Barbara Sykes has had a lifetime of working around animals and through her dogs has studied and observed both pack and individual mentality. A member of the British Institute of Professional Dog Trainers since 1984 she has many years of successful behavioural consultations behind her including a client base in Australia, Finland, Germany, France, USA and Spain, who she works with via video, email and phone. Author of six books, including Understanding and Handling Dog Aggression, she also edits the magazine – Freedom of Spirit. No stranger to competition, Barbara is one of the few lady handlers to reach the top in the very male dominated sheepdog trialling world having competed in seven English national trials and been a member of the winning England team at one of the Internationals. Trialling has now gone on the back burner as her time is increasingly taken up with one to one behavioural consultations and travelling the UK, accompanied by some of her canine team to fulfil the demand for her Thinking Like Canines (TLC) seminars. She is a founding Trustee of the Freedom of Spirit Trust for Border Collies.

Interest in her work is not confined to dog owners. She has trained dogs to take part in television programmes such as ‘Woof' (for children); Out of Sight; Prime Time and Peak Practice. Television appearances include Vets in the Country, Countryfile, Great Drives, Pets Part of the Family (in the USA), Dogs with Jobs, One Man and His Dog (Christmas special featuring Corporate Collies), and The Natural World – the Beardie and the Bloodhound. She absolutely refuses to appear on any programme that she believes to be detrimental to dogs and their future. The Times, Times Educational Supplement, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, Daily Express, Sunday Mirror magazine, Telegraph and Argus, Wall Street Journal, Dalesman, Country Living and the Yorkshire Post are just some of the newspapers and magazines that have featured Barbara, her dogs and her work.