Who's Who....

Our owner and primary behavior counselor is Karen Reardon Taylor, CPDT (formerly Sumner). Taylor's training career began at the tender age of seven with her first dog, Sparky.  Mom & Dad said, "Train Sparky or she's off to the shelter."  Karen had wanted a dog ever since she could remember... it must have been in her blood because her Granddad and his father used to run a training kennel in the early 1920's & 1930's!  Mom and Dad weren't being mean ... they were simply fed up with the chewing, barking and peeing in the house.  Sparky, a Pit Bull mix, was going the way of many other, so called, untrained and unruly dogs; shelter bound with no chance of a full life!  So she and Sparky joined a 4-H Junior Dog Obedience Course and the rest is history! 

As a teen, Karen stayed out of trouble by training neighborhood stray dogs and placing them in new homes (after diligently trying to get Mom & Dad to let her keep them instead).  From that point forward her mission was clear... TEACH DOGS TO RESPECT THEIR OWNERS AND THEY WON'T END UP ON THE DEATH ROW!  Simultaneously, Karen began studies in horsemanship and eventually worked at various breeding, riding and boarding stables in Maryland training and exercising horses.  Karen also took numerous Dog training courses with the Montgomery County Maryland Recreation and Parks Department, with Dog Sense Unlimited, and the Montgomery County Maryland Humane Services organization.  She then began college at North Carolina State University to pursue a Veterinary Career ... but, alas, the scholarship ran out!  As a young U.S. Navy wife, she moved to Florida and found herself training dogs with Five Flags Dog Training Club in Pensacola.  With the support of her club and their dog show expertise she titled her Pomeranian, Frodo (see his picture in our Logo), in obedience and received the FFDTC's award for Highest Score in a trial!  They were so happy they even let her teach!  Shortly after moving to Los Angeles Karen split with her husband and returned to College to begin her studies in psychology and behavior.  Being single, going to school, and keeping a full time job was taking it's toll physically and financially; so she finished her current courses and, at the urging of some friends who had just gotten puppies, started a small dog training class at a "pseudo" dog park in Venice, California.

Karen never really thought of herself as a dog expert or trainer, just a training hobbyist who liked dogs!  But her students felt differently and sent their friends to Karen's class.  Then, people who stopped just to observe asked to join in!  Hundreds of happy, well trained humans and dogs later, Karen realized she had inadvertently come across her "calling" and made dog training and behavior a career.  Of course, being an instructor is more than just having some knowledge and experience... Karen wanted a whole lot!  So she started reading everything she could get her hands on, watched every video she could find, and joined the Society of North American Dog Trainers... and, later, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.  These organizations regularly coordinate national and international speakers to provide continuing education for their members.  Karen started MY BEST FRIEND OBEDIENCE in 1992 and is a member of the Los Angeles area Better Business Bureau.

Karen's Seminars and Intensive Workshops include:

1. Jean Donaldson's Swimming Upstream: Training Against the Genetic Grain

2. Wayne Hunthausen, D.V.M.'s  Fears & Phobias, Compulsive Disorders, Aggression and Medical Causes of House Soiling

3. Patricia McConnell, Ph.D.'s  Diagnosing and Treating Aggression in Dogs

4. Dawn Jecs' Learning the "Choose to Heel" Dog Training System

5. Sue Sternberg's Recharging Your Instructing Skills, Reading Dogs and Defensive Dog Handling

6. John Fisher's The Nature of Dog to Dog Aggression, Living with the Emotional Dog and a New Perspective on Dominance

7. William Campbell's Consultation Skills

8. Jean Donaldson's Treat, Manage or Execute

9. Leslie Nelson's Can You Use All Positives in a Group Class

Additional Seminars attended include a week long intensive program given by John Rogerson on Behavior as well as behavior seminars given by Ian Dunbar and Roger Abrantes, and one given by Debra Potts on T-Touch, a dog massage technique that incorporates the use of "pressure points" to alter dog behavior and the APDT's Annual Conferences in Phoenix, San Diego, Chicago and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Karen's achievements include:

• Appearing on Amazing Animal Rescues on Fox Television and KABC Los Angeles Channel 7 News as a Dog Behavior Specialist. 

• Providing dog behavior counseling services to other dog trainers, groomers, dog day care owners and veterinarians.

• Performing low cost Behavior Consulting for Perfect Pets Rescue, Amanda Foundation, NEVA, Pet Adoption Fund, Pet Orphans, Villalobos Pit Bull Rescue, Husky Rescue, Golden Retriever Rescue, Labrador Rescue, Much Love Rescue, Angel Puss Rescue, and the Santa Monica and West Los Angeles Animal Shelters, among others.

• Serving as an expert witness, and providing written reports on dog behavior, for owners of "aggressive" dogs and "barking dogs" for Los Angeles county and in Animal Control hearings.

• Writing a monthly dog training column for a popular Internet publication called Valley Pet News. (see our links page).

• Training Knuckles the bulldog on the X-Show (for men and the women that put up with them) that ran on FX-FOX Cable Network from 1999 - 2001.

Karen was the first obedience instructor for the Pets in the Hood program, the brain child of Tia Torres of Villalobos Pit Bull Rescue.  Los Angeles probation camp adolescents learned to train and care for dogs by working with Pit Bulls from the Rescue, thus making the dogs more adoptable as well. (for more information see below and the other offerings page).

Karen Reardon Taylor now brings her expertise to you and your dog, while, of course, always continuing her education, as every good dog training and behavior modification specialist should.

Karen is currently a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and a Member of the Southern California Better Business Bureau.  In her limited free time, Karen can usually be found hanging out at home with her husband, Doug Taylor, and her dog Chance (an American Water Spaniel) and Screamer (the black cat),,, not to mention a whole bunch of her clients dogs who need a little extra training!

	Crash, the rescued Collie, and Karen learning to herd. Pictures shown below are Landis the rescued shepherd pup (Barbara’s dog) learning to herd with Karen Wessinger.

Barbara Schwerdt, CPDT began with My Best Friend Obedience as an Intern in January 2000.  After completing their six-month internship program, she was promoted to Training Assistant and in January 2001 to Apprentice Trainer, studying under Karen and Jeff. Before coming to My Best Friend Obedience, she completed a three-month internship with Alpha Dog Training in West L.A. Her interest in dog training was sparked after seeing her own dog-aggressive Shepherd mix "turn around miraculously" with just a few private sessions with a trainer. Barbara's other credits include working as a volunteer with the spcaLA from August 1998 - December 1999. Her volunteer tasks included working closely with their head trainer in teaching their H.E.A.L.  (Helping Enhance Animals' Lives) Program, to other volunteers and shelter employees. While there, she also applied for their Animal Assisted Therapy Program with her Shepherd mix, which became certified after passing their temperament test. She also added a canine agility class to her list of experience.

In 1999, Barbara and her husband became volunteer "Puppy Raisers" for Guide Dogs of America, where they raised a Yellow Lab puppy for them. This entailed taking basic obedience classes as a requirement for joining their program. Barbara is also a nationally-certified sign language interpreter, a skill which she has blended nicely with her interest in dog training. Several years ago, she interpreted a class for a group of Deaf and hearing impaired students. They were working with their own dogs in order to attain certification as Signal Dogs. Building on this experience, she later had the opportunity of interpreting for a Deaf person enrolled in one of My Best Friend Obedience's basic obedience classes. Since her main interest is in training service dogs, Barbara suggested to Karen that they try holding classes geared specifically for various physical challenges, such as wheelchair-bound, as well as for Deaf people. Barbara helps to design and assists these classes and applies basic obedience principles to the special needs of these groups of dog owners. She continues to learn new training techniques from both Karen and Jeff, accompanying them on private appointments as well as assisting in group classes. Barbara also runs a part-time pet sitting business with her husband   Gerry.  Her memberships include the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, and the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. She lives in the east San Fernando Valley where she shares a house with her husband, four dogs, and three cats.

Guest Trainers

FUN NOSE WORK

Instructor Bios

Amy Herot, Fun Nose Work Instructor

Amy has had a life-long passion for animals and has been professionally working with dogs for ten years. She is nationally certified through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), a graduate of the Balu Academy for Dog Trainers, and a John Rogerson associate. She also holds a Bachelor of Science from NYU and continues to attend workshops and seminars on canine behavior and training.  Amy and her dog, Maya, (a Dutch Shepherd/Malinois cross), are a nationally certified Narcotics Detection team.  Amy is also an instructor for basic and advanced Narcotics Detection at Sirius K9 Training.

Amy’s other canine working partner, Jesse, (a German Shepherd mix and Canine Good Citizen) who assists Amy in many training classes regularly works as a canine ambassador for Humane Education and the spcaLA training department.

Memberships include the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), Southern California Dog Trainers’ Forum (SCDTF), and West Los Angeles Obedience Training Club.  Amy is also an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator and certified in Pet First Aid and CPR.  Other achievements have been the spcaLA 2005 Outstanding H.E.A.L. (Helping Enhance Animals Lives) Volunteer and spcaLA 2006 Volunteer of the Year. In 2006, Amy and Maya took 3rd place in Narcotics Detection at the Gold Coast K9 Working Dog Trials. She also lectures and conducts regular demonstrations with both of her dogs for the Humane Education Department’s TLC and Camp Pedee programs at spcaLA.

FUN NOSE WORK

Instructor Bios

Ron Gaunt, Fun Nose Work Instructor

Ron Gaunt has lived and work with dogs the majority of his life. Ron began working with dogs and training for police work in 1970. He has trained, worked and managed service dogs for more than 30 years consecutively. During Ron’s 12-year tenure in the K9 unit with the Inglewood Police Department, he had the honor of working with three different K9 partners. Among Ron’s many accomplishments are multiple national certifications in detection, both explosives and narcotics. Along with many years of training detection dogs, Ron has trained hundreds of dogs for police work encompassing all aspects of K9 police work. One of Ron’s many accomplishments was that of Master Trainer. In 1981 Ron was the K-9 Program Director with the Inglewood Police Department and the training director of the Los Angeles Schutzhund Club.

Currently, Ron is the owner/operator of Travel’n Man Dogs, a private security firm established in 1995 with the purpose and objective of providing a service to private business and corporate America. His goal is to augment current security systems to facilitate the ultimate in personal safety and protection. Presently he is a working manager/handler of multiple Explosive Detection Dog teams deployed in the private sector; many of his clients are “Fortune 500” companies.

Ron has bred, raised, and trained in excess of 100 working dogs that have obtained degrees in both sport and police trails. Ron’s years of experience includes multiple breeds, but in recent years he has concentrated on German Shepherds, Labradors and Belgian Malinois for service detection work.

Jill Marie competes and trains in agility with her dog, Beckett. Beckett and Jill Marie are a nationally certified Narcotics Detection Team.  In addition to her work with Beckett, Jill and her other dogs have earned many training titles and have competed at the USDAA's Grand Prix of Dog Agility two years in a row. Jill Marie has added a new member to her canine pack, Raven a 7 months old Belgian Malinois who will some day be a working partner and detection dog. 

Jill Marie shares her life with her new son and wonderful husband for whom she thanks everyday for their patience and understanding as she continues to build and develop her understanding and skill in working with dogs and their people.