“Das Leben ist keine Gehorsamkeitsübung, sondern Übung im Zusammenleben.”

I do not do training in the conventional sense. I work with dogs and their humans to understand what dogs are communicating and how to build a life together based on mutual respect, safety, and cooperation.

My practice is grounded in Turid Rugaas’ philosophy of dog behavior work, focused on calming signals, stress and arousal, sensory enrichment, and welfare-first.

Behavior modification has its place, but comes second, not first.

Behavior modification layered on top of an unsafe internal state produces compliance that looks like success and unravels later.

The dog looks well-behaved for a while, and then the suppressed feelings come out somewhere.

Often as redirected behavior toward another animal or person in the household. Sometimes as physical symptoms further down the line.

What comes first in my work is establishing that everyone in the household, the dog included, feels safe.

Then, when useful, we layer in structured behavior work on top of that foundation.

Calming signals are a set of communication behaviors dogs use to prevent conflict, reduce stress, and negotiate social situations. Turid Rugaas, the Norwegian dog trainer who identified and named them, catalogued about 30 of them, including lip licking, yawning, turning the head or body away, sniffing the ground, blinking, and sitting or lying down.

I studied directly under Turid and can teach you.

Once you learn to read these signals, you can better assess how your dog is feeling and what they might need in real time. It changes the whole relationship.

No. I do not use prong collars, e-collars, shock collars, spray bottles, alpha rolls, or any method that relies on fear, pain, or intimidation.

If you have used these tools in the past, that is not a dealbreaker, but I will ask you to set them aside for our work together.

My approach is welfare-first, and it works because the dog is not being scared or hurt into behaving.

In addition, I also do not work with front-clip harnesses, head-halters, any no-pull devices, or leashes attached to anything other than a well-fitted harness that allows for full range of motion.

The reason for this is that pain affects behavior, and all of the above will pull a dog out of alignment and, over time, cause discomfort or injury.

As a Foundational Postural Analyst, I will work with you to find the right fit for your dog, depending on their individual anatomy.

No, and I would be suspicious of anyone who guarantees behavior outcomes with a sentient being.

What I can promise is that I will give you a thorough understanding of what is happening for your dog, a plan built for your specific situation, and honest guidance about what is realistic.

Dogs are individuals with histories, personalities, and internal states.

Behavior work is a collaboration, not a service delivery.

It depends.

Some cases start showing meaningful change within weeks. Others take months or years, especially with dogs who have complex histories or who are living in situations that continue to activate them.

I do not promise timelines.

What I can say is that rushing tends to make things worse, and that durable change is slower than temporary suppression.

My lead specialties are big feelings. Insecurely attached puppies biting and throwing tantrums, angsty teens, hormonal adolescents, dogs of all ages with noise phobia, separation anxiety, and the whole gamut of sensitivities, fears, anxieties, and phobias that all contribute to miscommunications and challenging behaviors.

I assess behavior through enrichment and scent work, and I guide humans in caring and communicating with their dogs, from puppies all the way to senior dogs and the behavior changes and shifting needs that come with aging.

I also offer help during dogs’ final chapter, providing guidance and resources for end-of-life care, as well as supporting you with anticipatory grief, advance planning, memorialization, mourning, and loss.

To keep deepening my practice, I'm currently enrolled in Kim Brophey’s Family Dog Mediation course and Simone Mueller's Predation Substitute Training Professional course.

It depends on the case. I will ask you about the bite history in the intake, and we will talk about it carefully.

In some cases I take on aggression cases directly.

In others, particularly where the bite risk is high or where an in-person assessment is essential and I cannot do it safely remotely, I refer to a veterinary behaviorist or another appropriate specialist.

Referral is part of good practice, not a rejection.

Yes, this is central to my work. Cross-species dynamics inside a household are one of the most common situations I help with.

They can range from easy to very challenging, depending on the individuals involved and everyone’s feelings, history, and health.

The plan usually involves lowering everyone's arousal baseline, structured exposure at manageable distances, environmental setup that supports success, and reading the dog carefully for the early stress signals that tell us we have gone too far too fast.

It is crucial that all household members join in the effort, as this is literally all about multi-species family dynamics.

Yes, if the previous approach did not sit right with you, or if the results did not last.

I will listen to what you tried, what happened, and what your gut tells you about it, and we will build from there.

As a prerequisite, you will have to bring an open mind to trying an approach that may be very different from everything you’ve learned before.