Early in my career, I spent ten years as a veterinary assistant. On top of assisting the veterinarians and technicians at the hospital, I also enjoyed learning about dog behavior, studying their body language and grew to learn that dogs have many ways of communicating their physical and emotional stress. I came to appreciate and enjoy the challenges that different dog’s behaviors presented. I loved when owners shared their stories about their dogs, particularly the struggles and triumphs of navigating their dog’s personalities and training experiences, their joys and sadness when things were difficult.

Over the years I explored different types of training methods with my own dogs, but something never quite felt right, until I had a series of my own reactive Australian Shepherds. My dogs helped me realize those training methods simply did not work and that’s when I found positive, reward-based training and everything clicked. I learned it’s not just about teaching behaviors – it’s about building trust, confidence, and a relationship you genuinely enjoy with your dog. And my dogs have thrived.