Meet Yeovil's answer to dogfather Graeme Hall

Max Randall, a dog mental health expert and founder of MK9Plus, is up for the Special Achievement Pet Professional Award in the annual Pet Industry Federation Awards 2022.

MK9Plus is a video education platform for dog lovers to understand their pet's mental health better. So dog owners won't need to tap up the likes of Cesar Millan for a helping hand.

Max has been shortlisted because of his ethical methods in tackling the root causes of undesirable canine behaviour.

He achieves this by changing the dog’s lifestyle and training their owners.

Max said he founded his business with a different approach in mind and said it is “a bit different from what people expect”.

He started up in December last year, but he had been thinking about it since the pandemic.

He said: “People never learn any sort of prevention about behavioural problems, and that could save them time and money. Training does not help the dog. It is the biggest misconception, it does not give them what they need.”

He added: “Thank you very much, Pet Industry Federation. It’s great to see such a large and creditable organisation supporting and enjoying force-free and mental health-based canine care. It makes an amazing change.”

2022’s highlights for MK9Plus include local and national press coverage, podcast appearances, and growing membership and social follower base.

The Pet Industry Federations Awards are the most coveted in the pet sector, and the awards programme attracted a record number of entries this year.

Nigel Baker, chief executive of the Pet Industry Federation, said: “The standard and volume of entries for the PIF Awards this year has been quite staggering.”

The 2022 Pet Federation Awards will take place on Thursday, 17th November, at Whittlebury Hall in Northamptonshire, where the winners will be announced at a special presentation dinner.

For more information about Max's business, visit this website.