I am Kristin. For twenty-seven years I have worked with dogs and the people holding the other end of the leash. I don't just teach commands. I teach the presence that makes a dog want to stay close. The relationship is the training, and it runs both ways down the leash.
Everything I do is built on partnership. Dogs are feeling, thinking beings with real emotional needs, and the goal is a joyful, cooperative relationship, not a compliant one.
Group classes and one-on-one work for everyday manners, reactivity, and the handler skills underneath both. We start where you and your dog actually are.
Bring your dog to the high desert and go deep. Sleep at Alchemy Sky Homestead under some of the darkest skies in the lower forty-eight and spend your days working with me and your dog, away from every distraction.
Writing and video on mindful handling, behavior, and the human side of the leash. Free, and a good way to hear how I think before we ever meet.
I grew up in the Tillamook, Oregon coastal range and was raised, and later taught, in my parents' Montessori school. I hold a Bachelor of Science in animal science and a Master of Education, and I have spent nearly three decades reading dogs and the people who love them. I was certified through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KA) in 2012 and in 2022 I was certified through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC-CDBC). I have trained oxen, kept a Buddhist focused practice since childhood, and earned my yoga teaching certification.
All of it comes back to the same thing: being mindful. A dog does not need a more forceful handler. It needs a more present one. That is the work I teach, and it is the work I am still doing myself.
Tell me about your dog and what you are working on. We will figure out the right way to begin together.
Work with me →