About The Trainer

How I Shifted from Conditioning Horses to Training Dogs

Equestrian at Heart

I started focusing on both animal behavior and human psychology when I was 16, assisting with teaching riding lessons at my childhood barn. I started riding horses when I was 11 years old and continued into adulthood. As a teenager, I soaked up every opportunity to be around animals & teach others as often as I could by being involved in Equestrian Clubs, 4-H, and IEA. Because of my animal-loving nature, I went off to college on scholarship for English Riding and I majored in Therapeutic Horsemanship at St. Andrew’s University for a couple years.

By age 19, I was teaching adaptive riding lessons to special needs students through my college’s community program in hopes to be certified as a Therapeutic Riding Instructor. Throughout that time, I emphasized positive reinforcement and cooperative care as a crucial role in my teaching, as part of my role was to help condition the horses for adaptive riding by creating positive associations to different stimuli and situations.

The Role of Dogs in My Professional Career

I’ve had a love for dogs and dog behavior since I was about 7 years old. I religiously read the AKC Complete Book of Dogs until the binding fell apart and I had memorized the characteristics of each breed group and the temperaments of each dog breed within the encyclopedia. Throughout my time at college, while I did love teaching riding lessons, it wasn’t exactly what I had been hoping for.

After my role as a riding instructor and barn hand, in 2024 I pivoted to focus on working with dogs to take a break from the horse craziness. I started as an Attendant in a dog boarding and daycare facility where I learned first-hand the kinds of behavioral concerns people have for their dogs. As a Daycare Attendant, all I could do was manage the behaviors within the group setting and provide a detailed report upon pickup.

Until early 2025, where I was hired on as a Dog Trainer under a corporate employer where I taught group classes and private lessons with a focus on problem-solving and obedience. Something was still missing though - the clients would leave frustrated that their dogs behaved well with me in the training environment, but they didn’t have the support at home due to company policy; so, I did something about that to fix a problem and created Pawfect Partner LLC.