Hi, I’m Jenna
I grew up with a dog who displayed aggression.
His name was Chase and he spent most of his life not trusting me. I spent my young years thinking I had managed to find the one dog in the universe that didn’t like me.
Unfortunately, my family and I did not have the education or understanding to know the correct way to help Chase, and his aggression continued for many years (most likely because we weren’t using the right methods) until his passing. Chase never got the opportunity to learn safety or trust around me.
Fast-forward to listening to a monotone Psychology professor in college, I realized dog behavior was just a science I needed to master if I ever wanted to have some rationale behind my relationship with Chase. In true Jenna fashion, I started staying up till 3am researching all there is to know about canine cognition (there was a lot of Coca-Cola on hand.)
Then I started implementing positive reinforcement as a professional dog trainer (after an awkward conversation with family about leaving college and eighty-sixing my film studies degree.)
I worked with clients in their homes to help them recover their dog’s behavior, and I thought my calling was to train dogs forever.
Then in 2019, I realized I had been wrong.
“My calling is NOT to train dogs.”
As I sat in traffic on the way to my next client, I thought about how I wished my parents had easy access to the information I now have in my head back when we lived with Chase. I thought about how if they had just known the right techniques, if they had just had easier access to quality canine education, how much different Chase’s (not to mention our) lives could have been.
And right then began my mission to make effective, science-backed, and humane dog training methods accessible to every dog guardian dog worldwide.
My calling is to support Guardians.
To every dog mom who feels guilty because she did all the research, did everything she was supposed to, and still ended up with a sensitive dog who’s afraid of being left alone
To every dog dad who feels disappointed because all he wants is to take his dog on a hike without her reacting crazy on leash
And to every little girl at home who feels guilty because her dog doesn’t want to sleep in bed with her
My calling is to support them.
Recover Rover Membership is my ode to Chase
— my apology letter to him.
I’ll spend the rest of my life working to be accessible, effective, and supportive to every dog guardian who feels like my family did when we lived with Chase – that feeling of helplessness, the frustration, a bit of irritation, the guilt, the loss. And I am here to tell you that feeling can go away with the right guidance.
Every single element about Recover Rover is designed to have reactivite, sensitive, and/or anxious dogs and their HooMans succeed in treating their dog’s mental health. Each piece of the Membership fits perfectly together to make the most incredible learning experience - from the model of the curriculum and coaching, to the community of Rover PAWrents, to the supportive coaches I have hand selected.
Speaking of which, let me introduce you to Coach Shelly
Shelly and I have worked together for years, and we’ve even attended dog training conferences together, with world renown behaviorists and professionals like Michael Shikashio, Ken McCort, Jean Donaldson, Leslie McDevitt, and Dr. Ian Dunbar. When you meet Shelly, make sure to ask her about her time working with polar bears, beavers, and porcupines. I promise you the stories don’t disappoint.
Shelly —
“I was lucky to be born into this world knowing my passion. At four years old I could and would tell you all about marsupials. At seven I was relentless in asking for a pet rat. At eleven I was bringing home any wayward or injured animal I found, it would be nursed back to health and released. There was a pigeon, I had to release about four times because he kept coming back.
As soon as I was old enough, I was hired by a local veterinarian and in junior college I discovered a program in Ventura County that offered a degree in exotic animal training. In 1991 I was accepted with 49 other animal lovers and spent two years in class and hands-on learning to care for and train a variety of species of wildlife. My career included working in a variety of industries; movie/tv, wildlife education, zoos, and dog training. I found it interesting that when I started my career training a leopard, sea lion, porcupine, macaw or chinchilla employed positive and trust building techniques but with man’s best friend that wasn’t the case. I was taught we needed to dominate and correct dogs. I was thankful and relieved when a dolphin trainer named Karen Pryor wrote a little book that became a bible for training any animal with positive techniques. (It works for people too). This book and the work of Dr. Ian Dunbar helped shift many dog trainers view of how we teach pet dogs and their people. Now I loved the work and the dogs did too!
When the pandemic closed down my work with private clients I was forced to try virtual training. I could see the advantages but it needed to be set up just right for everyone to get the most from the technology. Jenna, Dog Liaison, and the Recover Rover Membership is the perfect solution! I am so grateful to be able to help pups and their people from all over the globe overcome their issues while building up the relationship and trust while having fun! It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my career!”
(Truth be told, we’re all a little nerdy.)
In fact, my Youtube channel blossomed as an outlet for me to talk about the science of animal behavior, and if you’ve been to my channel then you know I’ll read through scholastic papers just for funzies.
You’ll also hear me talk about my best friend, Max. While he passed in October 2023, I talked about him a lot in previous content and still to this day, I bring him up.
Max was a Dalmatian who loved finding body-less rabbits and holding them in his mouth with pride. When I was in coaching calls, Max often slept underneath my desk or mumbled for neck rubs. Outside of work, he and I were off on a Sniffari as I listened to a true crime podcast.
The mission of Dog Liaison is to give you the skills to be able to walk through life with your best four-legged pal, to help you feel confident in knowing and supporting your dog’s needs, and to guide you on your journey to being the best dog PAWrent in the world.
I’m confident with just the right framework and coach, you can succeed in understanding your dog better so that your relationship with your dog can thrive.
Chat soon,
Jenna (they/she)
Owner & Head Coach of Dog Liaison
