About Nikki
Nikki is a dedicated and experienced dog trainer with over a decade of expertise in helping dogs and their owners achieve happier, more harmonious lives together. Her passion for dog training is rooted in her love for dogs and a deep understanding of canine behavior. Over the past 12 years, Nikki has honed her skills across various aspects of dog training, specializing in addressing fear, anxiety, leash reactivity, separation anxiety, loose leash walking, and resource guarding.
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For the past 9 years, Nikki has also focused on agility training, where she has developed a reputation for excellence. She believes that agility is not just about winning ribbons but about building a strong bond between dogs and their owners. Because dog ownership should be a joyful experience for both dogs and their owners.
Nikki’s training philosophy is grounded in a science-based, whole-dog approach. She takes into account the dog’s breed (or breed mix), home environment, and the specific goals of the owner to create customized training plans that are both realistic and effective. She uses only positive reinforcement techniques, ensuring that every dog is set up for success while respecting their individual needs and learning style.
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Owner/Dog Trainer
Committed to continuous learning, Nikki regularly attends dog training seminars (including behavior modification for resource guarding and dog aggression) to stay up-to-date with the latest techniques and advancements in the field. This dedication to education, combined with her extensive experience, allows her to offer the most effective solutions for the dogs and owners she works with.
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Having been privileged to share her life with all kinds of strong-willed herding dogs, she understands that having a dog as a part of your family can be challenging at times. Nikki is dedicated to resolving these challenges, and bringing joy and harmony back into the lives of both dogs and their owners.
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Nikki’s ultimate goal is to improve the lives of the dogs and owners she helps. She takes pride in guiding owners to understand their dogs better, fostering clear communication, and building strong, trusting relationships.
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Her work not only resolves challenging behavior issues, but also strengthens the bond between dogs and their owners, leading to happier, more fulfilling lives for both.
Meet My Dogs
My first agility dog ever was Billy. He was always so excited to work and absolutely loved agility. Unfortunately, right when my son was a little bit older and I was finally able to compete more often, he started having trouble with his rear-end. Turns out he had DM (degenerative myelopathy), which is genetic and thus far has no treatment. I had to retire him at 9 years old.
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My second Pembroke Welsh corgi was Blaze. She also had structural issues and never got past Beginners level.
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Not surprisingly I stepped away from corgis after this! Charm is an Australian shepherd and the sweetest girl ever. She is what we call "soft" and requires careful handling. But she sure loves that tug toy! She is currently the only dog I am competing with. Covid surely put a pause on my plans with her!
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Jinx is our youngest. Still in his teens, he is a crazy, but sweet Border Collie. He loves, loves, LOVES to work, but like so many performance dogs/BC's, he has a problem with overarousal around the agility ring. I'm currently working on teaching him to stay under threshold when confronted with other dogs running agility. Once we get there, he should be good to go to start competing.
Billy MXP MJP
2007-2020
Charm AXP AJP
Born 2016
