About US
In our best relationships, we communicate easily and clearly when we listen.
This is true whether with our family, friends, or our dog.
How Did I Get Here?
I have always had a love for all animals. We had a family dog as a child and I got my first kitten for my eighth birthday. I rode horses, had gerbils, a bunny, and even a pet crawfish. My passion was fostered by my father, who was always rescuing injured birds and bunnies and relocating snakes for the neighbors who didn’t appreciate them. I continue this tradition in my own neighborhood, answering many calls seeking help with baby squirrels, hawks, ducks, and feral kittens. One day, in 2012 I was rescued by a puppy I named, Baxter. And, that’s when our journey began.
I felt it was my job to help him be the best boy he could be, to be his advocate. So, I began doing research on basic obedience training and canine body language. We took classes together, as well as private lessons and tried some things on our own. I made a few mistakes along the way. But, still, Baxter happily obliged. Through all the confusion and frustration, he always believed in me.
In search of healthy treats for all our training, I developed an all natural dog treat recipe. By 2013, Baxter had convinced me to quit my job of 25 years with the State of Connecticut, and open a pet bakery. So, I did. I obtained a commercial feed license and opened Whiskers & Whimsy Bake Shop, with Baxter in charge of quality control.
In our spare time, Baxter and I began pet sitting and walking some of his neighborhood friends, while their humans worked or went away on vacation. Bax and I enjoyed hanging out with his buddies all day so, in 2017, we closed the bakery and started Baxter’s Buddies Pet Sitting and became a full-time dog walker/pet sitter. Out of self-preservation walking 10-15 dogs a day, I would ask owners if I could teach their dogs not to jump, how to politely walk on a leash, or just some basic obedience.
In 2019, I decided to make it official and enroll in Animal Behavior College to become a certified dog trainer. After graduating with honors, I began teaching group obedience classes and manage a dog daycare. The daycare provided invaluable opportunity to observe the dog's interactions and developing an understanding of their body language while developing skills to manage the dogs with out food rewards, but simply mutual respect.
In 2023 I obtained my Service Dog Trainer Certification and began training my first service dog for certification.
In 2024 I achieved my CPDT-KA certification from the Council of Professional Dog Trainers. I am also a current member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), an AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Instructor/Evaluator, and currently studying for my CPDT-KA certification with the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers.
Baxter and I live in, Connecticut with his two cat brothers, Tate and Inky. Baxter helped raise them from 4-weeks old. They now assist us with dog and cat mediation sessions. We work from our home doing private training sessions and in home daycare/boarding. Baxter is my official Pawfice Assistant and spends his days being a good boy napping , when he’s not entertaining our guests or making new friends. In his spare time, he likes to take me to the beach or to a local park for an adventure and we practice training games. Yep! Baxter is 12 and we STILL train!!
My Training Philosophy
I am CPDT-KA certified dog trainer. What does that mean? The CPDT-KA certification indicates that a dog trainer has at least 300 hours of dog training experience, and has passed a comprehensive and rigorous national exam administered by the Council of Professional Dog Trainers covering knowledge and skills in ethology, learning theory, dog training technique, and instruction. All CPDT certificants must continue their education to maintain their certification, and MUST adhere to the CPDT Code of Ethics and only use training practices that are compliant with LIMA (Least Intrusive Minimally Aversive) principles and the Humane Hierarchy. I DO NOT use prong, choke, or shock collars, no touching/molding, leash or aversive corrections or punishments.
I have over 5,000 hours In addition my CPDT-KA, I am a Certified Service Dog Trainer/Evaluator, AKC Canine Good Citizen Trainer/Evaluator. I specialize in canine body language and socialization with over 5,000 hours experience teaching group and private lessons, and managing dog's in large social/play groups.
My training philosophy focuses on communication and relationship /team building, learning how to 'speak' in a way your dog can understand, and how to listen to your dog's response. I could simply teach you how to make your dog sit, or I can teach you how to communicate with one another so you can navigate all of life's adventures and challenges as a team.
Communication is defined as the a means of sending and receiving information and is considered the cornerstone of any healthy relationship as it allows both parties to express their needs, feelings, and thoughts openly and honestly, fostering trust and understanding. While traditional training has primarily focused on sending information to the dog - how to tell the dog to sit, it rarely incorporated receiving information from the dog. What are the dog's needs? How does the dog feel about this? Do they have any concerns? Why can't they make sit happen?
Through the use of reward based, fun, and motivational games, I teach owners/handlers how to understand the dog's body language. With a better understanding of how our dog's communicate, owner/handlers not only learn how to 'speak' more clearly to their dog, they can receive information and understand when the dog is having trouble getting their sit together. By giving the dog the ability to ask for help and the owner the ability to respond in a way the dog understands, the dog and human can work as a team to succeed in any situation.
All my private training sessions come with a training plan, written step-by-step-training instructions, online practice logs, and assessment tests to track your progress and keep you and your dog motivated.
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ABOUT ME
All dogs need to learn the basic rules of living in the human world. Contrary to what you may think, you don't need to teach your dog how to sit, lay down, follow or come to you. They already KNOW how to do all these things. You simply don't know how to ask them to do these things. Even you don't know where the bathroom is in a public space. You know you need to find it, but may need to be shown when in a new enviornment. The same is true for your dog. They already KNOW not to go to the bathroom where they eat, sleep or live/play. So, when the need arrises, they go as far away from the places in your home where they do these things. They aren't wrong, they are just doing the best they can with what they know. It's up to you to communicate that they should go out the big square portal (your door) and then you need to give the a way to communicate and TELL o you they need to go out.
My approach to training isn't about you learning how to tell your dog what to do. It's about teaching you how to communicate with your dog. In order to communicate, both parties need to listen to the other. If you can understand why your dog is having trouble behaving, you will have more success in modifying their bad behaviors. I'll show you how to identify your dogs body language to better understand why they can't perform at the moment and give you fun games and tools to use to help them in these situations and build a strong relationship build on trust - the highest value reward.Having a big sale, on-site celebrity, or other event? Be sure to announce it so everybody knows and gets excited about it.