Meet Holly

Holly has dedicated her educational and professional careers to animal training. She has over 15 years of professional animal training experience with both domestic and exotic species and holds a B.S. in Psychology with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis.

• Professional animal trainer with over 15 years of experience

• B.S. in Psychology with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis

• Animal Behavior Consultant with extensive work helping families and their pets in need of intensive behavior modification

• Dog Obedience Instructor

• Trained over 20 species in 6 zoological facilities

I founded Positive Start Dog Training to help families have better relationships with their dogs right from the start. My mission is to not only train well-mannered dogs through humane, ethical, and scientifically based training methods but to also equip owners with the tools and knowledge to continue their dogs’ behavioral learning at home. When behavior problems arise without training strategies to address them, it adds stress to the family and the dog. This, unfortunately, can lead to separating the dog away from the family to avoid the problem behaviors, or in extreme cases, even surrendering the dog to a shelter where the problem behaviors can be exacerbated resulting in a vicious cycle of adoption and relinquishment. By building a positive foundation of proper manners through positive reinforcement, we can keep dogs with preventable problem behaviors out of the shelters and at home with their families, right where they belong.

Most of my professional animal training career has been in top zoological facilities working with a wide variety of species from killer whales and elephants, to birds of prey and small mammals. As a Senior Animal Trainer, I lead teams in developing and implementing animal behavior plans for a variety of functional purposes, including husbandry behaviors (things that teach them to participate in their own healthcare like brushing teeth and taking blood samples), play and enrichment focused behaviors, and behaviors used to assist in research studies. Much of my focus was also directed towards mentoring and teaching staff on behavior principles and practical applications. I translate all of this experience to help my Positive Start families learn how to continue to train their dog at home.

I have also worked with pets and families as both a private Animal Behavior Consultant and as an obedience instructor in group canine classes, and have trained under some of the best experts in those fields. I provided scientifically-validated behavioral therapy to help families in need of intensive behavior modification for behavior problems including (but not limited to) aggression, fearful behavior, destruction, house-training difficulties, and other excessive behavior. Animals have been my passion since I was young, and I pursued a degree in psychology at West Virginia University specifically to go into animal training professionally. I gained animal experience everywhere I could: working at pet stores, interning at top zoological facilities during the summers, volunteering at veterinary clinics, and even going to the WVU farm and training sheep! After graduating in 2005, I went on to work at SeaWorld, Pet Behavior Change, Angel MSPCA, and the North Carolina Zoo.

There is an incredible moment in the training process when the animal gets what you’re trying to teach them. You see them light up as they have an ‘Ah Ha’ moment! Whether it was teaching a otter to walk calmly into a kennel for a medical exam, a killer whale to hold her breath so researchers could study metabolic rates, a dog to sit quietly on his bed when guests arrive, or a human how to work successfully and confidently with their pet, I’ve watched each of them have that ‘Ah Ha’ moment. It is my favorite part of the learning process and why I have dedicated my life to professional animal training.