Barbara has been training dogs for over 10 years.  She started riding horses when she was a small child and into her college years successfully competed in the show jumping ring.  She graduated from University of New Hampshire with a degree in Animal Science specializing in small animal and equine.  Barbara also has worked in the veterinary field for over 15 years in many positions ranging from technician to receptionist.  In 1998, Barbara adopted her first dog.  A 9 month old Chihuahua that had many behavioral problems and was eventually diagnosed with a chemical imbalance.  Through her quest to make his life as well-adjusted as possible she became intensely involved with training and behavioral rehabilitation.  She has worked with many well-known trainers over the years including Gail Fisher, Patricia McConnell,  Turid Rugaas and many others.

Shortly after adopting her Chihuahua they got involved with agility.  In 2004 Barbara and her husband Michael were relocated to VA and shortly after she started teaching agility at All Dog Adventures (fka All Dog Playskool) in Richmond VA.  It was there that Barbara was introduced to Susan Garrett and her amazing foundation based training that is centered around impulse control and relationship building with your dog.  She continues to train with some of the best handlers in the world including Tracy Sklenar, Kayl McCann, Jaakko Suoknuuti and Janita Leinonen and has implemented what she has learned from them into her training program.

 

 

Before relocating to GA, while living in VA Barbara also started her own in home training and behavioral rehabilitation business.  She was the trainer for Richmond Boxer Rescue and also assisted Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue in assessing some of their dogs.  Barbara has worked extensively with many rescue organizations including Chihuahua and Rottweiler Rescue while living in NH.  She is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT).

Barbara is the head dog trainer for the F.I.D.O Program run at Georgia Tech which creates wearable computing for military, SAR and service dogs.

Barbara has also worked as an animal wrangler for Marvel’s Ant-Man, 90 Minutes in Heaven, tv series Satisfaction and various commercials.