I started training dogs professionally in 2009 and still believe it’s the best job in the world.
In the years since, I have worked with more than a thousand different dogs of various ages, sizes, breeds and temperaments. I’m a nerd at heart (as you may be able to guess from the name “Level Up”) and I love any excuse to dive into the nitty-gritty science behind training with positive reinforcement.
I opened Level Up Dog Training in 2016 and became a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) in 2017. To make high-quality dog training information available to a wider audience, I published my first book, Level Up Your Dog Training, in 2021. You can also find my dog-related writing in the quarterly newsletter for the Association of Working Shetland Sheepdogs.
When I’m not training other people’s dogs, I’m probably relaxing by training my own — and with my own dogs, I get to work on the cool geeky stuff (which is why I have dogs who can turn on three different kinds of light switches, for example). A few times a year, I travel the east coast to compete in a variety of dog sports with my fabulous GSD/malinois mix Bright and my sporty sheltie Epic. We compete in barn hunt, shed hunt, scent work, herding, lure coursing, obedience, rally, tricks, parkour and anything else that looks interesting.
In 2022, I traded the beach for the mountains and moved to Yadkinville, North Carolina. Now I’m looking forward to making tails wag on a new side of the state!
