More about Liz
I grew up in Oklahoma with very few pets, but always a passion for animals. My first love was cats. We finally got one when I was in middle school and I was smitten. We were best friends. Then we got another and I had found my furry soul mate. While caring for him, I worked my way through college to get my BS in Zoology, thinking a career working with exotics, maybe for movies would be awesome. Along the way I picked up experience working with horses at summer camps while teaching tiny humans (lets be honest, and myself) how to ride them. I also took a dog training course from an AKC trainer while finishing my degree. These early animal experiences made no mentions of “positive reinforcement”. They were definitely what you would consider more “old school” type training/working with the animals. Myself, and obviously the people teaching me just didn’t know any better.
My real adventures with animals began when I was accepted into Moorpark College’s Exotic Animal Training and Management (EATM) program. Here I spent an intense two years learning all there was to know about working with all kinds of animals. We were being prepared to be the next big wave of top notch zookeepers, Hollywood trainers, and wildlife educators. I got hands on experience with the zoo on campus that housed big cats, lesser apes, smaller hoofstock, reptiles, and birds. We got to go to site visits at area zoos and even travel farther to learn from other professionals at conferences or at their facilities. We had to train animals of all kinds (for grades!!). This was my first real introduction to positive reinforcement. We clicker trained everything, even the turtles. It was proof of concept right before my eyes. I knew I had done wrong in my past, but I knew I could do better now and could greatly improve the lives of many animals moving forward.
After working in a zoo for a few years as a carnivore specialist and public presenter, I found a new love: veterinary medicine. As I was learning the ins and outs of medical care for our companion animals, the low stress and fear free movements came along and I found a way to merge my two loves: behavior and medicine. I could now help the pets that were terrified at the vet find a way to get the medical care they deserved.
Over the years I have seen a drastic increase in those scared pets coming to see me. Just being a registered veterinary technician wasn’t enough. To really help these guys and work with them outside of the home on the myriad of issues they have, I needed to get a training certification. I spent 6 months going through the Karen Pryor Academy dog trainer professionals program with my dog, Tiber. I also had to train my cat, Hoos, for some of it! As a trainer certified by one of the first big names in positive reinforcement, I now offer my services to the pets of Colorado Springs!
Becoming a parent has been the biggest eye opener for me. Yes! All this still works great on humans! My family has supported me through this whole crazy journey and they continue to teach me things about living in harmony with our pets, and teaching our children to respect all living things.
I love working on feline behavior cases, they can be so challenging, yet so eye opening once we get it figured out. I help people better understand what is going through their animals’ minds so we can empathize with their issues and work to solve them to create peace at home. Timid animals are also great cases for me. Several of the species I worked with in the zoo world were quite shy and I found my patience to work through it and build trust. This ultimately improved their lives.
I would love to help you and your pets build a solid foundation for a new relationship, or help repair one that may be broken. Please reach out to us with how we can help!
