My name is Ann Margaret.

 

My childhood revolved around dogs. I was always reading dog books or watching dog training shows in my free time. The day my parents got a German Shepherd all my dreams came true. I spent everyday after school training with my dog and building an amazing relationship. He knew many tricks and was very well behaved on a leash. Then one day we got another German Shepherd and life got hard. This is when I really started to get curious about dog behavior because they did not get along like most dogs I had seen. I thought all dogs liked each other no matter what, but this wasn’t the case. I thank these dogs for teaching me at a young age that it is ok if your dogs are not best friends. It is ok if your dog does not like other dogs. These dogs are the backbone as to why I went on to get my Masters in Animal Behavior and Science.

 

My journey to get to where I am now was quite long and consisted of many animal related job fields, but each job has given me a lot of not so common experiences. It all began with me volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation facility where I was caring for injured/orphaned wildlife. This opportunity gave me a lot of insight on animal behavior with different species, which led me to become a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for the state of NH. It is quite amazing on how different species behavior can be interpreted into canine behavior. I also have a lot of experience with dogs in a shelter environment (since I was 10 years old!). Starting as a volunteer and later becoming an employee. I was obsessed with dog’s behavior within these stressful environments and modifying their behavior to better their quality of life mentally. After seeing some conditions of these dogs coming into the shelters, I became a dog groomer to give them a healthier physical life. Most people do not realize how much training goes into this job field. I specialized in fear aggression and rescue dogs that are not used to being handled.

 

Due to my experience and education, I focus on behavioral modification. Every dog is different, which means they learn and communicate differently. I observe each dog’s behavior and determine how we can communicate clearly throughout our training. I believe that this extra observation helps owners build a stronger relationship with their dog(s).