Meet the Team
The Human Behind Kent Canine Behaviour
My journey into canine behaviour began with my own dogs, who taught me that behaviour is never just behaviour. It is communication.
Living alongside dogs with behavioural, emotional and physical challenges helped me understand the importance of looking beyond the behaviour we see and understanding the emotions driving it.
I have always had a special place in my heart for dogs who need a little extra support. Whether they are reactive, nervous, sensitive or simply misunderstood, I believe every dog deserves to feel safe, understood and supported.
Today, Kent Canine Behaviour, home of Adventures with Tilley, brings together my passion for dogs, ongoing education and practical experience to provide behaviour support and supportive group walks across East Kent.
I am a Qualified Professional Canine Behaviour Practitioner with additional qualifications in Canine Communication and Professional Reactivity Training. Alongside my canine studies, I have over four years of experience volunteering with a local animal rescue, supporting animals with behavioural and medical needs.
I also have more than 13 years of experience supporting people and families through crisis and urgent situations. This has helped me develop strong communication skills, empathy, patience and the ability to remain calm and supportive when life feels overwhelming.
I am committed to ongoing professional development and am continuing my studies towards becoming a Certified Canine Behaviourist, ensuring the support I provide remains ethical, evidence based and tailored to the individual needs of each dog and owner.
I am Human First Aid Trained, Canine First Aid Trained, Fully Insured and Enhanced DBS Checked.
Behaviour is communication. Every dog is an individual and every partnership matters.
Led by science. Powered by partnership.
Meet Tilley
The Spark Behind Adventures with Tilley and CEO of Our Social Walks
Tilley is the dog behind Adventures with Tilley and the reason this journey began.
Tilley is a complex character who is determined to keep me on my toes. Clever, expressive, beautifully opinionated and usually one step ahead of me, she has always known exactly how she feels about the world around her.
From the very first day I brought her home, Tilley resource guarded. She is territorial, sensitive, fiercely independent and every bit the feisty Jack Russell. She has never been afraid to communicate when she is uncomfortable or when she feels something is hers.
But when you look deeper than the symptoms, you uncover an anxious, insecure little pup who experiences the world intensely. She can be reactive, wary of unfamiliar people and very particular about who she trusts.
She did not need to be fixed. I needed to understand what she was communicating, why she was struggling and how I could help her.
Living alongside Tilley taught me to look beyond the behaviour I could see and consider the emotions, experiences and communication behind it. She taught me to recognise the early signs of stress, build trust through consistency and understand the importance of listening before asking.
She has also fuelled my love of adventure. Together, we enjoy exploring forests, beaches and countryside trails across the UK, finding places where she can move, explore and simply enjoy being a dog.
Today, Tilley is the self appointed CEO of our Social Walks. She continues to teach me, challenge me and remind me that every dog is an individual with their own boundaries, preferences and way of experiencing the world.
Most importantly, Tilley sparked my passion for canine behaviour and continues to inspire everything I do through Kent Canine Behaviour and Adventures with Tilley.
Most importantly, Tilley continues to inspire everything I do through Kent Canine Behaviour and Adventures with Tilley.
She is a huge part of the reason I want to help other dogs and their humans understand each other, speak the same language and work together as a partnership.
Meet Slinky
The Heart of Our Community and Neutral Walks
Slinky is the softest soul with some of the biggest feelings of all.
He lives with spina bifida, hydrocephalus and multiple brain malformations, which means he experiences and processes the world a little differently. Everyday life can sometimes feel overwhelming, and his reactivity is closely connected to the way his neurological conditions affect how he experiences the world around him.
Slinky’s abilities have defied the predictions of neurologists and vets throughout his life.
He is, without doubt, the most determined little dachshund I have ever known. He has found his own ways to adapt, learn and navigate the world, often achieving things nobody expected him to be able to do.
He reminds me every day that a diagnosis can help us understand a dog, but it should never define everything we believe they are capable of.
Slinky is highly reactive and also the loudest, most vocal pup I have ever met. He leads our Neutral Walks from the top of his lungs and makes sure everyone knows he has arrived.
We have been looked at, judged and frowned upon by strangers who do not understand what life with a reactive dog can be like.
There is not always a quick fix.
Sometimes it is a journey.
Living alongside Slinky has taught me that every dog is an individual and that understanding the dog in front of you is far more important than trying to fit them into a box.
Supporting him has meant learning how his unique brain works, recognising what he finds difficult and helping him navigate the world in a way that feels safe and manageable.
This is one of the reasons our Community Neutral Walks and Social Walks are so important to us. They provide a space where nobody needs to apologise for having the barky dog, the reactive dog or the dog who needs a little more understanding.
Everyone is on their own journey and everyone gets it.
Slinky also has one of the highest prey drives I have ever seen.
His prey drive is not something I want to stop. It is powerful, natural and an important part of who he is. My role is to understand it, respect it and find safe ways to harness it, giving him appropriate opportunities to use the instincts that come so naturally to him.
But beneath all the noise, intensity and determination is the softest soul.
Slinky is everyone’s comfort dog. He is the cuddler, the comforter and the one who quietly leans in when someone needs a little extra support.
He loves routine, predictability, cosy blankets, following interesting scents and being close to the people he trusts.
Slinky has taught me patience, compassion, advocacy and the importance of celebrating every small win.
Most of all, he reminds me that progress does not always look the way we expect it to, and that is perfectly okay.
There is not always a finish line. Sometimes progress is found in the tiny moments, the inches forward and the things nobody else would even notice.
Slinky inspired my passion for understanding behaviour in dogs living with complex medical and neurological challenges.
He is a daily reminder that every dog deserves understanding, support and the opportunity to thrive, no matter what challenges or limitations life throws at them.
And he continues to remind me every day that we should never underestimate what a dog is capable of.