I bring a life-long love of dogs along with over 30 years of training expertise to dog owners and their dogs. I was the Training Director for the German Shepherd Dog Club of North Florida from 1991 until March of 2010, when I retired from that position.  I was  a member of the K-9 Obedience Club of Jacksonville, the First Coast Dog Obedience Club of Florida for over 10 years.  I have also been a past member of the North Florida Tracking Club and the Bold City Schutzhund Club.

I am currently an endorsed member of National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors (NADOI )#1042E and a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT).

Since 1991, I have been teaching obedience classes to all breeds of dogs. I joined the American Kennel Clubs new Canine Good Citizen program as a certified tester when it became necessary to be certified. I had already been conducting CGC tests for the German Shepherd Dog Club of North Florida as a Graduation exercise for the beginning classes for many years prior to being certified. In December of 2003 I was hired as a trainer for the Jacksonville Florida Humane Society’s Pet-U program. I taught their Pet-U classes until March of 2009.  I continue to teach private lessons and S.T.A.R. Puppy classes in my neighborhood.

My teaching method combines kindness with firmness and culminates with praise and positive reinforcement. I am sensitive to the dogs personality and temperament, and use this knowledge to develop an effective training program for both dog and handler. My goal is to help dog owners build a happy relationship with their dogs.

The ideas presented on this website are not from books. These are methods that I have used over the years with the many dogs I have owned and raised. I have raised puppies, had litters, taken in adult dogs, introduced dogs and cats, have had multiple dogs (4 at a time), had senior dogs, physically challenged dogs, pure breed dogs, mutts, big and little, etc. I can honestly say that I have never encountered a problem that couldn’t be solved with a little thought and planning.

My German Shepherd dog’s name is Ace. He is a wonderful Dog who was born in March of 2001. He came into my life when he was only 8 weeks old. The day he arrived, he walked in the front door as if to say, "Hi, I'm home." He took to training like a fish takes to water, and proved to be the smartest dog I had ever trained.

Ace successfully competed in obedience until he was 3 years old. His biggest accomplishment was to get his 3rd leg toward his CD at the German Shepherd Dog Club of America Nationals in 2003. He came in 3rd place in Novice B, against a field of 14. In 2004 he suffered a serious illness that affected his feet and forced him into retirement. He was able to earn his CGC and his CD (Companion Dog) title before retiring. Ace is still my most faithful companion and loves to go places with me, but he doesn't do much working, because of his feet. He sort of just hangs around and keeps everyone else in line.

There's one more dog to meet. In the summer of 2006 I got a new puppy named Annie. She is a red and white Pembroke Welsh Corgi. I got her when she was just a baby, and she has grown up to be a beautiful little girl. Annie is currently my demo dog for all of my obedience classes. She loves going to class and making new friends, both people and dogs. She has already competed in a Rally Obedience Trials and she got her Rally Novice title in just three shows.  She is also currently working on her dance steps, and I hope to do more "Freestyle" with her.