About the owner:
Christina Guevara
I grew up raising a variety of exotic and wild animals. I had cats, rats, dogs and turtles. I would spend time in Maine every summer working with arctic wolves, deer, goats, chickens, raccoons, sugar gliders and two binturongs or “bearcats” which we bottle fed. I worked at the Oakland SPCA for two+ years as a young adult and I finally got my first dog at 18. My early career and education path I spent studying CNA and underwent EMT training. I felt that something was missing and I needed to follow another path. I rescued a American Staffordshire terrier who had some of the most extreme anxiety I have ever seen. Everything would set her off ( people walking by, a leaf falling from a tree, a bird on the fence…) And she would bark and whine non stop. I hadn’t known about proper socialization/ and positive training techniques when she was a puppy and she seemed to get worse and worse as she aged. She had driven me to the brink of madness so I started researching dog trainers , training programs and daycares to try and find something that would help us train her and to relieve all of our stress. I felt so helpless then and really needed to harness her energy and channel it into a more positive direction. Through my research I found a job at a boarding and daycare facility where I started to socialize her and really immerse myself in all aspects of dog care. I worked in the front of the house where I admitted all dogs entering the facility, I worked with packs of 20+ in daycare. I have spent the last three years with a heavy focus on studying behavior and learning how to control and move with large packs and be able to manage the energy of these groups. I decided I wanted to learn more and gain more knowledge and took my dog Kaja to a two week course with Michael Ellis at his School for Dog Trainers in Santa Rosa. I received my obedience certificate with 60+ hours of hands on training. I was finally able to communicate with her through the positive and motivational training techniques I learned there. I got an additional job with a dog walking company and spent over a year walking packs of 10+ dogs and utilizing my skill in dog training and behavior. I have learned valuable skills that will really benefit my clients, many of whom have felt like I did years ago, completely out of control and like they are not getting through to their dog. At home I enjoy spending time on our farm with goats , ducks , chickens and with my husband, young sons and our own pack of 4!