FAQs
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have a membership to APDT (American pet dog trainers) which hold seminars, has monthly news letters, offers DVD's and books to continue education as well as an annual 5 day conference with speakers, vendors and workshops for positive science based trainers to learn from PHD's in the field of animal behavior. I often attend seminars and have read many, many books and DVD's on animal behavior and training. I also am a member of a large network of skilled trainers and behavior specialists and we discuss cases and training techniques and help each other out with difficult cases because it can take several people brainstorming to think outside of the box sometimes and it's wonderful to get other professionals input. I also belong to several dog training forums where we discuss cases and training on line. It's important to continue your education and expand your knowledge because each animal human pair I meet is unique in their own way.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
Working with animals is something I grew up doing, my father was a veterinarian, and owned several vet hospitals, my mother loved and rode horses and shared her love for them with me, my grandparents has a little farm in Ramona with cows, pigs, sheep, ponies and horses, geese turkeys, chickens, bunnies and goats. They always had some type of animal on the farm. So I grew up caring for learning about and loving animals. So anything else I did just didn't seem like what I was meant to do. It just comes naturally.
- What types of customers have you worked with?
Most common cases I see are dog to dog reactivity. Most are simply fearful dogs that need to build confidence and slowly learn dogs are not a threat. I have worked with hundreds of puppies and all breeds over the years. Potty training, jumping up, nipping, chewing and socialization and integration into the new home. All typical puppy behaviors but that can be frustrating to new puppy owners. There are simple and easy ways to remedy all these issues.