Shauna Lawson
Canine Training
and Behavior Specialist
Who is Shauna?
Shauna started in the dog world volunteering for the Humane Society of MO, walking dogs and learning about behavior management. She very quickly learned that relationships with dogs were so rewarding! She took a job working in a kennel environment and learned the ins and outs of boarding and caring for dogs. Shauna worked in a daycare for a long time – always watching the trainers and the relationships they were building.
Shauna applied for Starmark Academy for Professional Dog Trainers and was accepted to the 2013 class. She spent 14 hours a day for 3 months straight working with rescue dogs, attending lectures, and practicing extra-curriculars (Agility, Advanced Off Leash, Obedience, Service Dog Training, Simulated Search and Rescue, Narcotics Detection, Nosework and Tricks and Chained Behaviors). Shauna has completed the Pet Obedience Theory and Application, Canine Training Specialist and Canine Training and Behavior Specialist programs.
She has 12 years of experience working with dogs and their families. The majority of her work has been in pet obedience training and behavior modification, but she also has taught classes in agility, dock diving, and swimming. Shauna has worked with Spencer’s Pet Rescue in O’Fallon, IL over the last year and been able to apply her knowledge to shelter and foster care.
Shauna has attended endless workshops, seminars, webinars and reading! If you aren’t learning and growing, you’re not doing it right. Shauna has attended workshops in aggression, nutrition, history, and genetics, the service dog industry, health and safety, tracking, and so much more.
What is Shauna’s real world experience?
Shauna has worked with dogs and their people through day-training, private lessons, classes, workshops, and long-term treatment plans. Over the last 12 years, she has raised puppies in her own home for a service dog program, getting to finally work through the intricacies of puppy raising and training. She has trained and placed several service dogs and handled countless prospects. Shauna has fostered dogs with struggles and placed them with new families. In her own home, she has rehabilitated dogs with aggression and fear-based issues.
What is Shauna’s training philosophy?
Above everything else, work WITH the dog. Cooperation between humans and dogs is how the domesticated dog evolved. We hold a connection to them superior to almost every other animal. That means our training should reflect a cooperative relationship. Trust, motivation, and intention are critical to any relationship. We ask dogs to live in a somewhat restrictive human society. What are we providing for them? Training should be a give and take, and a joyful one. Shauna sees the most value in her dog when she is enjoying their company and they are enjoying hers.
What makes Shauna different?
Her personal training focused on options: 100 different ways to resolve the same issue between dog and owner. She is not a cookie cutter trainer and doesn’t carry a one-size-fits -all mentality. Shauna prides herself in not being too rigid. Training is an experience, and her goal is to make it the best one for both dog and human that she can. Often that means thinking outside the box, another thing she takes pride in.
What is Shauna’s personality?
Inquisitive, driven, and practical. She feels most satisfied when she knows how something works or why something happens. She loves asking questions and learning about anything. With her clients, she is constantly asking questions and wanting to learn more about their lives and their dog’s lives. She would say she’s optimistic (sometimes to a fault) and hippie dippie. She’s definitely not a drill sergeant, though!
What is Shauna’s life like?
Shauna loves to be outside as often as possible: gardening, hiking, walking, biking – she even enjoys eating meals outside whenever possible. She currently cares for 7 dogs – four lovely older ladies, and three young boys that are all wild in their own ways. Shauna loves cooking! If she didn’t train dogs she would want to be a cook. In the dog world, scent detection of any kind is her favorite. She’s enjoyed tracking and nosework, but also just loves to let a dog take her on a sniffari.
