I have 1.5 years of professional experience dog walking and pet sitting in Somerville, MA for Petwell Supply, 10 years of experience dog/cat sitting in Western NY, and 20 years experience of dog and cat ownership. My time as a dog walker and pet sitter at Petwell sadly ended because of COVID-19. I relocated to Austin, TX to be closer to family and apply to grad schools in the area. Unfortunately this move forced me to leave my golden retriever with my parents in NY until I can get settled. I am hoping to walk and care for other people's pets to help others and give some of my boundless love for my golden to other pets who could benefit from it while their family is away at work. As a full time dog walker and pet sitter during my time in MA I encountered a variety of dog breeds, puppies, temperaments, rescue dogs, shy dogs, flight risks, dog aggressive dogs, and highly reactive dogs. As a result I am comfortable in a variety of situations while caring for and walking dogs. I walked a few dozen dogs and had about as many repeat clients, for e.g. Tillie the Havanese in my photos, that I walked several times a week for over a year. I love sitting for cats and other small animals and I have 10 years of experience sitting them. I owned and boarded cats in college and am looking forward to being settled enough to adopt and foster cats. I have read Karen Pryor's "Don't Shoot the Dog" book on behavior couple of times and firmly believe that the only negative reinforcement or positive punishment that any animal should get is removal of stimulation such as eye sight or praise, a sharp "no" or "bap bap!", and the occasional delayed treat. I am a huge fan of positive reinforcement in training and redirection when a dog or puppy is misbehaving. If your dog or puppy misbehaves or makes a mistake in the house then you will get a heads up in the walk summary and they will not face any repercussions other than redirection, removal of eyesight for a few moments, a sharp no, or a delayed treat if they were being asked for a good behavior. I fully understand that if your dog or puppy makes an accident inside then there is no reason to get upset with them. I'll do my best to clean up and hopefully we will make it outside the next time!