As a life-long animal lover, I've made it my mission to work with animals whenever and however I can. Since childhood, I've owned a variety of conventional and exotic pets, including dogs, parrots, a toucan, rats, fish, and a tarantula - just to name a few. For 4 years I worked at a zoo where I gained skills and experience in exotic animal training and husbandry. It was there that I realized I loved training animals, in large part because I find their individual personalities and minds so fascinating! Knowing that I didn't want to work in a zoo forever, I looked find a career that would allow me to follow this passion. Currently I am in graduate school studying parrot behavior and cognition. Even though I like all animals, I especially love dogs. With my own pup Sophie I enjoy obedience training, practicing agility, hiking, tug-o-war, and cuddling on the couch. You could say that she is my favorite hobby. My goals in joining Rover are to gain more experience working with and training dogs, all while having a really good time! I love learning about each dog's particular quirks and tailoring my attention to fit their needs. If you are just looking for someone to feed or tucker out your pup I'll get the job done! But if you are interested in teaching (or improving) your pup's basic obedience commands I am also willing to help further their training. As a trainer I focus on using positive reinforcement, and avoid positive punishments, so your pup won't even realize they are learning because they are having such a good time!