About Me.

I've been in the dog training and behavior scene for over 15 years, specializing in fearful and "aggressive" dog behavior. I've got a knack for assisting shelters and rescue outfits with harder-to-place dogs with behavior challenges, which is honestly what I enjoy doing more than anything.

Through my former behavior and recovery center, The DeBono Dog Behavior Center in Austin, TX, and collaborations with shelter organizations nationwide such as Austin Pets Alive!, North Shore Animal League, and Bide-a-wee, I have helped find positive outcomes for a countless number of their hardest-to-place dogs. I also have a Masters in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin as part of their Animal Personality Research Lab.

In my experience, a well-run playgroup program is a game-changer. But I've seen countless organizations exclude their longest-stay dogs from playgroups because they struggle socially. And those dogs are the ones that need them most! My Nose-to-Nose workshops are all about that – ensuring every dog gets included in playgroups one way or another.

I also believe that every organization needs a system that proactively tackles the obstacles that hold back individual dogs from getting adopted. It's surprising how often I see organizations just waiting for the perfect adopter to magically appear. We all know intuitively why certain dogs are overlooked - certain characteristics make them less attractive to a larger number of people. Those are the barriers we've got to explicitly identify and overcome, so these dogs can find homes faster. And that's where my Busting Barriers workshops come in – you will learn the Five Potential Barriers to Adoption and how to use them to create doable outcome paths to get dogs into homes faster and more safely.

Having collaborated with a diverse range of organizations, I've come to understand that each one is unique and operating at different levels. That's why I don't do cookie-cutter solutions. When we team up, I'll personally craft my workshops to align with your operations. It's counterproductive if I present you with solutions that don't match your capabilities. So I ask that you be honest with yourself and with me about your resources in order to allow ourselves to craft effective strategies that truly work for you.