"My journey into the world of canine behavior modification began in 2005.  The universe presented me with a rescue dog who had every challenging behavior you can imagine.  He was leash reactive and would lunge on his back feet with all 85lbs to the end of the leash while barking ferociously if we saw another dog. He was a resource guarder with food and special toys, he barked incessantly if I left him alone for more than 15 minutes, and he was a fence runner; I could go on and on… but he taught me SO very much about dogs and about myself.

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I dove into the internet and bought dozens of books to learn how to deal with all of his scary behaviors. I signed up for an obedience class, found a mentor, and started working with my first project dog. He was a rescue, and I adopted him out to his own forever home about a year later.

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Once I saw the change in this dog, I was completely hooked on behavior modification.  It felt so wonderful to know that I had changed that dog’s ending, I had changed his life.

In 2006 I started volunteering with Border Collie Rescue.  Again, I took a dog into my home, gave them some life skills and training and rehomed to an appropriate home. Then I did it again, and again with another and another. And I just kept on fostering, training, and rehoming dogs for several years.  I began following up with the adoptions and helping the new families learn how to work through challenges with their newly adopted family members.

In 2015 I started teaching classes at The Academy of Dog Training & Agility (I still do!)

In 2018 I graduated from a professional animal training program (Karen Pryor Academy), where I learned even more about the science behind animal training and behavior.

In 2019 I completed an Aggressive Dogs course with Michael Shikashio, where I learned more about what causes some of the big emotions we see in dogs and how to respond to them, keep everyone safe, and modify their behavior.

In 2020, I was offered an amazing opportunity to direct the training program for a non-profit service dog organization. This work has been incredibly rewarding and helped to expand my skillset even further by working with service dog teams and developing their skills for public access and advanced tasks.
 
Along the way, I have had some amazing mentors and I continue to seek more education and experience.  I have never tired of it and I cannot wait to see what’s next!”

 

“Find something you love to do, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

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