bio

In addition to practicing as a psychotherapist and life coach, I currently work as an agility and pet dog instructor. I have over 20 years of experience working with a variety of issues and clients of all ages. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Counseling, becoming a member of the National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists in 1991. In 2002, I graduated from the American Institute For Animal Science with a degree in Canine Behavior Counseling and established my own business, A Better Canine. I became a Certified Pet Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Pet Dog Trainers in 2003 and in 2004, I studied Reiki and became a Reiki Master. In 2006, I completed a Life Coach certification program through the Spencer Institute, specializing in coaching the canine performance athlete.

I am a member of the Association for Pet Dog Trainers and have been teaching classes at Tails-U-Win! in Manchester,CT since 2000. My agility classes emphasize having a solid foundation of control and focus as well as maximizing the use of reinforcement. I am an AKC Canine Good Citizenship evaluator and I conduct many of the testing sessions at Tails-U-Win! I took my first agility class in 1999 and since then, it has become my passion. I am currently competing in agility with four dogs. Shawna is currently ranked the #2 Rhodesian Ridgeback, qualifying for the AKC Agility Invitational in 2006 and 2007. In his first year of competition Spree was ranked the #8 Whippet in AKC and also qualified for the 2007 AKC Agility Invitational. Keeping the motivation high is the key to our success.