About

It all started with a dog named Nala.

My first dog. I didn’t know anything about dog psychology or behavior, how to properly socialize & expose my new puppy to things or how to prevent problem behaviors. I just knew I wanted to give her the best life I possibly could. However, loving your dog unconditionally isn’t everything. It won’t solve your problems. About a year into our life together, I realized there was something going on, she was nervous, barking at every person & dog, and life seemed to be a bit challenging for her.

This was my first insight into reactivity.

I had never heard the word. I didn’t know it was a thing. I thought you had happy friendly dogs or you had mean aggressive dogs. However, there’s good ol’ reactivity laying right there in between the two. I reached out to a local trainer who came to my house, got out of the vehicle, and instantly mislabeled my dog as aggressive - she wouldn’t even go near her. I knew my dog and I knew she didn’t have a mean bone in her body. I felt very alone, isolated, helpless, frustrated, confused…you name it. I couldn’t figure out where I went wrong.

After years of trying to ‘manage’ her reactivity and making adjustments to every aspect of every day in order to cater to her behavioral issues, I had finally had enough - I knew that she could be helped, I just lacked the resources in my area, and the plethora of information on the internet was incredibly overwhelming and oftentimes contradictory, depending on training methods, beliefs, techniques & style. I knew that I wanted to be a dog trainer, not just to help my own dog, but to help all the other people out there like myself who were feeling lost and helpless.

I dove in head first, submerging myself in content created by like-minded trainers, I read lots of books, searched hours of YouTube content, completed an internship at Partners in Canine in Windham, ME and attended a 5 day intensive shadow program at Method K9 in Post Falls, ID where I learned the ins and outs of behavioral rehabilitation from one of the best trainers in the country.

My goal is to help owners have the life they’ve dreamt about with their four legged companion, whether that be correcting problem behaviors, rehabilitation from reactivity & aggression, starting off on the right foot with a new puppy, or whatever it may be!

I am always striving to learn more and constantly furthering my education. There’s so much we can be doing for our dogs and I can’t wait to share my knowledge with you!

- Louise