Meet Rachael
I’m originally from England and moved to Maui in 2013 after meeting my now-husband while working on a superyacht based in the Middle East. After traveling through East Africa, the Mediterranean, Ireland to be married and then to Sydney, Australia for our final yachting assignment, we began our next chapter on Maui where my husband has family. I started volunteering at the Maui Humane Society and from that moment I knew I had found my calling. Six months later I was hired as an adoption counselor where I had the wonderful fortune of helping hundreds of animals and humans connect, all the while supporting their journey post-adoption.
I spent the next 8 years working in various roles from Adoption Counselor to Volunteer Coordinator to Animal Care Manager and then Behavior Care Manager. After graduating from the Victoria Stilwell Academy of Professional Dog Trainers, I made the decision to leave the shelter and pursue my dog training career.
I’ve taken away life-long friends and untold knowledge from the thousands of dog teachers I’ve known and loved. Throughout my sheltering, I’ve discovered when humans are given the tools to help understand dogs, giving them the freedom of choice while becoming their teachers in life, magic happens…and witnessing this magic first hand is how Dog’s Choice was born.
Building Relationships
Since 2013
My Mission
My mission is to help dog parents embrace dogness while learning how to communicate with their furry (sometimes stinky, sometimes slobbery) best friend!!
We’ll Take Care
of Your Dog Friends
Rachael Magee is a graduate of the prestigious Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training & Behavior and has been granted official status as a VSA-Certified Dog Trainer (VSA-CDT).
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS:
• Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training & Behavior
• Certified Control Unleashed Instructor, 2020
• The Pet Professional Guild Member, 2020
• Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed, 2017
CONTINUING EDUCATION:
• Control Unleashed ‘Help for your distracted, anxious, reactive, or easily aroused dog’ Webinar
• Predation Substitute Training Webinar: New Ways to Manage Predatory Chasing
• Stationing for the Win-Win! Platform Training for Behavior
• Cooperative Care – Grisha Stewart Dog School
• MicroSigns Dog Body Language Webinar
• BAT 2.0 for Aggression, Frustration, & Fear webinar
• Aggression in Dogs Conference, 2021
• Aggression in Dogs workshop with Trish McMillan & Mike Shikashio
• International Dog Behavior Conference, 2020, 2021
Additionally, great emphasis is placed within VSA’s industry-leading curriculum upon effective and empathetic human communication skills. This unique focus results in professional dog trainers who are prepared not just to train dogs successfully using powerful force-free, positive reinforcement-based tools and techniques, but also to help dog owner clients to learn how to truly transform canine behavior and set their dogs up for success using the latest in modern behavioral science methods. Learn more about the Victoria Stilwell Academy here.
Fear Free Certified Professional Trainer. As a Fear Free Certified Professional, I am committed to alleviating fear, anxiety, and stress in pets. Learn more at fearfreepets.com
TRAINING PHILOSOPHY
I use reward-based training, as this is the most humane and effective method of training. (For more information on the scientific evidence, check out the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior’s position statement on Humane Training.)
