Iron Dog Algarve
Who should I trust?
At Iron Dog our mission is to help raise awareness of training dogs and owners in the most effective, ethical and balanced way. Balance is the keyword, in everything we do. We sincerely believe that a dog is much more than a mere pet and, therefore, with the help of our trainers, we will teach you how to better enjoy your friend’s company. Come and learn how to stimulate him with new challenges and deepen and strengthen your bond! Live an amazing experience.
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Meet our team
Trainers
Caretakers
Dog Trainer João Paulino
He is the president of Iron Dog Algarve since its foundation and the oldest trainer of the school. After working 12 years as a K9 security guard for the largest security company in the country, after numerous courses in the area, and participating in 5 world championships representing Portugal, trainer João Paulino is still one of the rare Certified Trainers of Dogs of Dangerous or Potentially Dangerous Breeds, recognized by the Portuguese Government. João Paulino mainly invests his time in improving his training technics and methodology, competition and acquiring more experience, especially in the area of sports training. His knowledge investment is done by traveling through multiple countries, and by training and competing with various dog breeds. His main interest is in sports competition in the areas of IGP, Obedience and Mondioring.
João Paulino is the Portuguese Kennel Club national coordinator for IGP dog sport in Portugal IGP decoy and track layer, Mondioring decoy, and judge’s assistant in Obedience dog sports. For him, singing Portugal’s anthem on a world podium is every competitor’s dream.
And so, these are some of the most important moments lived in his career:
– Representative of Portugal in the WUSV world championship (France, 2014)
– Representative of Portugal in the world championship ATIBOX WW – IPO1 World Winner! (Spain, 2018)
– IGP vice-champion of Portugal with a Boxer (2020)
– Representative of Portugal in the WUBOX world championship, 3rd place on the podium, (Germany, 2020)
– Team leader for the portuguese IGP team in FCI world championship, Check Republic
– Representative Portugal at the 2023 World Tracking IFH FCI Championship, Lahti, Finland
– Representative Portugal at the 2024 Tracking IFH FCI World Championship, Linstow, Germany
In an environment and activity that still lacks regulation in the sector, the trainer argues that the best way for professionals to show the quality and breadth of their knowledge is through the transparency of competitions. Nationals and internationals. Distinction and excellence is achieved by entering the field and on an equal footing with other trainers, and putting all the knowledge into practice, proving the quality of training according to the achievements obtained. At the same time, in addition to sports, João Paulino’s work stands out above all in solving severe behavioral problems (many in very serious situations) but also in training the dog from an early age to become balanced, happy and well-integrated adults in society.
João Paulino is lucky and proud to have trained and trained with some of the best names in the canine training landscape worldwide:
– Toni Tur (SPAIN/SWEDEN)
– Marko Koskensalo (FINLAND/CANADA)
– Martin Pejša (CZECH REPUBLIC)
– Dani Ruano (SPAIN)
– Michael Praig (AUSTRIA)
– Viorel Scinteie (GERMANY)
– William Langlois (FRANCE)
– Marek Urban (CZECH REPUBLIC)
Annually, Iron Dog Algarve organizes 4 to 5 sports competitions in the Algarve region.
Dog Trainer Nuno Nunes
Trainer Nuno Nunes is from Tavira, where he founded his own dog training school. We are very lucky and happy that he has joined our dog trainers team.
Nuno teaches at the same time at Iron Dog Algarve and is part of our competition team, representing our school in two different modalities: Obedience and IGP. However, the trainer has even represented Portugal in the Mondioring world championship. Nuno started his career as a dog trainer in 2013. Since then, he has helped countless families to better understand their dogs. From basic obedience for puppies to solving behavioral problems, or introducing pet owners to the complex and challenging world of dog sport people , Nuno is a very multifaceted trainer who quickly adapts to different types of dogs and situations. Nuno favourite breed is Belgian Malinois shepherds but likes to work with any dog, with or without defined breed.
Nuno teaches in Portuguese and English, and we strongly believe that he is one of the most promising dog trainers in Portugal. You can read more about Nuno and his work on his school’s website: INCRÍVEIS TAVIRA.
Dog Trainer Francisco Campos
Francisco Campos was born in Esposende, north of Portugal. From a very early age, he came into contact with the world of dogs and in its various aspects, due to the fact that his father was a competitor and promoter of canine sport in Portugal. At the age of 14, he began to be present at the IGP training sessions that took place at his father’s train ing club, leading him to start training a Belgian Malinois Shepherd in the IGP dog sport. At the age of 18, he enrolled in an University Degree in Environmental Sciences at the University of Minho. After completing his degree, he became more active in his father dog training club and dog hotel, where he later gave civil obedience training.
Six months after this contact with canine training, he decided to go for what would become his first sport dog. During the following two years, in addition to continuing to train, he also began his sporting career:
– Portuguese Track Cup 2020 – FPr1
– 2020 Portuguese Cup, in Loulé (IGP I) – Rookie of the Year.
He has also invest in the training of deaf dogs and assistance dogs, specially aimed at children with autism and people with depression. In order to reach and be able to help more people, he decided to create a visual podcast on his digital platforms, then starting to carry out a home training service. Aiming to expand borders and gain new experiences, he decided in 2022 to move to the central part of the country, acquiring behavioral modification training.
In 2023, he participates in the IGP Portuguese Cup with the aim of qualifying for the world championship, and in that year he receives the invitation to be the Portuguese Team Leader in the IGP World Championship. He was accredited by the Portuguese Kennel Club as an IGP decoy and track layer.
Nowadays, he is also the representative of the ForDogTrainers brand in Portugal. In 2023 Francisco has moved to the south of Portugal in order to expand and acquire more knowledge and even more and new training experiences. At the beginning of 2024, he participated in the Portuguese IGP national championship Cup.
Chronology of important events:
– Xerach García Seminar, 2018
– IGP Team Canis Lupus BH/TS 2020
– Portuguese Tracking Cup 2020 – FPr1
– Portuguese IGP Cup 2020 – IGP I (Rookie of the Year)
– IGP Team Canis Lupus 2021 – IGP I
– IGP Boxer Clube de Portugal 2022 – IGP II
– Behavioral Modification Training for Aggressive Dogs
– Conducted an Obedience Workshop at Santa Comba, Barcelos
– Mia Skogster Seminar
– Portuguese IGP Cup 2023 – IGP III
– Organized a Workshop on Basic Obedience and a creating a good dog- owner relationship
– Accreditation as IGP decoy and track layer
– IGP Portuguese Cup 2024 – IGP III
Dog Trainer Ricardo Lima
Ricardo Lima, born in the city of Faro, did all his dog training certificating along with Iron Dog Algarve. He has been interested in animal life from a very early age, having worked with several exotic species of all animal classes, working both in animal welfare and training.
Ricardo graduated in Animal Science and Technology and holds a master’s degree in Conservation Biology. Following his academic career, he had the opportunity to carry out internships in some animal parks, including the Monte Selvagem Animal Reserve (Lavre) and the Wisbroek Research and Development Center (Holland). Despite working mostly with birds since 2017 (Zoomarine Algarve), he is currently our newest addition to the team as dog trainer. He is a natural talented individual.
Trainer Luisa Bartolomeu
National Champion of Obedience 2021, organized by the Portuguese Kennel Club. Born in Portugal, she emigrated with her family to France when she was still a child. She has now returned to her roots, after a lifetime of working abroad, to be able to do what she enjoys the most: training dogs and helping owners to achieve a healthy relationship with their dogs. In France, Luísa began her long competitive life in 1979, dedicating herself mainly to the modalities of Agility and Obedience, but also passing through the IGP, Ring, tracking, and even truffle hunting. Currently, she competes for Iron Dog Algarve at the highest level of the Obedience modality, in the national Obedience championship. Throughout her life, and in different countries, she has learned different methods and working tools, and she maintains the taste for constantly continuing to learn and evolve her canine training methodology.
Over the years, she has fallen in love with different breeds (German Shepherd, Scottish Shepherd, Belgian Shepherd Tervueren and Schipperke) and has helped countless owners to train their dogs and understand how to better communicate with them. Luísa specialized in France as a «Basic Education Instructor», «Puppies School Instructor», attended the «Group and Individual Socialization Course», «Preparation for Competition» and was also responsible for several competition groups. It was also thanks to competition that Luísa knows much of Europe.
Trainer Denis Kibritjian
Denis has been a professional firefighter all his life. It was also at the fire department that he began his passion for dog training. There he had contact and experience with the canine search and rescue team in rubble and rescue in dangerous environments. Ten years after joining the fire department, Denis was already participating in several rescue maneuvers, from helicopter to water rescue, with Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd dogs. Exceptional experiences that made him fall even more in love with the world of canine training. His first working dogs were a border collie “Tintin” and a Belgian Malinois shepherd “Diego”, which he trained in Auvergne, France. In 2012, he started competitive training at a canine training club, developing his interest in Agility.
In 2014, he started competing in this modality with his Schipperke “Jengo” with which he continued to the maximum level. Two years later, he started the same dog in the Obedience discipline, reaching class 2. In 2018 he obtained his French certificate as “MEC1 Dog Educator”. Currently, Denis, together with Luísa Bartolomeu, has 2 Belgian Tervuren shepherds competing in the national obedience championship and two Schipperkes, taking advantage of the “renovation”. In 2020, Luísa and Denis left France for Portugal and joined as trainers and competitors at Iron Dog Algarve.
Meet our animal caretakers team
Sara Alves - Daycare and Hotel Management
Sara Alves has a degree in Communication Sciences, and during 10 years have dedicated herself full time journalism. Currently she still works as a freelancer, however, she is completely dedicated to Iron Dog Algarve. She is responsible for marketing and communication for the Iron Dog Algarve brand, and is the club’s vice president.
At the moment she is also doing a university degree on Animal Welfare, and simultaneously, she is also national coordinator for IGP dog sport in Portugal. During the time she’s not training or developing activities with dogs, she is probably creating and managing online content, social networks, answering phone calls and emails, sorting and scheduling classes, managing the daycare and hotel, and establishing several partnerships with other entities or simply working on some ways to create new dog environmental enrichment.
Sara is also part of the school’s IGP competition team and is the founder of the kennel name “of Iron Kingdom” dedicated to breeding working lines of German Shepherd, Malinois and Boxers dogs. In her spare time, she likes to exercise the dogs in the pool, read scientific articles and books on dogs, improve dogs physical condition and resistance, and is very interested in the topics of canine training, dog sports, rehabilitation and animal physiotherapy.
Carolina Mariano
Born in Loulé, Carolina has a degree in Marketing and joined our team in May, 2023. She currently shares the responsibility for the day-to-day management of the daycare and hotel at Iron Dog Algarve and Woofland by Iron Dog. Methodical, organized and very responsible, she loves to hold on her lap all the dogs.
She is absolutely passionate about animals, and especially dogs. Throughout her life, she has always been surrounded by them and is currently the proud owner of three adorable dogs. Thanks to her degree, Carolina combines her knowledge in marketing and content management with her deep love for animals. Her academic background and personal experience with dogs make her a valuable addition to our team, where she is dedicated to ensuring the well- being and happiness of our canine guests.
Filipe Viegas
Filipe is one of the dedicated members of the Iron Dog team. He started working at Iron Dog in 2024, since then, he has shown an immense passion for the well-being of our canine guests. However, his first contact with Iron Dog Algarve was in 2016, when he attended our school for the first time as a client with his dog Dory.
At that time, he was far from imagining that seven years later he would join our team! Dory is very happy as now her owner brings home new treats every day. Always in a good mood and with positive vibes, he is that familiar face who never lets anyone leave without a smile. He is pure amusement and keeps the whole team laughing all day. Filipe is a very dynamic and active person, patient and very attentive to the dogs needs, and making sure that nothing fails throughout the day. Dogs absolutely love him and he has shown a very special way of dealing with them. In his spare time and days off, he dedicates himself to a very tasty and irresistible business: CHUNKS!
Érica Palma
Érica was born in Faro and since she was a little girl she imagined her life connected to animals. Her dream was to be a veterinarian, but life had other plans for her. She is determined, independent, a person of ideals and likes to plan the future in detail. She is currently the proud owner of three Belgian Malinois Shepherd dogs, and is part of our Obedience competition team.
At the same time, she is a videographer at EP SENSES, dedicating her time and knowledge to the niche of wedding videos. She joined the Iron Dog Algarve team in 2024 and now spends all day, every day, doing what she loves: being a dog caretaker and training her own dogs. “Here I feel whole! Not only I have the chance in working in something I really enjoy as I feel that I belong in a team with a great spirit, as well as an excellent sense of humor”.
Juliane Lucks
I’m Juliane, originally from Germany, but I’ve been living in the Algarve for over 30 years. I’ve lived with cats and dogs since I was very young and I’ve always loved looking after animals. I’ve had extensive experience in pet sitting, including not only cats and dogs but also horses and chickens. As I love the Boxer breed, I got to know Iron Dog through a Boxer event and I really liked the work and dedication of this dog school. My family includes two Boxers breed in Iron Dog kennels (of Iron Kingdom) which I usually take to work along with me, so the chances of you meeting them are high! When the opportunity arose to collaborate with Woofland by Iron Dog, I felt it would be the perfect environment to apply and share all my pet sitting know-how in order to provide the dogs with an incredible experience.
Iron Dog
Achieve the relationship you’ve always dreamed of with your dog. At Iron Dog Algarve we show you how you can get the dog you want.
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Location
- Quarteira - Portugal
- info@irondog.pt
- +351 966 092 964
- Mon-Fri: 8:30am to 1pm and 3pm to 6pm Closed Saturdays, Sundays and holidays
Iron Dog Algarve Dog School
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