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Greetings from up a Digging Dogs Community Leader up in Washington
Hello all,
My career began in animal welfare, working in shelters and rescues in a variety of roles from kennel tech to shelter manager. But seeing so many pets lose their homes due to in-home conflicts, shifted my focus from helping animals in-shelter to helping keep animals in the homes they already had. This started with behavior helplines and post-adoption support but moved into a private practice (much of which is related to helping pet-owning families going through life changes such as having a new baby or recently adopted pets). I’m especially drawn to working with shy/sensitive and over-reactive dogs and I have a strong affinity for herding dogs.
I frame most of my training as games we can play with our dogs; it is integral to me that both ends of the leash are enjoying themselves! We build better lives with our dogs through enrichment/management, deepening our understanding and communication, and through our training and play together.
I describe my training philosophy as ”science based and kindness led”. My best teachers are always the learners themselves, two-legged and four-pawed alike.
Thank you for being here on Digging Dogs and learning with me!
-Jen
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6 Replies
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Hooray! Welcome, @jenwalker ! We are thrilled to have you on the team! Looking forward to your input and expertise in our community!
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Thank you @Catherine – there is such a wealth of knowledge here!
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Welcome, Jen! Looking forward to learning from you!
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Thank you @Jeri – and please know that I look forward to learning with you too!
I’m thinking I should I explain my turn of phrase (learning “with” instead of learning “from”), as it may seem odd to some. I have found that the way I verbally frame my interactions with others has real affect on those interactions themselves. That change specific in my choice of words was brought on by noticing the difference that changing from the term “command” to “cue” made in my training with my dogs.
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Welcome, Jen! So excited to have you here!!! ????????
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Thank you @David – I’ve been having a great time looking around, reading community conversations, and now I can join the fun!
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