From my earliest memories, I have loved dogs, big dogs, little dogs, furry dogs, dogs with no hair at all! I was always luring dogs home with me. There was the Blood Hound, the Keeshond, the Poodle, the Great Dane. We had several dogs when I was young, the Irish Setter "Mac" he was beautiful! There was "Utt" the Poodle, we had "Scruffy"[he was a shelter dog, a terrier mix that unfortunately came to us with distemper.] He died a tragic death soon after we got him. My innocence was lost in that I couldn't understand why the vet couldn't do anything to save him. I had always believed that if you went to the doctor, they could always "fix" you. Not so with poor "Scruffy". We got "Snuffy" some time later. He was a beagle from a pet store at the mall. This was a common place to get a puppy in those days! We had Snuffy for many years. I remember training Snuffy to do all sorts of doggy things, I would work with him and our neighbors dog "Pepper" [he was a spaniel mix] I actually would record the "Snuffy" and "Pepper" Show. This was prior to the influx of video cameras so, I used a cassette tape to record the show! It was difficult to follow, mostly just me commanding the dogs to "Sit" and "Stay" or other Tricks that I had taught them. There was always an unexplained ruckus at least once during each show! I must have been 11 or 12 years old at the time. I had fun.

Cindi & "Shug"

I have always enjoyed watching trained animals of all kind, especially the ones that are trained to help the blind or deaf. It was and still is fascinating to me, the capacity that animals have to learn things, especially things that are helpful to us as humans. There are dogs that detect termites, seizures, cancer, the origin of a fire, drugs, the list is endless!

Since dogs were common as pets, I focused on training them. When I was 16 years old, I got a Doberman puppy "Minx" she was the cutest thing! She was also very smart and could learn anything quickly, I was always dreaming up new things to teach her, She was trained as a show dog, she knew how to sit, down, stay, come, "go to bed", She also protected me, mostly by instinct but, I did train her to bark at anyone that spoke to me before I spoke to them when I was out walking her. She would also bark at anyone that was near me if I said "Ow". She did this even when I would hit the person next to me. I continued to teach her things even as she got older, she played the piano, she would fetch firewood, she went potty on command. There was no end to what she could learn, she would even ring a bell to let me know that she wanted to go outside.

I took many dog training classes as a young adult, the info was basically the same, correct the dog with a snap of the leash to train him/her to heel, walk around in a circle over and over again, correcting the dog "Heel"...."Heel"....over and over again! It was boring and tedious to say the least! There had to be a better way, a fun way, a way that both the dog and I could look forward to and enjoy together.

I started developing techniques that were easy to understand and teach,and that real people could use in their interactions with their dog, everyday! To this day, I continue to learn newer and better ways to teach dogs both basic commands as well as other cool tings like to not go thru doorways without permission from their people. I have several mottos such as "If you aren't having fun, you are doing something wrong!" And 100% compliance 100% of the time.

I love dogs, I think that everyone deserves a well trained dog so that they can spend as much time with them as possible! I enjoy sharing what I know with dog owners so that they can love their dog as much as their dog loves them!

I have recently begun working with a non-profit organization "White Kitty Foundation". I have developed a program that starts as soon as we get a dog into the foster care program. I call it the "Jump Start Training Program" They are taught to "Look", "Loose Leash Walking", "Sit", Come", "Doorways", crate or confinement training and to "Go Potty" on command. It starts the dog bonding and learning the basics right away so that when they are adopted by their forever home, the building blocks of good behavior have already been laid. We invite the new owners to additional training classes at a greatly reduced rate so that they can continue the training and ensure a smooth transition so that the dog and their new people have a successful and happy life together.