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I’m Crystal, founder of Crystal Clear Canine Academy. I’ve been working professionally with dogs and their people for more than 20 years, but my start with dogs goes back even further. I grew up on a farm in Bruce, Wisconsin, started training dogs through 4-H at 13, and originally went to college intending to become a veterinarian before realizing I was far more interested in behavior than medicine.

 

That interest took me to Triple Crown Academy for Professional Dog Trainers, now Starmark Academy, outside Austin, Texas. After graduating, I was offered an apprenticeship and later joined the training department, where I worked with dogs and owners through private lessons, group classes, behavior cases, and board-and-train programs. During my time there, I also developed curriculum for two of the Academy’s distance education programs and served as an instructor for professional dog trainers.

 

In 2009, I returned to Wisconsin and worked with The Canine Coach in the Twin Cities before starting my own training business in 2011. Since then, the majority of my career has been spent building and running Crystal Clear Canine Academy while continuing to work directly with dogs and their owners. Over the years, I’ve worked with everything from puppies learning how to navigate the world to dogs with complicated behavior and aggression concerns.

 

More than two decades into this work, I’ve learned that good dog training isn’t about having one method or one answer. I’m a balanced trainer, and I want to understand the dog in front of me, the person living with that dog, and what is actually happening between them. I’m especially interested in how space, pressure, and energy influence behavior and communication, and in helping owners understand not just what to do, but why they’re doing it.

 

Dogs can learn new patterns quickly. Creating lasting habits, developing better coping skills, and changing the way a dog and owner live together takes time. That’s why my work today is less about giving someone an hour of dog training and sending them on their way, and more about building a relationship.

 

My goal is to give people clear how-tos, support when they need it, and a plan that makes sense for everyday life. Sometimes that means I’m very involved for a period of time. Sometimes a client comes back months or years later when something changes.

 

Either way, I want Crystal Clear Canine Academy to be a place where you and your dog have someone in your corner for the long haul.

 

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