About Fur Family Matters

Happy Pets = Happy Humans!

Fur Family Matters was born with the success of furry, fleshy, fluffy & scaly families in mind. Bringing a love for all animals, together with a passion for behaviour, my dream of working as a translator between animals and the people who love them, was born.  

Knowing that I wanted to work with animals from a young age, I completed a Bachelors in Equine Science with a minor in behaviour. During my tertiary studies, I was honoured to study under two industry experts in equine behaviour. Seeing them work with their animals, sparked a passion and insatiable curiosity to learn what our animals were saying.  

I continued to follow my passion volunteering at Healesville Sanctuary, Melbourne Zoo, RSPCA Victoria, and working in a support role with Chihuahua Rescue Australia.  

After being offered a paid position at the RSPCA, I began further study, completing my Cert III Dog Behaviour and Training through the National Dog Trainers Federation. 

During my time at RSPCA, I had the opportunity to work with & learn from some of the industry’s most experienced minds. As an animal behaviourist, I have worked with animals from some of the worst backgrounds and experiences you can imagine, to those who came into care simply through unfortunate circumstances.  

I continue to chase the most up to date information, through self-directed study, seminars, and professional development, in an ever-evolving understanding of the animals we share our lives with. 

I have been working as a behavioural trainer in private practice for the past five years. I most often support families struggling with anxiety & aggression towards other members of the family, as well as those they meet out on their daily exercise (lead reactivity). 

If your family is searching for help with your pets, please get in touch to start this next chapter of your journey towards truly understanding and loving your pets.  

Suzette has been working with Zeus for over 4 years now. When they first started he was just a small, rowdy ball of chaos. Nowadays he is a much larger, still rowdy ball of chaos but thanks to Suzette a much more manageable one. Whether it’s his lead walking, resource guarding or vet handling, Zeus is in a much better place now than he would have been had I tackled his training by myself. Being my first dog, and a rottweiler at that there were a lot of things I didn’t know about having a dog and many misconceptions that I had picked up from others. It is good to have someone with knowledge and experience to refer back to for explanation and guidance. I would definitely recommend Suzette for anyone having difficulties with their dog of any age or size, not just for yourself but for the wellbeing of your fur child.

Alex & “Zeus”

My husband agreed to get our first dog together, provided we adopted a female rescue. So I set out to find our first fur baby. I came across a gorgeous photo of a medium sized white dog with huge pointy ears & a cute eye patch on a deaf dog rescue site. I called to book a visit & was told that nobody had shown any interest. My heart melted for her. When she first came to visit, she was completely shut down, she was a shell of a dog that didn’t know how to be a dog. It was very rough at times. She never settled, never slept, whined all day, destroyed everything, was scared of the front door, scared of loud noises, scared of everything! Her first instinct was to flee, but of course when on lead, her instinct was to fight!! She didn’t realise the dog running over just wanted to play. Given how scared she was, I hate to think how she was treated before she met us. We met with a deaf dog trainer who helped us with basic training & recommended a local training company. This is when Sia met Suze & the rest is history. I swear Suze loves Sia as much as we do. She is so patient with Sia & us. Her vast experience with behavioural issues made them the perfect match. We were guided to a vet behaviourist who recommended medications. Along with weekly training walks, Sia has come such a long way. She can now walk passed dogs on the other side of the street & looks to us for a treat instead of reacting. Sia is no longer shut down & although she still chooses when to show us affection, it makes it all the more impressive when she does request bumb scratches or cuddles. Thank you for all your hard work & ongoing support Suze, you’re an amazing trainer & Sia is thriving in huge part because of the patience & love that you continue to show her.

Leanne, Garth & “Sia”

We chose to add Dude to our family during lockdown. We got him as a puppy and as he grew in size so did his bully attitude. Before we knew it, he was in charge and taking over our home. Meeting Suzette has been life changing. She has worked with Dude and us as a family. So instead of Dude taking over our home and ruling our world, he’s taken over our heart and become an amazing fur family member

Kim & “Dude”

We got Buckley as a puppy when we knew wanted a Jack Russell but thought the Pug in him would make him be a very chilled out dog. We were so wrong. We adored him from the get go but Buckley was definitely a challenge from the start. He would pull so hard on his lead he would almost choke himself, bark at anything that moved (dogs, scooters, prams), bark in the car and bark when we left the house. It was getting to the point where we would get anxious about taking him out for a walk because we didn’t know what he was going to do.
I knew we needed help with him but also thought that there was nothing we could do to fix his behaviour! Then we met Suze. Our first session was over video call, and after the first session, I could walk Buckley without having my arm pulled out of my socket. Something I never thought I would be able to do. Over the next few months we had multiple sessions with Suze who helped us learn to retrain his behaviour and enjoy our walks again.
Buckley has been having weekly training walks with Suze for a few years now, and it is the best thing we’ve ever done. Buckley loves her more than us!
Suze has taught Buckley many life skills that I never though he’d master, from being able to be touched by a vet to walking down our apartment stairs without barking his head off. Suze’s work is invaluable. Suze is an amazing trainer who shows genuine love for Buckley. She has been super supportive of us over the years and helped us get the best out of Buckley

Anna & “Buckley”

If your family is searching for help with your pets, please get in touch to start this next chapter of your journey towards truly understanding and loving your pets.

Contact Fur Family Matters Now