Hello and welcome,

I’m the Owner and main operator of the Pet Teacher.

As a child growing up in the Illawarra region, I started out volunteering in local pet shops. I loved doing Primary Industries in High school and being lucky enough to access farm animals like cows, pigs and sheep.

I was blessed to own my horse and was able to handle lots of different wildlife.

However, Dogs were my focus, and I joined local dog training clubs at 18 to grow my skill in basic obedience training with my own pets.

I moved to Sydney to pursue my career as a Veterinary Nurse. Once qualified I travelled Australia and worked for 20 years in the Veterinary Industry.

I obtained a Diploma in Emergency and Critical Care Veterinary Nursing. .

Over the last seven years of my Veterinary career, I realised my love of understanding animal behaviour and teaching were becoming my primary pleasure in the industry.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity with the team at Canberra Vet Hospital to pursue this path.

I grew the behaviour services from one puppy class a week to three to five classes (prior to Covid). I had the pleasure of working with hundreds of puppies and still get requests back in Canberra which is lovely.

Additionally, I was able to work out in the community away from the clinic conducting hundreds of house calls for pets with behavioural problems, from cats that pee'd in the wrong place to dogs with such severe separation anxiety they would traumatise themselves if their owner left the room.

I aided owners to help their pets through many simple and complex behavioural issues.

I was able to help other nurses, vets and clients in a teaching capacity on this topic to make our pets more comfortable within the vet hospital environment.

It was a wonderful experience, and I could continue learning and doing more courses on Animal behaviour.

As time went on. I also volunteered with the Queanbeyan dog club, elevated my rescue dog Poppy to Advanced level obedience, and worked on Rally O and Agility with her.

I joined another group of dog professionals, and we all trained together with our animals, from serious security dog training to fun shaping exercises for Service dogs. I had some fantastic mentors who have helped me develop my skills to the high level they are today,

I left nursing and began working with Canberra Domestic Animal Services (working with dangerous dogs, behavioural assessments and rehoming).

For two years, I enjoyed my time with them until my partner, and I decided it was time to come home to the Illawarra and South Coast, where we were both born and our extended families resided.

Since returning home, I've been lucky enough to continue working with other animal industry organisations in the Illawarra but after working with a local welfare organisation I decided I would prefer to try and keep pets in their homes by offering my services than seeing them once they had been surrendered.

If you need help please reach out. It just takes some time and understanding your pets to make a difference in all your lives.

Kind regards,

Alicia Robb

Dip ECC VN, NDTF Qualified trainer

The Pet Teacher - Owner and Operator