Hi! I’m Krista
a professional dog trainer serving the Triad Area, based in King NC. I have been teaching dog owners how to communicate, motivate, and live conflict free with their dogs for over 12 years. In addition to serving my local community I also train and provide personal protection dogs, service dogs, and companion dogs domestically and internationally. When I’m not training my client’s dogs I am competing with my own canines in AKC & UKC events, and the protection sport PSA.
I have been a professional in the pet industry since 2008. I started as a kennel tech, petsitter, and dog walker, then became a Nationally Certified Pet Groomer after graduating from the Florida Institute of Animal Arts. While working as a dog groomer in Virginia I started training and boarding my client’s dogs. I eventually stopped taking on new grooming clients to focus more on dog training. After moving to NC in 2013 I stopped grooming and dog training became my full time career and passion. I dove head first into protection sports to better my Working Line German Shepherd breeding program and began serving the local pets and people of the Triad Area.
Now, through The Modern Dog I provide dog training services and fully trained companions nationwide and abroad. My dogs have taken me from sea to shining sea, Canada, and Mexico. My skill set includes environmental conditioning, drive building, service dog task training, bite development, dog sport obedience, pet obedience, public access training, behavior modification and rehabilitation, puppy raising, and beyond.
Dog training isn’t simply a job, it’s my whole life. I AM OBSESSED and constantly seeking opportunities to gain more knowledge as the science and technology of dog psychology advances. Based on these advances, and the increasingly higher expectations we have for our dogs, training methods and training tools are always evolving. Keeping myself informed and up to date means I can assist clients and their dogs with the most modern methods and techniques in our ever changing world. This is how I coined the phrase “Modern Training for the Modern Dog”.
My passion and drive for knowledge has helped me successfully certify as a Therapy Dog Team, win local K9 Olympics events, title in Dock Jumping, Lure Coursing, title countless CGC’s, achieve multiple PSA titles and placements with distinction, and compete in this sport at the National level.
My home based training center is located outside of Winston-Salem on 10 beautiful acres and the Little Yadkin River in Stokes County. The surrounding community and beyond provide a training environment that allows me to prepare dogs for scenarios expected in the modern world as well as in a household and on a farm with other pets, horses and livestock.
Balanced Training
I love working with owners and handlers who are completely new to dog training, at their wits end with their canine companion, or are ready to take their dog’s training beyond the basics.
I thoughtfully provide instruction to my clients in a way they can understand and apply with confidence. I love answering any and all questions about dog psychology, behavior training, and life with dogs in the modern world.
I am a Balanced Dog Trainer and do not discriminate against or refuse to use any training tool that benefits my client’s relationship with their dog. I encourage tool and technique exploration with my clients so they are equipped with as many tools in their tool box as possible. This ensures that each dog is trained to their full potential and gets to live the very best life possible during their time with us.
Helping pet owners build a strong and healthy relationship and thoroughly enjoy their dog is what fuels my passion. If you have goals for your dog I can help you get there.
Meet Huckleberry!
17 months old and wild, he helps me train client’s dogs in private sessions and board & train programs. He is also an energetic companion, sport dog, adventure buddy, and farm dog. We are currently training towards conformation, dock jumping, precision coursing, barn hunt, and AKC Farm Dog goals.
BSF Huckleberry USJCH RACEA Total Dog x1
