Meet Our Instructors
Our Instructors dedicate their talents to helping people and their animals.
Andy Robertson
Tellington TTouch® Instructor for Companion Animals, Andy incorporates her skills as a Motivational Dog Trainer and Feldenkrais practitioner in her teaching.
In the late 1980’s Andy attended an evening demonstration of TTEAM® , the original name for the Tellington TTouch® Method. The TT® ouch presenter did not touch a person or an animal, but had participants pair up and gave direction from the floor. At that stage. Andy was ready for a change as she was uncomfortable with the way most others were training dogs and the Tellingon Method just felt right. Changing how Andy touched her own dog has benefited all the other animals that she has come in contact with from that day forward.
As a Motivational Trainer, Andy uses the Tellington TTouch® Method when she teaches Puppy classes as well as Teen and Adult classes. Andy teaches workshops and one-on-one sessions. While Andy mainly works with dogs, she is interested in working with other species and has had occasion to work with wildlife.
Andy’s special interest is with animals that lack basic social skills needed to live in society as these animals can be reactive to many issues. The owners/partners find it very interesting how TTouch® , Ground Work and use of TTouch® Equipment can make changes that affect both the animals and themselves.
Andy lives just outside of Sydney, NSW, Australia. Contact her: ttouch@hbi.com.au
Anke Recktenwald
“At least one person in every household should be acquainted with TTouch For You.” This mission propels Anke Recktenwald to share this method whenever possible, leveraging her extensive knowledge, meticulous attention to detail, and practical expertise.
Anke has been immersed in the Tellington Method for horses since 1987 and has been teaching it full-time since 1999 as a self-employed practitioner. She remains dedicated to learning from Linda’s unique insights, not only in Tellington techniques but also in broader aspects of life and communication, which she finds deeply intriguing. Anke’s commitment to precision is valued by Linda.
During her training to become a Tellington teacher for horses, Anke was introduced to Feldenkrais through Edie Jane Eaton, an experience that left her pleasantly surprised and inspired. Overcoming a herniated disc through individual Feldenkrais sessions in Saarland prompted her to pursue a four-year training in the method. Integrating Feldenkrais into her work with horses, riders, and individuals with health challenges has enhanced her understanding and application of the Tellington Method.
Anke has collaborated with Linda Tellington Jones for many years, including spending time in Hawaii assisting at trainings, proofreading new books, and gaining firsthand knowledge. Based in Germany, she travels extensively across Europe for courses, offering motivating online programs and personalized sessions, including home visits when necessary. Her courses equip therapists and teachers with effective tools for their practices.
In addition to her teaching efforts, Anke promotes the Tellington TTouch method through articles, conferences, interviews, and social media, further expanding
Visit Anke’s website for more information. Contact: ankett@t-online.de
Bibi Degn
Bibi was awarded the Tellington TTouch® Instructor level for dogs and horses in 2002. Bibi’s unique contribution has been the creation and development of the Angie program (the Tellington Method for children and youth). Her special interests include teaching the Angie courses and spreading the Tellington Method as a therapeutic and educational system for youth. She is also interested in the importance of the work under saddle in the training to become a TTouch® practitioner for horses. Elements from Connected Riding and many years of close work with Peggy Cummings have contributed to it.
Bibi was born and raised in Austria. Her involvement with and dedication to animals began early on. Colonel Neufellner was her riding instructor in her childhood. Bibi earned the Bronze Reitabzeichen at the State Stallion Stable Paura. She participated at western trainings with Jean Claude Dysli. Her other accomplishments in the equine world include: she is a trail ride leader; she participated actively and successfully at several fox hunts and long distance races, and won and placed second at several long distance races both on the national and international levels.
Bibi earned a degree in studies Pedagogic as a elementary school teacher and she studied, extensively, veterinary medicine and Psychology without a degree. Bibi also owned/managed a breeding and boarding stable for Arabian horses in Austria and kept the mare book for the Arab breeding club. The dog breed, Magyar viszlas from Hungary, was another specialty of Bibi’s. At her farm, she took care of many horses and dogs and other species for many years.
During 1985 and 1986, Bibi stayed in Andalusia, Spain while she learned dressage and established many contacts in the riding style of southern Spain. Here to she participated in long-distance races and long trail rides. 1987 was a banner year for Bibi when she first came in contact with the Tellington TTouch® Method during a long distance ride in the USA. She met the Tellington TTouch® Training Practitioner Tina Hutton with whom she spent many weeks during the following years. Bibi was introduced to Centered Riding and started incorporating this as well as the Tellington Method to her training. Bibi participated in many TTouch® Trainings, mainly with Linda Tellington-Jones in Germany and in the USA.
In 1996 Bibi took over the TTouch Gilde Office in Germany and continues to manage it. She organizes the Practitioner training programs for dogs and horses in Germany and she teaches many courses for dogs and horses.
Today Bibi Degn lives in Neunkirchen-Seelscheid, Germany and she is working to found a Educational Academy for humans and animals with the Tellington TTouch® Method and Animal Ambassadors® as their focal point. Email Bibi bibi@degn.de or visit the Gilde
Debby Potts
For as long as she can remember, Debby knew she would spend her life working with animals. She began to live the TTouch® philosophy of creative problem solving even before she had any idea this would be her life’s work; she was extremely allergic to anything covered with hair or fur!
Of course she dreamed of having a dog. Her turtle named Herman and her canary, Tangie, were wonderful but it wasn’t the same as thoughts of walks around the block with her very own dog. One day her parents learned that poodles didn’t shed. Shoni, a silver miniature poodle, soon became her best friend.
Debby’s interest in health and well-being was sparked by her childhood companion animals, and continued with her becoming one of Oregon’s first board certified veterinary technicians. She grew up breeding and showing horses, which gave her an extensive background into working with many different breeds and disciplines of horses. A horse born with severe neurological damage initially brought Debby to Tellington TTouch® Training in 1984 after the veterinarians had done all they could to help the filly. The amazing progress Spirit made inspired Debby to use the Tellington techniques to improve the lives of animals and their people on a physical, mental and emotional level.
Debby’s passion for helping people and animals in a fun, positive and creative way is evident in the many workshops and trainings she teaches every year. She has been a popular speaker at various international conferences including the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and the International Symposium on Rescue Dogs. She established TTouch® in Japan and oversees the Tellington TTouch® Companion Animal Practitioner Training there.
From the beginning, Debby has used the Tellington Method to help humans as well as animals. Today Debby frequently works with people to help them reduce pain, recover from illness or injury and to improve mobility and function. She finds the Tellington work and philosophy to be an important part of helping people to find balance and well being in their lives. She often says, “TTouch® isn’t just what I do, it’s who I am.” TTouch® philosophy has strongly influenced her life and that of her family. Her two wonderful sons were raised with these concepts and often asked their mom for TTouch® when they had bumps and bruises.
Debby travels much of the year teaching trainings and working privately with individuals in North America, Europe, South Africa and various parts of Asia. She lives near Portland, Oregon with her human and animal family. For more information about Debby visit her website www.IntegratedAnimal.com.
Doris Prinstinger
Even as a child I wanted a dog of my own and as I grew up it was clear that I wanted to work with animals.
I got my first dog in 1991 and I got to know the Tellington method in 1997 through Martina Simmerer in Austria. And from then on it accompanies me through my life. It’s not just the “tools” that enrich my everyday life with my own animals or my job as a veterinary assistant, physiotherapist for dogs and owner of my own dog school, it’s also the philosophy that spreads over everything as an attitude to life.
I work primarily with family dogs and here especially that the owners get along well with them in everyday life and know employment/enrichment ideas.
My special interest is in broadening the perspective of dog owners on their dogs and looking at it holistically.
Another passion of mine is teaching courses. Getting to know the different people and their dogs and seeing the impact the Tellington Method has on them is always wonderful.
Dr. Daniela Zurr, DVM
Daniela qualified from Hannover Veterinary School in 1999. In 2000 she finished her research thesis about Green Iguanas. Since then she has been working in a holistic veterinary practice near Nuremberg, South of Germany. She is a certified behavior veterinarian and TTouch-for-You® Practitioner. Additional to her work at the veterinary clinic she works as a consultant for zoos and private exotic animal owners. She has published two books and many articles about holistic behavior medicine and is a regular speaker at veterinary conferences.
She is a member of the European Society for Veterinary Clinical Ethology and the secretary of the German Associaton of Veterinary Behavior medicine (Gesellschaft für Tierverhaltensmedizin und –therapie). She working on establishing the method in the training of behavioral veterinarians and is teaching the first Tellington TTouch® Method Practitioner program in Portugal. tteam@web.de
Edie Jane Eaton
The world lost a bright light in September of 2022. We are still in shock that our wonderful colleague, teacher and friend Edie Jane Eaton passed away suddenly after a short illness. We are dedicating the 2022 “Cell-ebration” in her honor and memory. We wish she could have joined us in person.
Edie Jane came to TTouch in the 1980’s on the suggestion of her Feldenkrais teacher. After one demo she was hooked and would become one of our beloved instructors.
Edie Jane was a phenomenal teacher and had a knack for balancing rational, concrete thought and her intuition and spirit. She was driven by curiosity for knowledge and possessed a calm, kindness that put everyone she met at ease. Well-spoken and full of wry observations, Edie Jane loved the natural world, a geologist by training, and had a thirst for adventure, she could count rally car racing as a hobby!
As a friend, she was fun, full of life and always interested in learning more. She had an eye for detail like no other. Edie Jane took many groups to Botswana on safari, horseback and otherwise, and loved the magic of the African bush. Her latest trip had been in May of this year and by all accounts it was spectacular.
We will miss Edie Jane more than words can describe. She changed the lives of so many people and animals over the decades she shared the Tellington TTouch around the world and she was an integral part of the development of the work. Her pivotal analogy of “Shedding Some Candlelight on Resistance” will continue to be shared in her memory.
Her family shared her obituary here.
We have been comforted with the wonderful stories and thoughts shared in our community as we have remembered Edie Jane. We will never forget her and we hope that she knew how life changing she was for so many.
Eugenie Chopin
Congratulation to Eugénie for becoming the first TTouch® Instructor in South Africa! Eugénie was honoured by Linda Tellington-Jones at a Tellington TTouch® CELLebration in Santa Fe, New Mexico for her years of work in this field along with her tireless energy in promoting the work in South Africa.
Eugénie is American born from Louisiana, although she has now been in South Africa for over 35 years. She was an animal lover from a young age but was never allowed a dog as a child as her father was handicapped and on crutches. She maintains she’s still trying to make up for it! Eugénie came to Tellington TTouch® Training when her dog SPCA special, Danilo became the neighbourhood villain and bully. After trying many traditional methods she came upon TTouch, which not only changed both their lives, but probably saved Danilo’s as well. Eugénie maintains that most unwanted behaviours that clients want to work with, she has experienced with Danilo, and so empathy and experience come fairly easily!
The results with Danilo were so amazing that Eugénie soon wanted to share the work and thus began the Tellington TTouch® Program in South Africa. She runs this Program and the TTouch® Office in South Africa and works to ensure that practitioners stay current with new techniques as well as old ones. The program has been running since 2001 and South Africa now boasts over 75 Practitioners.
Eugénie has a Master’s degree in Applied Music and spent many years performing Opera and teaching singers. She never dreamt that she would end up following a career with animals. Her real passion is dogs and she loves teaching people about ways to interact with animals that are neither frightening nor forceful. Because of this, she has spent extra time in the US becoming an expert on clicker training which she combines with TTouch® when it’s appropriate and useful.
Eugénie runs 2 or 3 Day Clinics, 6-week Classes and consults privately. She has done television spots for both 50/50 and South Africa Today as well as other “specialty programs”, written articles for leading animal magazines and done numerous radio interviews. She also teaches week long TTouch® trainings for the South African Police Dog Unit. She maintains that life is full and good and yes it is possible to work with the things you love! www.ttouch.co.za
Ingrid Wild
I have always loved horses, for as long as I can remember. As a child, I spent every free minute at a nearby stud farm that bred ponies. It was there that the foundation was laid for my deep understanding of, and commitment to, the well-being of horses. Regardless of their age or breed, every horse and pony on the farm became my best teacher. Before long, I started teaching and training there. But something still felt missing.
There was a deep longing within me—not just to connect with horses through knowledge and experience, but to build a bond of deep friendship and joy with them. My encounter with the Tellington Method opened up an entirely new world. Linda Tellington-Jones’ book The Ultimate Horse Behavior and Training Book and reports of the first training session at the Reken Riding Center, organized at the time by Ursula Bruns, sparked my interest. This soon turned into pure enthusiasm for the method, a passion that has remained with me to this day.
Alongside the joy and friendship, fairness plays a key role in the Tellington TTouch Method. This resonated with my strong sense of justice, which briefly led me to study law. However, my passion for teaching and training horses and riders was stronger. So, in 2000, I founded my own business, “Wild-Pferd: Training for Horse and Rider.”
Since then, I have worked with sport and leisure horses of all breeds, both in Germany and abroad. Building on my development in the Tellington TTouch Method, I further educated myself in classical homeopathy, hoof and saddle fitting, Centered Riding (riding from the center of the body according to Sally Swift), equine dentistry, Connected Riding by Peggy Cummings, craniosacral therapy, equine photography, and animal communication. I am currently participating in the TTouch’n’Click training for dogs.
I am a Tellington TTouch Instructor for horses and have been self-employed using the Tellington TTouch Method for 24 years. I have known and loved this method for over a quarter of a century. What has kept my enthusiasm alive? Why do I still feel so passionate about this special approach? For me, it’s the connection and the trust. The Tellington TTouch Method reliably fosters both between people and animals. Time and again, it creates a joyful space for learning and bonding. With this foundation, I am able to establish the right connection between horse and human, enabling learning in a friendly and positive atmosphere.
You can find more about me and many photos on my website: https://www.wild-pferd.com
Karin Freiling
Karin Petra Freiling was born and grew up in Germany. Since her early childhood, it has been a matter of her heart to practice and communicate connection and oneness between humans and animals. She discovered multiple ways of communicating with animals. Karin did her Master’s degree in Biology on the interaction between pygmy chimpanzees and zoo visitors in several zoos in Germany. In the mid ’90s, she discovered the Tellington TTouch® Method as an essential way of interspecies connection and worked with TTouch® on the apes.
She is an instructor for TTouch® for You – the Tellington Method for Humans and also an Instructor for TTouch® for dogs, and teaches many workshops for adults and children. She has been responsible for the rehoming of countless dogs that were considered to be untrainable from a local animal shelter. She inspired Linda Tellington-Jones to develop a certification training for humans in Europe and worked closely with her to establish the first European “TTouch-for-You” Curriculum.
Her versatile skills include profound knowledge of whole-brain and brain friendly learning, from which she developed an improved method for optimized learning and reading. She is also a natural practitioner for psychotherapy, NLP Master, dog physiotherapist, animal behavioral therapist, and lecturer for brain fitness at a notable German academy. Now she is working on her Ph.D. about interspecies connection worldwide in order to help people to open their hearts again and reconnect with animals and nature.
She lives in the wonderful countryside of Northern Germany, together with her wonderful cooking husband, her own little zoo comprising five dogs, cats, pigs, rabbits, chicken and always several animals for physical and behavioral therapy. Children love to learn TTouch® with these various species at her place and learn to interact in a respectful and loving way. For more information about Karin visit her website at www.viasolaris.de.
Kathy Cascade
Kathy’s introduction to dog training began in 1991 when a slightly wild and wonderful Alaskan Malamute puppy came into her life. Kathy and Spirit’s partnership lead them to competition obedience trials, participation in fly ball, and as a visiting Therapy Dog/Handler team in hospitals and nursing homes. Searching for a truly respectful and gentle approach to working with animals, Kathy completed the two-year Tellington TTouch® Companion Animal Practitioner Certification Program, graduating in October 1996 and later becoming an instructor in the program in 2003.
With her professional training and experience as a Physical Therapist, Kathy offers a unique perspective on the neurophysiologic and sensory aspects of dog behavior to her students. Known for her creative, engaging, and often humorous teaching style, Kathy has presented workshops and seminars throughout the US, Canada, and in Europe.
Kathy’s skillful approach to working with dogs with aggression and fear issues led her to develop a series of seminars titled “S.A.N.E. Solutions for Challenging Dog Behavior.” Her calm, confident demeanor serves her especially well in working with these cases. Kathy states, “Helping dogs learn to cope with the demands of living in our often chaotic human world is a passion of mine. Creating a sense of calm and safety for the dog is the first step to eliminating reactive and fearful behavior. We can do this with humane, effective tools for reducing stress and building confidence. It gives me great joy to see these dogs make the transformation from living in a state of fear to feeling safe in the world.”
The high desert of Central Oregon is Kathy’s home, and allows her to enjoy her outdoor passions of hiking, kayaking, and spending time with her horses. She is an active volunteer for the non-profit organization, Fences For Fido, which builds fences to free dogs from living life chained or tethered. Kathy’s website
Katja Krauss
When she was only two years old, Katja explained to her parents that a life without a dog would not be conceivable. She received her first dog on her third birthday and has had several dogs and many other animals in her life since that fateful early birthday present.
After finishing school, Katja opened her own dog school in her favorite city, Berlin. Right from the start, she integrated Tellington TTouch® in combination with Clicker Training into all of her classes. In parallel, she has trained her own dogs for film and television.
One of Katja’s interests is scent detection training. She has been working with mold-detection dogs for two decades and is involved with wildlife detection dogs. She was also involved in a project training dogs and pigs to sniff out breath samples from lung cancer patients.
With her colleague Lina Grobecker, Katja teaches students who want to work with their dog in a social, therapeutic, or educational environment. This training combines Tellington TTouch®, Clicker Training, and Leading Dogs in Balance which Katja created with Stephanie Hornung.
In the meantime, she very successfully leads the combined training ttouch-n-click, where dog trainers and veterinarians are trained to become TTouch Associates.
Katja has also created an online course with her colleague Gabi Vana, which transfers Nonviolent Communication according to Marshall Rosenberg to dealing with animals. The course is also available in English and is called Loving Animals.
Katja’s participation in Tier TV (Animal TV) has sparked a lot of interest in her as a speaker, both at home and abroad. She regularly travels to Dubai to support the royal family in the training of their animals. Katja also works with big cats and monkeys, but her heart belongs to the dogs. She believes she was one in a past life.
Katja is the author of several books, including “Educating Dogs with the Clicker” and the highly successful “Dogs in Translation” which she co-wrote with TTouch practitioner Gabi Maue. The book reached the prestigious Spiegel Best Sellers List in Germany and has been described as the bible to reading and understanding dogs’ emotions.
Pictured with Katja is her dog, Arwen.
greh@greh.de
Lauren McCall
Lauren has lived in eight different countries, including Barcelona where as a child her first experience with an animal was a lion cub; a rather unusual gift from the zoo. As the lion got older, and larger, it moved to a more suitable habitat, but the experience of forming a close understanding with an animal never left her.
After getting her MA in International Relations, Lauren embarked on a long career as a marketing specialist. Her move from England back to the US in 1998 proved to be a turning point in her life. The family Malamute’s health and behavior issues drew Lauren to the Tellington TTouch® Training and animal communication. Realizing how effective Tellington TTouch® Method was, she became a Practitioner and worked briefly as the Executive Director of the TTouch® organization. Lauren continues to enjoy sharing the benefits of TTouch® with people whose animals are experiencing health or behavior issues. However, it is the bond, the heart connection that TTouch® enables people to make with their animal companions that truly excites her.
Through her work as an animal communicator, Lauren became interested in helping people with pet loss by presenting the animal’s perspective on life and death. Her book, The Eternal Gift, is a #1 best seller in Japan. She divides her time between teaching groups and giving private sessions on TTouch® and animal communication in several countries.
Lauren was made a Tellington TTouch® Method Instructor for Asia, in the spring of 2010. She currently lives in the United Kingdom with her partner, a dog, cat, rabbit and two very squeaky guinea pigs. Contact Lauren: lozzamccall@icloud.com
Lily Merklin
Lily has always loved all sorts of animals: No matter if it was slugs crowling over her hands, deer that she saw in the woods near her parent’s house, her friend’s dogs and horses, the family cat “Peterele”, insects that scared other people or – she was fascinated by all of them already as a small child.
Later in Switzerland, Lily got to know the Tellington Method and became a physical therapist. She has a strong record in training horses and finished her studies in Psychology at Freiburg University in Germany with a thesis on animals in prisoner rehabilitation programs.
Books of hers have been published by Kosmos and she has been contributing articles to the journal “Pegasus” for many years. She is a trained Cranio and Polarity therapist, has taught courses in physical therapy as well as the Tellington TTouch® Method. In her work she focuses on recognizing the individual strengths of people and animals and helping them to develop it. Lily’s website
Linda Tellington-Jones – PHD (Hon)
Linda’s highly effective and revolutionary approach to working with animals has brought her worldwide recognition. She is the founder and president of Tellington TTouch® Training with certified TTouch practitioners for horses, companion animals and humans in 27 countries.
Her pioneering work has its roots in a philosophy that sees all beings — humans and animals alike — as reflections of a Divine Whole. The Tellington Method was first created four decades ago as a system of animal training, healing and communication that allows people to relate to animals in a deeper, more compassionate way — a way that furthers inter-species connection and honors the body, mind and spirit of both animals and their people. She is the author of 17 books in 13 languages.
In 2007 she was awarded an honorary PhD from Wisdom University and appointed as Chair for the Wisdom University Institute of Interspecies Connections.
Lindy Dekker
Lindy started riding at age 10 in Stellenbosch near Cape Town, South Africa. The majority of the horses were rescued racehorses with problems. She was always surrounded by animals and her parental home was never without at least two dogs and two cats. She was given a rescued donkey in 1967 and had him for four years.
After studying Biochemistry, Microbiology and Genetics at university, Lindy moved with her husband Rick to Johannesburg in 1979. There she changed careers to become a computer programmer, and she is still involved in doing support for a consulting company.
In 1987 Lindy reached her dream and acquired her first horse ‘Babyshoes’ (ex-racehorse TB gelding) who stayed with her for nearly 21 years. Lindy has competed in dressage to Elementary level. In March, 1999 she attended a Natural Healing course for animals that included Reiki and Aromatherapy as well as an introduction to the Tellington TTouch® Method. She started her own therapy business in 2000. In January, 2001 she attended her first five-day TTouch® workshop for horses and hasn’t looked back. She has been organizing the Tellington TTouch® practitioner training clinics in Johannesburg since 2002.
Now Lindy is a Tellington TTouch® Instructor for Companion Animals and for Horses. Besides organizing the practitioner training clinics for the Tellington TTouch® Method for horses, she gives clinics as well as private consultations for both horses and companion animals while traveling to all sorts of interesting places!
To learn more about Lindy, visit her website, www.lindydekker.com.
Lisa Leicht
Lisa Leicht grew up in a tiny Swiss village where she spent her days in the forest and the farmers’ stables. Communicating with nature and animals in a language beyond words was a normal part of her life. These experiences profoundly influenced her later professional pursuits in healthcare, education, and event management. Lisa discovered the Tellington Method in 1996 through her Jack Russell dog, Golfy. After completing her training as a Tellington TTouch Practitioner for dogs and companion animals, she became a Tellington Instructor in 2011. She works with dogs, cats, and their humans and teaches TTouch for cows, goats, and other farm animals. In 2009, she completed her training as a TTouch for YOU Practitioner and was promoted to Tellington Instructor for humans in 2024. Lisa offers individual lessons and courses for people of all ages. She has a keen interest in TTouch for self-help, dealing with high sensitivity, support after brain and head trauma, and assisting children and older individuals. Lisa is a certified adult educator, dog trainer, sound and color therapist, and has practiced meditation for over 35 years. She resides in Switzerland and France and teaches in various European countries.
In her work, she emphasizes the importance of a heart-to-heart connection, fostering understanding and trust, and respectful communication between people and animals, as well as managing stress. She is passionate about working with people and animals together. Lisa’s website
Mandy Pretty
Born and raised with horses, Mandy was literally riding before she could walk. Her exposure to the horse world was somewhat unconventional. Daughter of clinician Robyn Hood, and niece of Internationally renowned horse woman Linda Tellington-Jones, meant that her norm for handling and interacting with horses was several decades ahead of its time. Long before equine chiropractors, massage therapists and acupuncturists were main stream, Mandy and her family were looking for tangible physical and emotional reasons for unwanted behavior. They began phasing out black and white behavioral labels like “stubborn,” “lazy” and “disrespectful.” In Mandy’s family, horse behavior was viewed as reaction to a concrete catalyst, requiring looking at balance, pain, fear, fear of pain and issues of rider communication.
At the age of 4 and a half, on the way to her first Advanced TTEAM® (now Tellington TTouch®) Training in Boulder, Colorado, Mandy first met Peggy Cummings, the founder of Connected Riding.
For over a decade Mandy was schooled in Centered Riding and influenced by top Icelandic riders and clinicians. She was immersed in the world of horses, helping to start youngsters, exercise sales horses as well as participating in demonstrations and competitions with some of her parents’ Icelandic horses.
Then, at age 17 Mandy met Peggy Cummings again. Although initially skeptical of Peggy’s Connected Riding® concepts, Mandy soon understood the influence of posture and its effect on the horse underneath. The proof was in the pudding as it were, and she was soon a “convert” to Connected Riding®. Peggy became Mandy’s mentor and riding coach, expanding her knowledge of equine/rider bio-mechanics and ideal function under saddle with Connected Riding.
Mandy trains and teaches all breeds and disciplines full time; incorporating the Tellington TTouch® Method-Connect to train young horses and re-school older horses alike. In addition to training at Icelandic Horse Farm, Mandy travels to teach clinics featuring the Tellington TTouch® Method and Connected Riding. Mandy has taught independently in Mexico, Australia, the US and several Canadian provinces as well as assisting Robyn throughout Europe, South Africa, Australia and North America.
Mandy creates a positive experience for horse and rider; improving performance without compromising physical, emotional or mental well being. Her clinics easily apply to an all breed format although often geared toward the Icelandic Horse. Mandy teaches one to five-day workshops throughout the year, offering several at The Icelandic Horse Farm. She is available for demonstrations, riding lessons, lectures and clinics.
Mandy is a Tellington TTouch® Equine Instructor and a Certified Connected Riding Practitioner. She lives near Vernon, BC down the road from Robyn and Phil (aka Grandma & Grandpa) with her husband Walt and two young sons on their “Faux Farm.” Visit her own website: www.intouchwithyourhorse.com.
Marie Miller
While assisting Linda Tellington-Jones at the UK Advanced Practitioner Training, Marie received the wonderful surprise of being awarded certification as TellingtonTTouch® Companion Animal Instructor. She was introduced to the Tellington Method by reading Linda’s book and trained on the first companion animal practitioner clinics in the UK. Since graduating Marie has assisted at many companion animal practitioner training clinics, teaches one and two day TTouch® workshops and demonstrates at many events. Sarah Fisher and Marie frequently work together teaching courses and workshops and have co-authored two books about dog training and problem solving, combining TTouch® and Clicker Training.
Marie has had a life long love of animals and spent many happy hours growing up with animals from the local farm and ponies from the local stables. Dogs and cats became fully part of her life when she left home and was able to have pets of her own. She began to study companion animal behaviour and in 1980, set up Paws’n’Learn, a training and rehabilitation practice which uses force free methods. Marie is passionate about puppy training and the prevention of behaviour problems. She runs weekly classes, works 1-2-1 with companion animals and teaches workshops. Marie has been the resident trainer and behaviour advisor at Hollycroft Veterinary Centre since 1981.
To learn more about Marie, visit her website, www.pawsnlearn.com.
Marty McGee Bennett
Marty’s first llama jumped off the back of a pickup truck and into her heart in 1981. Since then Marty has devoted her professional life to the well being of llamas and alpacas and the education of camelid enthusiasts. After attending her first TTouch® demonstration in 1985 Marty attached herself to Linda for the next ten years learning the work with horses and adapting it for camelids.
In addition to her studies with Linda, Marty brings a variety of experience and qualifications to her work with camelids, including a B.S. degree in Animal Behavior and a professional background with fiber. This combination makes “Camelidynamics” the world’s most popular, and enduring training/handling system for camelids. Marty has taught the principles of camelid handling and the TTouch® to veterinarians and veterinary students at veterinary schools around the county and was the only non-DVM invited to contribute to the Veterinary Clinics of North America series on Camelids.
Her books (including one co-authored with Linda), videos and training clinics have helped thousands of llama and alpaca owners more fully understand, appreciate and enjoy this magical animal. Marty’s most recent book “The Camelid Companion” published in 2001 has received rave reviews in publications worldwide.
Conducting hundreds of clinics in North America and around the world including numerous trips to Australia, New Zealand and Europe have kept Marty on the road for much of the past 30 years. Marty her husband Brad live in New Smyrna Beach Florida and Marty still travels the world sharing her expertise on handling llamas and alpacas without fear or force. For more information about Marty, clinics, and products for camelids including a halter that is safe comfortable and effective for refined leading, log-in to Marty’s websie
Maryse Perreault
As long as she can remember, Maryse, was always fascinated by the oneness of life and nature. As a child, following her father’s teachings, she would wander in silence in the forest, in a sort of meditative state, ‘’listening to the sound of life’’ as her father and grandfather would say. She became fascinated by interspecies bonds and relationships, including the human and companion animal bond.
What always piqued her interest was trying to understand the other and trying to establish a bond of trust without using words. As a result of this, she would unexpectedly find herself being touched by vivid emotions forming relationships that are sometimes so simple and sometimes very complex.
Later, two events brought TTouch on her path. Her dog was diagnosed with Addison’s disease, and she met with Lucie Leclerc, who was then a TTouch practitioner and assistant. These life events gave her the curiosity and interest to learn more about TTouch and it ended up completely changing her life path and career goals.
She continued her TTouch training until she became a TTouch practitioner. Up until this point, she had received her degrees in Geology and Communication but was also working, in her spare time, as a dog trainer using positive reinforcement and as an animal-assisted activities practitioner and teacher.
From then on, she dedicated her life to teaching TTouch to numerous groups of people with different backgrounds within the animal field like groomers, shelter employees, dog trainers, and animal-assisted activities practitioners, for example. She was also an active mentor to both French and English-speaking students.
She wrote articles in French for blogs, also translating numerous documents and training, and teaching online classes as well.
In her desire to better understand the TTouch method and develop her self-awareness abilities, she went on to explore the world of somatic education. She amongst other methods, explored Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Karate, the Feldenkrais Method… She ended up earning a degree in the field and now also teaches voice guided somatic work inspired by Moshe Feldenkrais in Québec, Canada.
That work, along with the TTouch work, influenced and changed the way she teaches animal-assisted activities/therapy work. She has worked with dogs, rabbits and other small animals from shelters and helping them manage their stress, anxiety and nervousness has been a growing passion from the very beginning.
As a companion animal Tellington TTouch instructor, Maryse, sees again and again how animals, like humans, possess the resources that allow them to express their full potential and their relational skills.
She is proud to partake in the changes humans are putting forward in order to collaborate and to create authentic, supportive, and respectful alliances with their pets.
For more information about Maryse, visit her website www.essenceetalliances.com or contact her directly at ttouchquebec@gmail.com.
Rachel Ann Jackson
Rachel was born and raised in the North West of the UK. From a very young age she loved animals and especially wanted a dog, and at a very young age lived with three wonderful Pomeranians. She started horse riding at seven years old, horses are her second love and loves riding side saddle.
After qualifying as a primary school teacher and getting married, twenty-five years ago, her and her husband adopted a beautiful, sweet, two year old lurcher from a local rescue. It soon became clear that Fionn was petrified of other dogs, among other things. In her desire to help Fionn, Rachel started to learn about dog behaviour, completing a two-year dog trainer and behaviour course and then found Tellington TTouch® Training method. She describes this as her lightbulb moment, this was what she wanted to learn all about after she discovered how wonderful it was for Fionn. She booked straight away onto her first TTouch training in September 2000 and hasn’t looked back since.
Rachel went back to university in 2016 to study as a Veterinary Physiotherapist because she noticed that many dogs were struggling physically as well as behaviourally and qualified in 2018. Since then she has combined her work in both these modalities to enhance the physical and behavioural well-being of her own and client’s dogs. Rachel has a passion for the older dog, keeping them as fit, healthy and mobile as they can be. In addition to this, Rachel loves to teach guardians the importance of communication between them and their dogs and how to really listen to their canine friends.
Over the past twenty-four years Rachel has fostered many dogs, predominantly greyhounds and lurchers of varying sizes, shapes and ages. TTouch has benefitted each and every one of them. Sighthounds are her massive passion and there will always be a Jackson sighthound. Rachel volunteers at her local Dogs Trust and other rescues for many years. She uses TTouch techniques to help the more stressed and troubled dogs in their rescue be ready for their forever homes, with those already in homes, as well as many staff trainings.
Now Rachel gives private consultations and teaches workshops and trainings, in person and online nationally and internationally. She teaches the Tellington TTouch® Training Method and topics including pain and behaviour, proprioception and anatomy amongst others.
Rachel was made a Tellington TTouch® Method Instructor in 2021. She lives in South Manchester, UK with her husband, two greyhounds and a lurcher. You can learn more about Rachel and contact her via www.wellbalancedanimals-vetphysio.co.uk wellbalancedanimals@gmail.com
Robyn Hood
Senior Instructor of the Tellington TTouch® Method, Editor of Staying in TTouch Newsletter and Linda’s youngest sister, Robyn has been riding horses since before she could walk. She went through Pony Club and showed as a junior competitor in Alberta. She later attended and then instructed at the Pacific Coast School of Horsemanship in California owned by her sister Linda Tellington-Jones. Robyn competed successfully in hunter, jumper, three-day eventing, endurance, western events and more recently in gaited horses.
In 1982 Robyn became involved full-time with the Tellington Method that was developed by her sister Linda. She has been the editor of the monthly Newsletter for more than 30 years. Since 1986 she has been teaching Tellington TTouch® Method on a full-time basis in Canada, the US, Europe, South Africa and Australia and spends about 160 days a year traveling. Robyn has given demonstrations and lectures at various venues including Spruce Meadows; Equitana USA and Germany; Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan; International Humane Society Conference in Vienna and Murdoch University in Perth.
Besides teaching the Tellington Method on the road and at her farm in Vernon, BC, she and her husband have been importing and breeding Icelandic horses since 1976. In addition to their Icelandic herd which numbers around 80, they also share their farm with two cats, three dogs and a very talented parrot named Frances. Robyn Hood
Tina Constance
Tina has worked with animals for many years and joined one of the first TTouch Practitioner Training Programs in the UK. She has worked as a Practitioner for Companion Animals and Horses for over thirteen years and became an Instructor in 2009. Tina has worked at Tilley Farm, the centre for TTouch® in the UK, for the past eight years and is a valuable member of the team.
Tina works closely with Sarah Fisher and has appeared in all of Sarah’s books. She works with the horses coming in to the farm for rehabilitation and training, assists on every Practitioner Training Clinic and sees private clients on a one to one basis. Tina also teaches workshops and travels with Sarah around the UK.
Tina is the proud owner of a Springer Spaniel, one horse and one pony. Her horse, Wellington, came to Tilley Farm in 2005 and had multiple problems. The Tellington TTouch® Method has been an invaluable part of his rehabilitation and Tina has been successfully competing him in the Veteran showing classes tina@tinacontstance.co.uk
Toni Shelbourne
Toni has worked with domesticated and wild canids since 1989. After a long and successful career with the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, she started her own business as a Tellington TTouch Companion Animal Practitioner in 2000 after being one of the first people to qualify in the UK.
In 2001 her skills in TTouch took Toni to the UK Wolf Conservation Trust where she met a pack of socialised wolves. She went on to work with them for over a decade as a Senior Wolf Handler and Education Officer for the organisation. Through observing the wolves, she has a unique insight into their behaviour. This led to her questioning the ingrained ideas about the alpha theory with dogs, ideas that were often in conflict with her own knowledge and observations.
In recent years she has updated her skills and qualifications obtained through her career with Guide Dogs to include being a Real Dog Yoga Instructor and Animal Behaviourist, as well as being a Tellington TTouch Companion Animal Instructor. She loves to look at the emotional side of dogs and specialises in fear-based issues and stress management.
She is the author and co-author of seven books (The Truth about Wolves and Dogs; Dispelling the Myths of Dog Training (Hubble and Hattie), Among the Wolves: Memoirs of a Wolf Handler (Hubble and Hattie), HELP! MY Dog has a Canine Compulsive Disorder (Skinny Dog Books) and HELP! My Dog is Scared of the Vet (Skinny Dog Books), HELP! My Dog is Scared of Fireworks, HELP! My Dog doesn’t Travel Well in the Car and HELP! MY Dog is Destroying the Garden. Many more are planned.
She has also had articles published in Dogs Today and Edition Dog magazines, as well as numerous blogs, and rescue newsletters. She writes regularly about TTouch in Your Dog Magazine and Your Cat magazine in the UK.
Toni lives in South Oxfordshire, England. She works with clients locally and teaches nationwide and internationally. Toni is also the referring behaviourist for the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary where her skills in TTouch are invaluable for helping the traumatised animals that find themselves in the sanctuary’s care. As well as teaching TTouch both in-person and online, she gives webinars and talks, she is also a Senior Instructor for the Dog Training College and tutors for The International School of Psychology & Behaviour.
Toni works under her maiden name of Shelbourne, but you may also know her as Toni Sherman, which is her married name.
Web address: www.tonishelbourne.co.uk
Website: (HELP! My Dog…book series) www.skinnydogbooks.jimdo.com
Facebook: Toni Shelbourne Animal Behaviourist and Author
