Training

Dog Behaviour Academy

• Offering private consultations and in-home lessons to help you and your dog work together as a team.
• Helping you integrate a new dog into your existing household, or working with you as you bring home a new dog.
• Extra time and training available for puppies
• Behavioural understanding of dog psychology and breed traits helps control problem behaviours as they arise.

My Background

I have worked with animals since I was a little girl, beginning with horses (where I competed up to the Olympic level as well as assisting my trainer with difficult horses) and dogs, adding in cats, rodents, reptiles, fish and birds then slowly subtracting out the horses, reptiles, birds, fish and rodents so that now I'm settled with just dogs and cats. 

Although cat herding is something I can help with, my passion for the past 16 years has been dogs.

In the '90s, in addition to personal dogs, I had the opportunity to be a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs of America, a wonderful organization here in the Los Angeles area that provides Guide Dogs for the blind and visually impaired.  I raised a Golden Retriever and a German Shepherd Dog, both of whom ended up as working guides.  This was an INTENSE learning experience.  These dogs are not your malleable pet dogs.  To be a successful working Guide, these dogs need to have a certain ability to dis-obey as well as learning to obey.  After all, you need a dog that will stop you as well as guide you across a street!  That tenacity, in a puppy, can mean a LOT of teeth grinding.  It was a wonderful experience I doubt I will repeat, but I strongly encourage anyone who is so drawn to do so.  You'll learn a lot about dogs as well as about yourself!  If you're interested and in Southern California, GDA is not the only local organization.  Also check out Guide Dogs of the Desert.

Throughout the '90s and into the 2000s, I studied and interned under J'hana Brueske.  Sadly, the dog world lost one of the earliest behavioural trainers in April 2009.  Everyone who trained with her knows she was a trainer who used whatever tool was best for the dog in question, including her great knowledge of the various dog breeds.  My training school is an homage to hers which was Academy of Dog Behaviour.  I hope some of her spirit will continue to live on through me and my students.

There is SO much to love about this photo, but the best thing is the loose leash.  This is a young female, in an unfamiliar place, but she is so attuned to her handler that she is walking calmly.  THAT is what I try to build in all my dog/handler teams.  I hope I can help you and your dog become this comfortable together.