Karma Dog Training
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His corporation, Karma Dog Training, is a veterinarian endorsed dog training company home to experienced behavior specialists and professional members of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP # A-2598) as well as the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT # 77541), an organization which prides itself with a mission toward enhancing the human-canine relationship through education and dog-friendly training.
Jeffrey Brian Liebowitz is also the founder of the not-for-profit educational group, Trainers who Participate in Socialization Parties (TPSP #1), an organization comprised of professional dog trainers and licensed veterinarians who have joined together in the interest of puppies everywhere to help facilitate the all-important socialization process.
In addition, Jeff is the creator of the Dogs in Recovery program, which is a 12-step program/support group for dog owners with aggression issues. Not only that, Jeff has developed a Zen like application for teaching clients called the Karma Dog Training Method, that is considered among his clients to be the most gentle, effective and enlightened approach to puppy/dog training available.
Jeffrey is also quickly becoming a rising star in Hollywood. He and his 3 male pit bulls - Brian, Louis and Scottie - were featured in the full-length documentary entitled, American Pit Bull, produced by Oscar nominated Braverman Productions. His first book entitled, A Walk Towards Heaven, will be published by the end of the year. Most recently, Jeff appeared on The Denise Richards Show on E! Entertainment as her private dog consultant. Click here to see a television trailer produced by Braverman Productions.
When Jeffrey is not running the show at Karma Dog Training, he spends his time fulfilling his love of writing and recording music and can be found on tour with his band, Jeffrey Brian. A documentary about his life is also currently in production entitled, Jeffrey Brian and the Ghost of Zack Havoc.
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Aimee Burton was born and raised in San Diego, California. Growing up with a Veterinarian for a father, she was never without several animals in her household. Adopting both her Grandmother and Mothers’ love for horses, Aimee started riding and eventually training horses as a teenager. Working at her parents’ Animal hospital from junior high school through college, she learned hands on animal behavior and handling, as well as a complete spectrum of animal care.
After getting her own dogs as an adult, Aimee began studying the teachings of top animal trainers such as Paul Owens, Pat Miller, Nicole Wilde and Cesar Milan, taking only what felt right from each method of training.
Soon after, Aimee met Karma Dog Training founder, Jeffrey Brian, after hiring him to assist her with her very frightened, neglected and abused 4 lb. Chihuahua she had rescued from the city pound. She instantly felt a connection to Jeffrey's kind and loving approach to dog handling, and after their first session was invited to accompany Jeffrey on his group and in-home sessions to learn the "Karma Dog" method.
Since that time, Aimee has gone on to become one of the most sought after trainers in the country. She is a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT #75652) and never stops learning. Aimee believes that a positive approach to training combined with setting what she refers to as benevolent boundaries, is the key to a well-behaved, happy dog.
She lives with her 3 dogs; a 7 yr. old Doberman Pinscher, a 3 year old Dachshund/Chihuahua rescue mix, and her little 4 lb. lucky charm that introduced her to Jeffrey, Ginger.
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Ashley Francomb is the administrative director of Karma Dog Training USA. She is an animal lover, activist and artist who also manages the creative marketing and promotional campaigns for Karma Dog.
Ashley’s inspiration comes from nurturing well-being and happiness in dogs. She is the Dog Adventure Guide for Karma Dog and has designed a program, Pets in Paradise that offers services for Karma clients that include daily adventure nature walks.
When she is not working at Karma Dog, Ashley Francomb volunteers for Helen Woodward Animal Center and RuffHouZen Animal Rescue. Ashley also loves yoga and her daily walks with her beloved puppy, Penelope.
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Jason Drew grew up in San Fernando Valley where his love of dogs began at the age of eight after acquiring his first puppy. After successfully teaching his first dog a few parlor tricks, he took a keen interest in animal behavior and dog training.
It wasn’t long after that Jason started training all the dogs in his neighborhood. By age 20, he discovered pure positive training and spent the next three years honing his pure positive technique and learning competition style obedience.
He first discovered positive training by way of Diane Jessup. She was Jason’s first training hero. That experience eventually led him to the teachings of Sheila Booth and then on to Karen Pryor etc. "It was a revelation!" Jason exclaims. "What better way is there to teach than by having fun, forming a trustworthy bond and establishing a healthy leadership role with mans best friend! It’s something that I encourage to everyone!"
In addition to training, Jason loves his one-on-one time with his two dogs Casey and Frank. He has been professionally training dogs for over nine years now and as he puts it, "the passion burns brighter than ever!"
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A Las Vegas native, Tara has lived with and trained animals throughout her life. She began by studying with and training marine mammals, perfecting her ability to use positive reinforcement to accomplish behaviors. She recently relocated from Hawaii, where she was a part of the Training and Education Team at Dolphin Quest. She has carried those positive techniques over to the K9 arena. She now devotes herself completely to dog training.
Tara trains dogs and people in both one on one setting and in-group classes. She teaches beginning and advanced obedience, and has experience training dogs to perform for television and movie roles. She believes that she learns from dogs as much as they learn from her, and continues to bolster her education by taking professional courses.
She has received her certification in Dog Training from The Animal Behavior College and is also a full member of The Association of Pet Dog Trainers. She is certified to administer the American Kennel Association’s Canine Good Citizenship test. Her goal is to give EVERY dog a chance at a happy, full life.
Tara’s philosophy of dog training is to find the right methods to apply to each dog as an individual, rather than impose one rigid method on all the dogs she meets. "Obedience is learning to listen to, listening to a dog until you find what is needed, rather than imposing yourself in the name of training". (The Monks of New Skete)
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Beth Harrison’s passion is and always has been dogs. About 6 years ago, she decided to finally follow her love and passion and become a pet dog trainer. She attended and graduated from Animal Behavioral College in 2005 as a Certified Pet Dog Trainer. She then went on to become a Certified AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. In addition, she and her husband are volunteer "puppy raisers" for Guide Dogs of America.
Beth’s greatest sense of sense of joy and accomplishment comes from knowing that she can help a dog and their owners form a strong, lasting relationship through positive training. Her methods have always been positive, gentle and effective and her experience at Karma Dog Training seems to be... well... all about creating GOOD KARMA!
Beth lives with her husband and 4 golden retrievers... Buster 13, Oden 11, Storm 4 and Hondo 3.
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Chiwe has been working with animals professionally for over ten years. She is a graduate of the initial in-house class, of the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainer's led by Jean Donaldson. Chiwe also worked for her mentor, the internationally renowned Dog Behaviorist, Donna Duford, as a Dog Trainer for the San Francisco Animal Care and Control; San Francisco's only municipal shelter.
While working there Chiwe was evaluating and testing incoming dogs, working in the shelter dog-to-dog socialization program, providing individual socializing and training to shelter dogs, assisting in evaluating dogs brought in on charges of dangerous and vicious behavior, training new volunteers, and much more. Chiwe can be seen testing shelter dogs on the Discovery Channel's SF Dog Cops. In addition, she has several years experience offering privately training for dogs and hosting dog training playgroups and training walks. Chiwe also worked as, Head Trainer for Graham Bloem (former Dog Trainer for the Helen Woodward Animal Center) at West Coast K-9, in North County San Diego.
As a long time volunteer with the SPCA, Chiwe has worked with cats and dogs in their in-house Spay & Neuter Veterinary Clinic, in the SF/SPCA's Canine Behavior Section for high-risk dogs, with the SF/SPCA Feral Cat Rescue, and in the SF/SPCA Doggy Day Care Center.
Chiwe is a graduate of the SF/SPCA's Pet Grooming College and has been a Certified Pet Groomer since 1999. She is also Certified in Pet First Aid and CPR by the American Red Cross.
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Stacey Ruane was born in the Midwest with a love of dogs and all things canine. A review of family photographs shows Stacey typically pictured with a dog, any dog, even while she was still in diapers. Stacey moved to Melbourne Australia and traveled throughout East Asia during childhood, returning to the States for high school and college. She studied Philosophy and Fine Art obtaining a dual Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University.
Called “the lorax of the dogs” from the Dr. Seuss book, Stacey has used her Masters in Administrative Justice and passion for dogs to change how our society sees and responds to animals. Following Gandhi, she believes ……“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Stacey’s research for a law firm involved litigation against airlines for the unsafe transportation of dogs. When conducting feasibility studies for city development, Stacey focused on the development and design of dog-friendly parks and open spaces. She also was a consultant for the largest animal shelter in Nevada to improve shelter operations after a devastating report from the Humane Society highlighted neglect and abuse.
Stacey moved with her husband and personal guru, a 165 lb English Mastiff named Oscar (who was also the best man at her wedding), to Denver a year ago from San Francisco where she graduated from the Marin Humane Society Canine Behavior Academy. While in San Francisco she had been training humans and canine companions privately and with such organizations as Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) in Walnut Creek California and the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA in San Mateo.
Stacey is an expert in helping shelter dogs get a second chance through temperament testing, skills-building, fostering and re-homing. She is trained in canine ethology, canine body language, canine safe handling, canine assessment and evaluation, learning theory, behavior problems and solutions, and consultation. She learned through her years spent abroad that for humans and animals alike, understanding another’s culture is key to forming a good relationship. A good relationship, she believes, is important to dog training. Over the years, Stacey extended this important learning along with her practice of meditation to her love of animals to develop a strongly intuitive method of dog training. More than “training,” her approach is grounded in the mutual respect naturally afforded between sentient creatures.
Her move to Colorado allowed her to realize that her career was literally “going to the dogs” and she now devotes herself completely to dog training, animal rights activism, human education, and animal service.
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Shannon is a Texas native and has been living in Austin for 16 years. Beginning at a very young age, she has had a close bond and connection with all animals, namely dogs. She grew up in a household where dogs were not treated as pets, but as her furry siblings, hence has always considered her own dogs as her children.
Shannon was a veterinary technician for 7 years. While she always loved working in medicine, she always had a desire to learn about why dogs behave the way they do.
In 2000, Shannon’s 3-year old dog developed severely aggressive behavior that she was unable to control. As such, she took him to a positive reinforcement dog trainer to obtain much needed help. The trainer was so impressed with Shannon’s skill and affection for dogs, that she asked her to be an apprentice. Shannon apprenticed with this trainer for 2 years, assisting in private lessons focusing on everything from basic obedience to aggression, as well as student taught both puppy socialization and basic obedience classes. The time she spent with this trainer, coupled with seminars she attended, solidified Shannon’s love for dog training. In the summer of 2002, she attended The Academy for Dog Trainers 6 week, intensive course taught by Jean Donaldson at the San Francisco SPCA. She graduated with honors and a Certificate in Training and Counseling.
Upon her return to Austin, she opened her own business as a private dog trainer and taught classes in established facilities in the Austin area. She continued to train dogs for several years until moving on to other endeavors. Although professionally Shannon was out of the dog training business for a few years, she has continued to train her own dogs as well as help family and friends with training their dogs.
Shannon’s passion for the knowledge she gained in dog training school coupled with reading countless books written by several positive reinforcement dog trainers led to her desire to gain the knowledge necessary to work with people and their issues. In 2009, Shannon completed her master’s degree at St. Edward’s University in professional counseling. In addition to training dogs with Karma, Shannon has also begun a career as a licensed professional counselor-intern.
Shannon loves the fact that dog training allows her to use both her dog and people skills, and integrates them into creating a bond between dog and human. Her background in training dogs is strictly positive based; she feels this can always be effective with the right amount of commitment and desire. Shannon’s personality creates for an accepting, warm, and fun atmosphere. She feels that dog training should be enjoyable for all involved and should be about creating a closer bond between humans and their four-legged brood. She does not believe in the notion of being dominant over dogs, but in forming a leader/follower relationship that creates boundaries for dogs, while giving them a safe and loving environment in which to thrive.
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Crystal Martin is originally from Denver, Colorado where growing up she always absolutely loved animals and tried to understand things from their perspective. She began her career as worked as a pet dog trainer at Petsmart. From there, she went onto to run a boarding/daycare facility for a year where she taught the employees handling skills and took on fosters that needed extra care/rehabilitation.
Crystal has done a lot of different types of work in the dog world, from teaching puppies basic manners to taking in fosters that need more intensive training. She has been involved in agility, obedience, as well as search and rescue "I love and learn from dogs every day. I am still learning all I can", Crystal says with smile.
Crystal's excellent relationships with clients and the fact that she loves to explore all aspects of training and the dogs' capabilities, gives Karma Dog Training a valuable leader who continues to make a difference for dogs and their owners.
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Having worked in the animal field for the past decade, Amy comes to Karma Dog Training with a wealth of hands-on experience. In 2007, she graduated an Apprentice Training program at Taurus Dog Training Facility where later she became a Facility Director and their sole trainer for their Lake Travis location.
She is a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, (APDT # 74758) as well as an active volunteer, team member and fill in trainer for the rescue group, Austin Pets Alive.
Throughout her career, Amy has spent a great amount of time helping harmonize the relationships with people and their dogs. She has gained important knowledge about a dog’s health needs as well as their overall mental health. Her goal is to teach owners how to bridge the communication gap in a positive, effective manner.
In her spare time, when she’s not training dogs for Karma Dog Training, Amy is training additional dogs for her own pet care business, Amy’s Dog Training & Pet Care. At home, she takes care of her own little pack, "Luna" a lab mix, "Finn" a lab and "Rio" a blue crowned conure.
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Steve’s training approach is based on Suzanne Clothier’s Relationship Centered Training (RCT). This philosophy emphasizes compassion and communication as a means to creating a healthy relationship.
He specializes in Dog-Dog Socialization, Leash Reactivity / Aggression, Household Problem Solving, and Preparing Your Puppy for the Real World.
Steve strives for achieving those special moments when you and your dog are in complete understanding and cooperation with one another. Using positive reinforcement techniques that help the client watch, listen, and learn from their dog, he puts the family in a position to experience those moments more and more frequently. This helps them take their lives together to heights they never thought possible!
Steve holds certifications in dog training by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KA), Pet First Aid, and as an Advanced Pet Care Technician by the Pet Care Services Association. He teaches the Karma Dog Training Advanced group classes.
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Raquelle Godbey has spent her entire life with animals of various sorts as part of the family, born and growing up in Texas, mostly in a rural environment near La Vernia. She began her dog training career in 1983 in Austin, while training the first dog she would really call her own, Umlaut, a black Lab/Spitz mixed breed rescue dog she adopted on Valentine's Day that year.
Her training methods are based on years of hands-on instruction, study, mentoring with other trainers, and personal practical experience. She approaches lessons using techniques that consider how dogs develop, think and naturally respond to their environment. The way a dog behaves is a product of its environment and experiences.
Raquelle has seen repeatedly in her training how people and their dogs are drawn together for specific reasons, matched together for a purpose. This is why dogs can become our closest animal companions when we connect with them. The training brings both human and animal to a higher level of awareness and sense of balance as that purpose unfolds while working on the issues at hand. Basic obedience exercises are applied using intuitive training to meet the individual needs of every session. Positive redirection is an important part of her training philosophy, showing the dog what is desired and rewarding movement in that direction.
The thing Raquelle loves most about her work is watching the connection develop between human and dog as a result of the training, the joy that comes forth when a handler sees positive change in a troubling situation, and the ease that eventually results when people really apply new methods to their daily living with their canine companions.
Raquelle is the mother of a son and stepdaughter. While not training she spends her time on minor remodel work, volunteer work, and art. Her home has been a haven to a host of creatures; the current family includes Sprocket the dog, and three cats Itty, Purrdy, and Miss Kitty. All of the pets were rescued from neglect or abandonment. Dogs end up unwanted or abandoned because of human inexperience or ignorance, and Raquelle hopes that her work and efforts will help to change this.
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By the time Rachel Downing was 10 years old, she had already figured out how to train her mixed breed terrier a wide variety of commands. Then, she went throughout the neighborhood knocking on doors of dog owners offering to train their dogs. Nothing made her happier than being with and training dogs.
The years have flown by and she is now retired from a long career as a psychotherapist. She knows the key to successful therapy is the relationship between client and therapist. This focus on relationship now carries over to her work as a dog trainer.
She was attracted to Karma Dog Training because of its focus on the relationship between the dog and the owner. She believes a sensitive positive relationship brings out the best in the dog and the best in the owner. She has extensive experience training dogs of all sizes for obedience work. She trained her own Keeshond to be a therapy dog that visited a hospital for three and a half years. Her current dog, a black and white Japanese Chin named Cher, was a therapy dog while Rachel worked as a psychotherapist. This ancient breed was brought to Japan from China by Buddhist Monks in about 500 AD. They were breed solely as companion dogs. Each dog has a white spot on its forehead considered to be the "thumbprint" of Buddha. As Rachel puts it, “Cher enjoys listening to meditation music and I meditate with her on a regular basis”.
Rachel is proud to be a member of the Karma Dog Training team. She loves assisting other dog owners in positive bonding with their dogs, which she believes is the foundation for all training. Her goal is to provide dog owners with the tools necessary to train their dogs and enjoy life together.
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In addition to being a Karma Dog Trainer, Carol Marabio helps Karma Dog clients research anything they are looking for in terms of dog daycare, parks, dog walkers, pet insurance, specialty vets, breeders, rescues, shelters, pet stores, dog volunteer opportunities, agility classes, breed meet-ups, special events (i.e. dog surfing competition), raw foodists, dog social events, dog friendly restaurants, service dog trainers, etc.
Anything and everything. Just like a personal shopper. She takes an assignment, does the research, and presents a thorough report to the customer. She can help you with any and all requests.