I approach every dog and owner individually, then apply what I think is the best approach for the team in front of me. The same pup or dog could be in three different houses, and my approach as far as the dog is concerned would be consistent, but I would tailor my message to the owners in front of me, in order to help them best work with the dog in front of all of us.

Yes. My goal is to coach you to the point where you do not need me — so that if a problem arises in the future, you will have the skills and tools to try to manage it on your own. I want your dog to be so engaged that you have the confidence to work with him or her on your own. That said, I am always available to, and love hearing from, former clients.

That is dependent on your training needs and why I do not offer packages: someone with an eight-week-old puppy has completely different needs than someone with a leash-aggressive four-year-old dog, for example.

When we talk, I can give you an estimate of how many sessions you will need, based on my past experiences.

Sometimes the needs of my clients change. I am happy to work with past clients to develop training to fit their new situations.

That is dependent on your ability to practice in between sessions: ideally, at least two hours total aggregated practice (keep in mind that 20 minutes/day is better than 120 minutes on a Saturday).

You know your household and ability to manage your practice sessions. I have clients with very busy households who see me every two weeks, and others I see three days a week.

Dogs are not robots, there is no way any trainer can guarantee their training.

I have taught and helped others teach and run group classes in the past, but now only offer private training.

I started training for competitive obedience trials in 1992 and started competing in 1994. I became my mentor, Judie Howard's assistant in 2000.

From 2000 to her retirement in 2019, Judie and I traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada, presenting competitive obedience seminars and workshops. I was fortunate to apprentice with someone with such a high level of mastery, who is also a genuinely good person. With Judie’s encouragement, I started training clients in 2006, as well as offering private lessons before and after the seminars. I left my “day job” career in 2011 to train full-time.

I stopped counting a few years ago after reaching 1700 dogs.

I work with all breeds and mixes.