I came to training as just another dog owner in 2005, when a stray pup named Biscuit wandered into my life. He was my Chicken Little, afraid of shadows and anything new to his world. He was my first teacher, and remains my best.

Since those puppy classes with Biscuit, I’ve gained many years of experience with dogs in a professional capacity from running a successful pet sitting and dog walking business to volunteering at my local municipal shelter to in-home private dog training and group classes. My goal has always been to give people the skills to train the dog they have now so that they may train every dog they share their heart and home with.

I strive to make training effective and enjoyable for dogs and their people, which means optimizing positive reinforcement techniques across species. I have excellent leashside manner and provide loads of analogies to facilitate learning (and bad puns to facilitate laughter). Training a dog can be stressful enough without the trainer adding undue pressure. Dog training is a mechanical skill and, just like a dance routine, people learn it at different paces. I am here to teach those steps and cheer from the sidelines!

I live in Durham, NC with my wife, young daughter, an amazing dog, and a couple of sweet cats. When I am not training dogs, talking about dogs or thinking about dogs, I enjoy hiking, reading, edgy cross-stitching, playing hopscotch with my kid, and beekeeping.
And training my own dog useless and adorable tricks.