I began my career intent on teaching human students, attending UW-Madison’s School of Education, but once I adopted my first dog, I discovered my love of learning was bigger than I thought. My beloved spotty mutt, Randall, was a lot more than I bargained for, and I quickly found myself immersed in the world of dog training.

We hired a wonderful private trainer who changed our lives and eventually offered me a job assisting with their group classes. A year later, I had been promoted to a lead trainer and was working part-time as one when I graduated from UW-Madison. My degrees in Elementary & Special Education have proven SO valuable in my work as a dog trainer- and maybe not in ways you’d think! I taught middle-schoolers Science & Social Studies during the day and then led group dog training classes in the evenings for two years before we relocated back home to southern Minnesota.

I’ve got to experience the prolific changes that welfare-based, positive-reinforcement teaching can bring, in the classes I teach AND the ones I take. In January of 2023, I took the plunge and launched my own business, Spot On Dog Training LLC, named for my spotty boy, Randall.