ABOUT ME

I grew up with a house full of pets and a love of animals. However, it wasn't until December 2000 when I adopted Franklin, a tenacious mini dachshund, that I was set upon the road to what would become my life's passion - dog behavior and training. Franklin's tenacious spirit and drive to work meant I had to find things to keep him busy and engaged. We attended many different training and dog sports classes (an agility dachshund?!) I poured over books, attended seminars, and mentored with trainers to learn all I could about training, communicating and building a relationship with my new best friend. Now I work with owners to share the knowledge I've gained from my dogs, my fosters, and the shelter dogs I've worked with over the years.

Training foster puppy, multi-dog training

TRAINING

I've been training dogs and teaching people how to train their dogs, individually and in group classes, for over 20 years.

My goals as a trainer are to give owners the skills necessary to build better relationships and solve behavior challenges with their dogs using reward-based, positive training methods grounded in learning theory.

What is reward-based training and why is that important? See what the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior has to say about training methods in their Position Statement on Humane Dog Training.

SHELTER WORK

Over the years I have continued to volunteer for local shelters, working with shelter dogs, developing behavior modification plans, running large and small dog playgroups, and handling dogs of all breeds and temperaments. I've also run volunteer and staff training

sessions, and implemented kennel enrichment programs to help dogs in shelters while they wait for their forever homes. My time in the shelters is some

of the most rewarding work. If you If you to make a difference in a dog's life, volunteer at a shelter. See what the shelters say.

Volunteer Training at Oakland Animal Services

RESCUE

I have worked with many rescue organizations over the years including Our Pack Inc. a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to saving and improving the lives of Pit Bulls and Chihuahuas through rescue, training, shelter and owner support, and education. I've evaluated, pulled and fostered dogs from Bay Area shelters in my own home, placed dogs in appropriate foster and forever homes, counseled fosters and adopters on behavior and training, and provided training support and advice to adopters and dog owners in the community. I'm also an emergency responder with the Animal Rescue Team for the Humane World for Animals (formerly Humane Society of the United States) and Red Rover and have deployed multiple times across the country to support animals in crisis.

I worked as a consultant providing content and building online training & education courses for all handlers and playgroup staff of a local dog hotel when it first opened. Courses included: training in dog-dog interactions and behavior, handling best practices, and training junior trainers in basic dog training concepts and hands-on skills.