I'm still here, I never left!

It’s your girl! It’s been over 4 years since my last post, and I’ve been busy. I have had a few people ask me if I’m still doing training, yes! I guess that might not be so obvious since I disappeared from my blog, so here’s some updates.

I spent 2 years writing and developing a behavior program for dogs and cats at a sanctuary. That took over all of my time for that period. There was no program in place, so I had to start from scratch. I worked with some difficult cases and animals, and learned more than I ever could have imagined.

From that experience, I gained the knowledge to up my volunteering. I spent years volunteering- cleaning, walking dogs, gathering supplies, etc. and those are all important tasks. Now I work with animals going into homes from shelters so they can have a successful transition, probably a more valuable use of my skills and knowledge at this point.

I’ve spent lots of hours learning! I finished Michael Shikashio’s Master Course for aggression in dogs, there were so many informational classes in that course. One of the most valuable classes I have taken was Shelter Playgroup Alliance’s class on how to manage playgroups. Watching and understanding what dogs are saying to each other has given me so many tools and ways to look at things differently.

Currently, I’m studying forensic animal behavior with my University of Washington professor, Dr. Ha. This is such a unique way to see animal behavior, after the fact, trying to piece together what happened and why. I’ve done a variety of case studies and will be learning criminal cases next.

On a sad note, we have lost 4 of our pets since my last post. RIP Tina, Puppy, Quiggly & Ziggy. I miss them all terribly. One of Puppy’s last car rides is the photo for this post, I truly miss his zest for life. Goodbye my friends, until we meet again.

As you can see, I’ve been a busy girl! This continues to only improve my knowledge and skills that I’m able to apply to my clients’ pets to help them in the best ways possible. Can you believe I’m going into my 12th year of training professionally? Me either! Time flies when you are having fun. I can’t imagine doing anything else. So please reach out if your dog or cat has a behavior challenge that you would like to better understand and work on.