Growing up I always had an interest in dog training but didn’t know how to pursue it as a career. In fact, I often tell people I didn’t know being a trainer was a career option at all! I was simply lucky enough to fall into it.

 

My career started like most others in my field, I adopted a dog. But not just any dog, I adopted my soul dog Athena, and little did I know she would be the gateway for me becoming the trainer that I am today.

 

When adopting her I knew she had been neglected, but due to my previous experience with my first dog who had been heavily abused I thought I was more than capable of working with her. However, I quickly realized I was in over my head and in need of some major help. After a lot of research, I discovered behavior modification training and a trainer who was willing to work with us.

 

As I watched my dog transform before my eyes, I quickly fell in love with the idea of helping dogs that are viewed as “Unfixable or Unsavable”. This led me to ask the trainer to take me on as an apprentice and as luck would have it, she agreed. Due to the extensive and intense nature of my apprenticeship, I was able to learn the ins and outs of training from the ground up.

 

After nearly a decade of training, I hold multiple certifications and have been lucky enough to turn my passion into a career. As a trainer, I offer services for pet dogs, working dogs, and therapy dogs. With a special focus on major behavior modification cases dealing with fear/dominance aggression, and dogs with hearing and/or sight disabilities.

 

My passion for dog training stems from a love of teaching as well as a love for creating relationships. Dog training is more than just teaching a dog to do things. It is about creating trust and communication. My goal is to not only train dogs but to create lifelong bonds between dogs and their owners, enabling them to enjoy life together and experience the trust, love, and joy that only a relationship like that can bring.