“With dog is where the most resolute, uninhibited, grounded, and fulfilled version of my being resides. I know nothing but to listen to and guide these beings to a place of enjoyment and clarity. I’m compelled to do this deep inside, it’s who I am.”
I’M JACQULENE
a dog handler. I focus on the relationship between the dog and its’ human(s) in order to modify or mold behavior of the dog with a focus on the dog learning to feel safe and neutral in all environments. I invest myself in the everyday dog owner, empowering them with knowledge, tools, and techniques to help them become the guide that their dog needs to feel their best because feelings fuel behavior. During my private sessions, members of the household and I work together, hands-on with their dog(s), putting to practice tools and techniques and have open discussion so they understand the dog psychology and behavior ideas that influence the tools and techniques we work on. This is the only way that I have discovered training to be long-lasting and manageable for both dog and owner — to understand why a technique/tool is impactful and how to execute is imperative for the success of the dog and their humans. I believe wholeheartedly that a well-behaved, fulfilled dog will broaden your world, affording you both opportunities that would otherwise not be possible — behavioral challenges in a dog limit your joy, their happiness, and the quality of both your lives.
I am proud to say that I have spent the last 15 years developing my skillset through personal experiences with dog, my skills at this core have been intuitive. I have had the privilege of honing my skillset and expanding my breadth via another mentor of mine, world renowned dog behaviorist and first-ever Head Trainer under Cesar Milan, Cheri Wulff Lucas. In the same way that I continue to learn from the dogs and people whom I work with every day.
Still Curious About Me? Read on, friends.
I was born with a propensity to learn and understand the animal that is dog - you can read a bit into my inherent magnetism to dog right below this blurb. Basically, I grew up with dogs in my life, part of our family - two parents, three kids, and a chaotic schedule of extra-curricular activities. My parent’s prioritized the kids and their needs (of course) and so the dogs, from a behavioral perspective suffered unbeknownst to any of us. We had a lab that jumped all over everyone who entered the house, at the shrubbery, followed every scent he got hooked on and could care less to acknowledge commands from any family member if he wasn’t in the mood. We loved this dog. Buster also had territorial aggression toward strangers. This was a problem. My parents considered rehoming him to a ‘farm’ on numerous occasions. I was 13. I had already spent years watching Cesar Millan’s series on Animal Planet and Nat Geo Wild. Everything Cesar practiced came so naturally to me, which I attribute to the years I spent growing up, paying close attention to the nuances in my dogs, family members dogs, strangers dogs - every dog that crossed my path. I began to implement what I learned to try and modify Buster’s behaviors, in an effort to keep him part of the family and avoid a rehoming. Fast-forward about a year and Buster was suddenly manageable around strangers, able to walk loose lead, engaging with us even when his prey drive was through the roof. I had done what my parents thought was the impossible - I had rehabilitated our family dog, I had become the pack leader, I had gained relevancy, trust, and believability. I alleviated stress and chaos from my family’s every day life - because anyone in a similar situation can attest, dealing with behavioral issues of any kind is a daily battle and it’s exhausting for everyone.
The behavioral modification and rehabilitation of my family dogs as a young teen snowballed into a need to help anyone else I saw struggling with their dog. People at the vet, family members, strangers at sporting events, eventually in college I began volunteering at the local animal shelter. I got the majority of my experience in terms of breadth of behavioral issues during those three years. I was the only person at the facility who would work to rehabilitate the insecure dogs, the dogs who displayed ‘aggression’ at face-value — I got these dogs adopted. I worked with them to earn trust, show them that some humans are worth following, some humans are believable. This is when I knew for certain that my ability to understand the dog in ways that didn’t come naturally to the average person was a gift, a special gift.
Fast-forward 11 years later when I got the first puppy to truly call mine - Rizzo, the black English Labrador Retriever. He saved me in more ways than I can even put words to, but one thing is very clear — he reminded me who I am and that I have an incredible gift that would be wasted if I weren’t to share it with others. This is why I put all fear aside and trusted my heart setting out on this beautiful adventure, Jac’s Pack. I want to help families and individuals to become their dog’s pack leader, to fulfill their needs by understanding them in the way mother nature intended us to - as a dog.