Growing up, I pictured a career teaching human students. I worked for after-school programs from age 16 through college. I graduated from UW-Madison with degrees in Elementary & Special Education.

When I adopted MY first dog, I realized my love for learning was more expansive than I’d thought. My boy Randall was a lot more than I’d bargained for as a full-time college student, and I quickly found myself gripped by dog training.

We knew Randall had been returned to the shelter for resource guarding, so we hired a private trainer right away. We lucked out and stumbled into finding a great trainer, who eventually offered me a job assisting with group classes at a facility in Madison, WI.

A year later, I’d been promoted to a lead trainer and worked part-time as one through my first (and only) year teaching. I taught middle-schoolers science & social studies during the day, and then I taught pups & their people life skills in the evening. My spouse and I relocated back home to southern MN in July of 2022. In January of 2023, I took the plunge and launched my own business, Spot On Dog Training, named for my spotted love, Randall.

I’ve experienced the profound changes that welfare-based, positive-reinforcement teaching can bring in the classes I teach and the ones I take. I have also experienced how stressful and isolating it can be to be the human responsible for a dog who’s using big behaviors like pulling/fleeing, barking, lunging, vocalizing, growling, snapping, and biting. I’m passionate about making humane dog training accessible to everyone who needs it! I value prioritizing the people I work with and their needs, too.