My Dog Journey

Abi is amazing. We adopted our deaf Aussie from Herding Hero’s (which she also runs) and haven’t looked back.

She has helped us train him and she has trained us too. Abi guided us through all his stages and has given us confidence to take on a special needs pup.

Her dog training knowledge is excellent and she is very patient.

We highly recommend Shine-K9 for dog training, especially special needs dogs.

I can highly recommend Shine-K9 for people who are looking for the personal approach to establishing communication with your dog in a positive, balanced way. … Ten arrived, and was so fearful that she hid in the back corner of my yard for the first few weeks. She was unable to come inside, was terrified of people and found the world very overwhelming. I was desperate. Abigail of Shine-K9 is someone I've known for a while, and I contacted her mostly to bemoan my difficulties. Abigail offered to come through and help, and you would not believe the difference it made for us in such a short space of time. Initially we were really limited - Ten didn't want to be touched or restrained, and was practically a feral dog in our yard. Despite this, Abigail helped us teach Ten how to go to a specific platform - the first step in her understanding - and what she learnt was NOT that humans are the boss and can tell her what to do... no, not that.... the first lesson was that Ten HERSELF had control over her actions and her environment, and as a result of that she learnt that she could make ME do things. … Fast forward, and that little breakthrough has led to a dog who is very "normal". … She is a delight in our household, and it could have been a 12-15 year disaster without the personalised, gentle and understanding care from Abigail and Shine-K9. (this is a condensed version, see Facebook reviews for the full story)

When we got our Australian Shepherd puppy, Ash, a few years ago- we had no idea just how much of a handful they can be. I did all my research with regards to the breed, as I have only ever owned Border Collies. We wanted a different breed though, so we decided on an Aussie. After bringing Ash home and settling him, I realised that I would need some support in understanding certain traits of the breed and how to work with him in a positive way. That is when I contacted Abigail. She was amazing- always available, full of insight and support. Ash had specific issues that needed attending to, and Abigail helped with all of them. For example, he was not happy when strangers approached him. Abigail gave me very clear suggestions on how to work through this. She made a point of making contact regularly and I would send her updates. We lost Ash to a snare at a very young age. Abigail was so supportive during this time of grieving as well. She would send messages to ask how we were getting on- always an empathetic ear. We now have Swift, another fantastic crazy Aussie. I have full confidence that if we need any support or advice, Abigail will be there to thoughtfully provide it.

From the beginning you have been my "Go to" with one on one training with a very rambunctious Border Collie, helping us to understand the mind of a canine makes sense of the training within the mind of our Nova. From guidance on bringing another canine member into our household and handling all the jealousy that came with it and how to deal, to being a phone call away when our epi baby had his first seizure and how we manage an epileptic dog and what's best for him. The knowledge you have shared so freely is testimony the the love and passion you have towards bringing out and seeing the best in every doggos that graces the earth. If you are looking for a wonderful trainer, games inventor to keep them stimulated, someone that understands human vs canine intelligence then Abigail is your answer. Our pups absolutely adore their classes, and Abigail too.

‘PB’ also known as Polar and Polar Bear joined our family in mid 2016. He was a rescue and had been living at Husky Rescue for more than 2 years. A delightful dog but a real handful, nicknamed Spider Pig by our local vet as he literally ran up and around the walls in his first view visits. Roll on 3 years and PB had settled and was doing some good recall work but he had a habit of taking my arm in his mouth to get my attention. Not great but not bad either, until the day I had a crash off my bike and broke both my arms quite badly. While I was in hospital my husband got hold of Abigail partly to give Polar a bit of attention while I was being looked after and partly to see what could be done with his mouthing that was now going to be a problem.