Kirsten Kraljevic

Kirsten is a graduate of St. Mary's College in Maryland with a BA in Sociology and Anthropology. One of her first jobs was with the Montgomery County, Md. Humane Society where part of her duties were to euthanize unwanted companion animals. Working with the Humane Society began a lifelong journey for Kirsten to educate herself and others in the art and science of training and living with dogs as companions. Beginning her career as a dog trainer over 35 years ago, Kirsten first learned more traditional methods which relied heavily on punishment and the use of equipment such as choke chains and pinch collars. Kirsten found many problems could not be solved using punishment and coercion and most dogs actually seemed to get worse. Thus her journey began researching and questioning alternative methods for changing behavior and improving the human animal bond."I will continue to spend my life researching and implementing the most up to date humane, scientifically based training techniques to enhance our relationships with our dogs."Kirsten belongs to the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and the Pet Professional guild. She supports initiatives such as SPARCS , The Family Dog Project and Darwin's Dogs. These organizations and the many training and behavior lists she belongs to help to her keep up to date on industry trends while providing her with a valuable network of other professional's as resources in the field of animal behavior. Kirsten has earned her CPDT " KA, the first international certification for dog trainers in history. She holds a certificate of completion in animal behavior consulting: principles and practices. Kirsten believes in continuing education and has attended many seminars most notably the benchmark in animal training, all 5 Chicken Workshops given by Bob Bailey in 2002 and repeating them again with Bob Bailey and Parvene Farhoody in the summer of 2015."The right training makes such a positive difference in the lives of so many dogs and their owners. I feel very fortunate to be a part of their success".