About me

With over 30 years experience in the animal industry and veterinary field, Michelle offers in- home private consults, in office consults, puppy classes, adolescent classes, adult dog classes, and canine conditioning for health, fun, and enrichment. She is an Associate Certified Dog Behavioral Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, a Certified Dog Behavioral Consultant through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers, and a Certified Canine Strength and Conditioning Coach through the University of North Carolina’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Michelle has earned her BA in Biology with a Pre-Veterinary emphasis and her M. Ed. in Career Technical Education and Biology Teaching. Her experiences include developing and teaching veterinary assisting programs in career technical education, teaching veterinary technician students low stress animal handling and restraint of aggressive animals, working in and training staff in a variety of veterinary clinics as a Behavioral Consultant, working in emergency veterinary clinics, and working with police canine handlers and trainers to learn about canine aggression. While in this role, Michelle conducted workshops for the canine police dog handlers to teach emergency first aid procedures for dogs. Michelle uses the most positive training techniques and strives to keep current on the most effective and up to date forms of training. She had the opportunity to work directly with Dr. Sophia Yin to learn low stress animal handling skills which cemented her desire to train animals with no aversive techniques. She is a member of the Pet Professional Guild. Her goal is to promote a strong and positive relationship between pets and the people who care for them.