How it all started
She is the reason ClueDog exists. A sensitive soul with separation anxiety and inflammatory bowel disease, she turned "normal" dog ownership upside down and taught me more than any textbook could.
Living with her meant learning, fast, how much pain and illness can shape behaviour, and how to build a genuinely enriching life around those challenges rather than in spite of them. I went in blind, made plenty of mistakes along the way, but through research, patience and a lot of trial and error, we found our footing together.
She's the reason ClueDog is built on understanding the dog in front of you, not the dog in the textbook.
Meet Igloo
I'm Kat, the trainer behind ClueDog. I believe the best dog training is really just good communication, backed by solid science.
I hold a Certificate IV in Animal Behaviour and Training and am a recognised member of the International Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT). My approach is built on Susan Friedman's Humane Hierarchy - a science-based framework drawn from applied behaviour analysis that puts the dog's welfare first at every step. That means understanding why a behaviour is happening before trying to change it, and always choosing the most positive, least intrusive path forward.
Outside of ClueDog, I work in corporate learning and development, training teams and breaking down complex ideas for different types of learners. It's shaped how I teach, and given me a genuine understanding of what it's like to be time-poor and mentally stretched, still trying to show up for your dog at the end of a long day. I don't design training plans for an imaginary person with unlimited time and energy. I design them for real people, with real lives, because that's the only kind of training that actually sticks.
Training isn't about control. It's about earning trust.
Meet Kat
