and their dogs.