I am an animal lover through and through. For as long as I can remember I have always been surrounded by creatures big and small. Although my first pet ever was an apple headed meezer named Miki my heart truly lies in a paw of a dog. My first vivid memory of a canine encounter was at an outdoor dog show some years ago. I remember it as if I stepped into a whole new world! Fascinating, exciting and full of woof! I do not know how much time I have spent cruising around the Great Danes, English Bulldogs, Irish Setters and such, but somewhere between a Standard Poodle and a Cocker Spaniel I heard a distant voice of my mother calling out my name. It turned out that all this time I have been making my way around by grabbing onto other peoples hands without even realizing that I was lost! That’s how I have found my calling!
My first dog, a Poodle named Charlie, taught me all about human/canine companionship and unconditional love. I became an animal rescuer bringing home stray cats, abandoned dogs, baby squirrels, injured birds and run away turtles. Ha-ha, but a fact! I started studying animal behavior based on those first experiences.
While getting a Certificate in Medical Assisting from Empire Academy in NYC I have volunteered at a local shelter where I have learned a lot about K-9 psychology, picked up proper dog handling techniques and obtained basic Vet Tech skills. I have spent every free moment reading dog related literature and doing research on the web.
A true chance to test my knowledge came with a 1.5 year old rescue pitt/boxer mix Duncan. Who became my resident dog for 7 years. Unfortunately I was not very successful in his rehabilitation. I was battling my way through by a way of trial and erases. It took me a while to make him trust some people again, but he has never fully recovered from the nightmares of his past. It has been a major personal loss and a set back however this experience made me stronger, wiser and even more compassionate about turning a similar story in to a Happily Ever After kind of tail.
It was clear that I had to do some more work.
I have started walking dogs for other people. It enabled me to gather all sorts of information and learn more about different breeds, different temperaments, their way of understanding things, processing information and learning. I have established a trusting bond with my K-9 clients and from this point on my research became more subject oriented. I have started to include a simple “customized” training routine in a daily walk of each dog. Polishing up each technique and balancing it out according to each dog’s learning capabilities.
In 2004 I got my first boxer puppy named Bruno. Brought up with a lot of patience, praise and trained with positive reinforcement he has grown in to a stable and fairly obedient teenager. With a personal knowledge in one hand and a home grown pup in another I went to a Misty Pines obedience training school in Pennsylvania. There we have trained under a professional dog trainer and a behavior specialist Jeff Woods and successfully completed Basic Obedience Classes. Currently Bruno is working on getting a CGC, TDI Certification.
After a while I wanted to try myself in a professional dog show handling competition. Working closely with a number of experienced breeders, handlers, show groomers and a ring trainers I have been able to hold my own in that sport.
Also, I received my certification in animal CPR and 1st Aid from Red Cross on Apr.22nd 2006.
The whole experience working with dogs has inspired me to share my knowledge with others. Which brings us back to Dogs all Mighty!