About Us

Mark Mayho - Founder and Owner

Hello, and thanks for visiting our website! My name is Mark Mayho and I own Herts Canine.

As a child I grew up with a house full of Golden Retrievers; I often used to escape school (when I wasn’t supposed to!), collect my dogs from home and walk them for miles!

As soon as I could, I left school and was offered a job in a veterinary surgery. Here I got interested in dog behaviour and decided that was the path for me. I qualified as a canine behaviour consultant and dog trainer in 1999, then worked in training kennels and rescue centres training dogs until I founded Herts Canine in 2004.

I have been lucky enough to work with dogs on a full time basis ever since. 

In the past I have owned Rottweilers, Labradors, St Bernards and German Shorthaired Pointers. I currently own a Golden Retriever and 7 Miniature Smooth Haired Dachshunds.

I specialise with dogs that have any type of behaviour problem from mild to the extreme!

I am very conscious that no dog, no owner and no household is the same. What works for one dog will not necessarily work for the next! The thousands of dogs and owners I have helped have all been different and I thrive on helping owners and dogs solve their problems. 

In my opinion, anyone that thinks they know everything in this profession is dangerous! I am always learning and improving my understanding by attending courses and seminars on new methods. I am recognised by the Guild of Dog Trainers at Master level.

In 2007 I wanted to expand my skills within the dog world and qualified as a dog hydrotherapist. I then set up my own centre helping dogs with many types of conditions and injuries. I love having some dogs so poorly come to me for hydrotherapy that they need to be carried in from the car because they are unable to walk to seeing them gain strength to the point they end up running in to see me!

But, as they say, no man is an island, and I am lucky to work with a great team that share my passions for dogs:

David Stroud - Agility and Hoopers Instructor

David has been training dogs for fun agility and hoopers for some time now. He first got involved in agility with his fourth Border Collie – Fen – who he started 10 years ago as part of Fen’s recovery from being badly abused both mentally and physically before being put into rescue.

He has three Collies at home, all of which he has trained in agility and hoopers.

David is also a Canine Hoopers World Instructor.

Fen is now an “old boy” so has been retired from agility although is used as a demonstration dog at agility training sessions.

All David’s training is based on positive encouragement and reward to make sure that the handler and the dog enjoy the experience safely.

David joined Herts Canine in 2018. He does group as well as one-to-one sessions.

Kayley Mayho - Administrator

Kayley loves dogs; this is a huge bonus as she is Mark’s wife!

Kayley’s other love in life is horses and she is a qualified horse riding instructor. Unfortunately this career ended in 2017 when she had a riding accident and broke her back.

Kayley deals with the admin side of the business. Kayley is often the first point of contact for new enquires and can assist in providing information on our services and booking appointments.