Shannon McKay

Classes conducted in: Ruimsig/Honeydew

Telephone: 082 565 6160

Shannon trained her first dog in 1979 and ever since has had a passion for dog training and behaviour. After too many years in the advertising industry, Shannon decided to turn her hobby interest of dog-training into a fulltime occupation.

She gained her ABC© accreditation in 1998 and established the McKaynine Training Centre (JHB) in 1999. This facility has since become one of the premier facilities in South Africa, offering a diverse range of classes from puppy school right through to advanced classes. She instructs a variety of classes and also assists dog owners with problematic behaviour in their dogs.

Shannon has also provided instructor training courses since 2002, which have been based on her extensive practical experience and theoretical training. She has written extensively for newspapers and magazines over the years and currently provides the “Wag The Dog” column for Showdogs website and the “Dog Behaviour” column for All About Dogs magazine. Shannon is also the only African "blogger" on the American website, Dog Star Daily.

She has also been a guest on numerous television and radio shows and was featured in a BBC Channel 5 programme on her work done on training scat dogs for wildlife conservation (she is pictured left during a scat trip trying her hand at radio telemetry tracking - she'd best stick to dogs!).

Shannon is very committed to ensuring that dog owners receive a professional and competent service bar none and to this end she has served as an official for numerous non-profit organisations.

In addition to her accreditation as an animal behaviour consultant, she has also undergone courses in biopsychology, psychology, psychology in society, anatomy and physiology as well as numerous dog training and behaviour seminars and workshops. She holds a Certificate in Companion Animal Behaviour from the University of Pretoria and is currently completing a BSc Honours (Zoology) at the University of Witwatersrand. She is also a licensed animal wrangler, a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (USA) and the ABC of SA©.

As a trainer that “walks the talk”, Shannon ensures that she does not forget what it’s like to be a dog owner. Over the years she has achieved many awards with her own dogs, including five breed champions, multiple obedience and agility qualifications and six CGC titles. She has also trained a number of animals for television and photographic advertisements as well as handled show dogs professionally, achieving breed champion status with eight dogs.

Shannon’s overriding goal is to enhance the owner’s enjoyment of their dog through understanding and benevolent leadership. She is an ardent follower of positive reinforcement techniques, while ensuring that fair boundaries are instilled. Shannon draws on her extensive technical training and wide-ranging experience to assist owners and their dogs to an enjoyable and timely outcome.

In her spare time Shannon enjoys “hanging out” with her pets (which include eight dogs, one donkey, two sheep), reading, supporting the Blue Bulls and socialising with friends.

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