About Maria
Maria is a Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant and Accredited dog Trainer with International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants (IAABC) and Accredited Animal Behavior Consultant and Accredited Animal Instructor with CANZ (Companion Animals NZ); Winner of a 2025 Companion Animals NZ Te Tohu Maimoa award for outstanding contributions to animal welfare and exceptional work in education and canine behaviour training; Fear Free Certified Professional; Member Pet Professional Guild, Canine Training Professional; Certificate of Excellence Living and Learning with Animals from BehaviourWorks Dr Susan Friedman; Cat Behaviour and Training mentorship with Katenna Jones IAABC; Roger Abrantes Guinea Pig Camp; Learning About Learning with Peta Clarke and Susan Friendman; Forensics of Aggression Jim Cosby; Stress and the Animal Dr Kristina Spaulding; Dr Ian Dunbar’s Sirius Dog Training Academy - puppy school. Past member and committee member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers APDTNZ.
Over the last two decades, Maria has attended, and continues to attend, and has working spots in numerous continued education certificates, conferences, seminars, workshop attendance/participation and webinars in: behaviour, ethology, neurology, stress, nutrition, cognitive function and behaviour, nose work, enrichment, animal welfare, scent work, mental health, aggression, puppy imprinting and training. Career highlights include being taught by the likes of the one and only Bob Bailey, Ken Ramirez, Peta Clarke, Susan Friedman, Ian Dunbar, Jean Dodds, Sophia Yin, Patricia McConnell, Diane Garrod, Roger Abrantes, Steve White, Ken McCort, Nikki Tudge, Katenna Jones, Jim Cosby, Kristina Spaulding, Jane Killion…
In 2026, Maria continued writing and learning about her favourite topics, behaviour and neuroscience. She was invited to contribute as an industry expert for Public Trust Wills Week, which focused on Estate planning for pets and loved ones.
In 2025, Maria devoted time to sharing her knowledge through free educational talks for the public and the veterinary industry. Participants attended from 52 diverse countries from around the globe and, of course, within NZ. In recognition of her work, she was awarded a Companion Animals NZ Te Tohu Maimoa Awards 2025! The award recognised her outstanding contributions to animal welfare and celebrated your dedication to the wellbeing of companion animals across Aotearoa. She was chosen for your exceptional work in education and canine behaviour training and her wide-reaching impact. .
In 2023, Maria was invited to collaborate with PD Insurance and the Department of Conservation on their Lead the Way programme, keeping beaches safe for all life, and continues to provide expert advice on a number of other issues. She also worked on Southern Cross Pet Insurance ad campaigns, including Hi Viz, which promotes safety for dogs at night.
Maria was engaged as the dog trainer for the UK production of ‘Annie the Musical ’, which was on tour in New Zealand, and Legally Blonde, The Musical. Her role was to audition dogs, select the most suitable and then train and wrangle them for the shows.
Maria authored the book “Dogs in Action - Working Dogs and their Stories”, published by Exisle Publishing and distributed in NZ, Australia, The UK and worldwide.
She has worked with dogs, in numerous countries, in all sorts of situations - from pet dog beginners puppy class to rehabilitation of rescues and ex-lab testing victims; from street dogs and feral jungle dogs in Asia to the polar extreme dogs in television commercials and live theatre. She has consulted on welfare, enrichment and behaviour, as well as staff and animal training. Maria has been hands on in projects of a mass scale, to one on one consultations. She has dealt with dogs that range from new born puppies and pet dogs through to level 5 biters and feral dogs with no human imprinting.
Throughout her career, Maria has volunteered with Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), Avalanche Rescue, for numerous dog rescue organisations through rescue, foster, rehabilitation and training. And while working on her book she got to experience the lives of many working dogs including police dog training, sled dogs, cancer detection, explosive detection, Wilderness Search and Rescue, seizure response, service dogs and many more. In Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Maria met and was invited to train with poacher tracking dog teams.
Maria is a firm believer in three things - 1. Do no harm to the animal; 2. Agency for all animals; 3. Dialogue - Listen to what the animal is telling you.
Professional Certifications, Accreditations & Awards
