Jennifer is a graduate of the San Francisco SPCA’s Academy for Dog Trainers and is certified in training and counseling by the SF/SPCA. She has been a Professional Dog Walker in SF since 1999 and a Pet/House Sitter for over 10 years.Jennifer’s Story
Jennifer has cared for many types of dogs along the way, but has a real affinity for dogs with the focus and motivation of Herding Dogs. She is also quite familiar with the “quirkiness” of these breeds and has found great ways of managing this in a playgroup setting, as well as in her private training practice.
Dynamite Doggies is dedicated to Merlin.
Merlin came into Jennifer’s life in October of 2001. She fell in love with his picture on the SF/SPCA website. It was initially the ears that hooked her. Merlin’s personality was shy and quiet when he first came home. Within about 6 months (at approximately 1.5 years old) he started to display signs of fear aggression with dogs and some fear/warning behavior with humans, specifically tall men who were wearing weird outfits. Sound familiar? A lot of herding dogs are sensitive in this way. Jennifer hired an SPCA trainer who helped her start the process of conditioning Merlin to be more comfortable in his environment. Jennifer spent a couple of years really concentrating on this. Meanwhile, she was really taking an interest in dog training concepts and wanting to improve her knowledge of dog behavior.
Jennifer attended and graduated from the San Francisco Academy for Dog Trainers during the summer of 2004 and received her Certification in Training and Behavior Counseling.
In the fall of 2007 it was time for Merlin to find a wife. After much rehabilitation he was ready for a partner in crime. Jennifer adopted 3 year old Stevie Nicks from the San Francisco SPCA in October 2007. She and Merlin are a match made in heaven. This year (2009) Stevie was diagnosed with Canine Lupus and Auto Immune Hemolytic Anemia, and nearly lost her life on a couple of different occasions this August. Stevie is a tough cookie and is still alive and is thriving! Stevie’s story.
When Jennifer is not helping families and their dogs or hiking with Merlin and Stevie she is a mixed media artist with interest in painting, collage and photography. Jennifer is continually seeking knowledge, reading dog behavior and training books, attending lectures and seminars and learns the very most from her mentors, peers and colleagues.
