From a young age, I was taught to be patient with animals. To watch them, observe their body language, and respect them as individuals. No two dogs are the same, and no two animals tick precisely alike. I was raised to be able to see the subtle cues in dog body language and adapt how I behave to fit the situation in front of me. Working with human-aggressive fosters, dog-reactive rescues, and even incredibly fearful canines, I gained experience with some of the most intense behavioral issues from an early age. My role in these fosters' lives as a young kid was to learn how to manage their various, sometimes dangerous, behaviors. But, as I grew older, I began to join my parents in helping begin to rehabilitate these dogs. We worked with trainers to shift these dogs' perspectives and successfully curbed many of their most intense triggers.
Since then, I have used my childhood experiences to adopt two large rescue mixes who came to me with various behavioral issues of their own. My boy Baloo is touch-sensitive, and our training journey together has included several bites. And Alfie, my sweet, goofy guy, came to me a pushy, stubborn boy with no manners who didn't know how to interact with other dogs appropriately. And now Clara, my newest addition to the family, was so sensitive that just about any noise would completely shut her down. Each was entirely different, each needing a completely different training approach that I have had to curate. I am immensely proud to say that Baloo has been incident free for almost four years, Alfie has become my most social dog, and Clara has gained confidence I never imagined she would have found.