Helene has lived with dogs her entire life and they are a true passion. Early on, she trained using traditional methods. Then when a rescue dog came into her life bringing some behavioral challenges, Helene found that the punishing methods for inappropriate behaviors served only to hurt her relationship with this dog and to make him more fearful. Fortunately, Helene was guided by positive reinforcement trainers to try different methods. This knowledge enabled her to restore her relationship with her dog and to reinforce new behaviors that gave her the ability to have fun with him!

This prompted Helene to seek out more education. She began with an internship at Animal Farm Foundation. Helene then went on to study with Pat Miller at Peaceable Paws. Helene is now a Pat Miller Certified Trainer (PMCT). Helene has also attended many dog training seminars with well known trainers such as Ken Ramirez, Pia Sylvani, Emma Parsons, and Kathy Sdao and continues to take courses every year to learn new methods for addressing reactivity and other behaviors.  This past year, Helene took remote courses on Aggression, Resource Guarding and Cognitive Learning.

In 2015, Helene achieved her Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed status (CPDT-KA).