About me

My name is Kristen and I am the owner of Dogology WNY. In addition to being a dog trainer and behavior consultant, I am a licensed mental health counselor and have been working in this field for ~15 years. I have a BS in psychology and English from SUNY Geneseo and an MS in mental health counseling from Canisius College. For the past 10+ years I have been an active volunteer in local rescue. That started when I saw a dog posted on Facebook that needed a foster - he was first on a rural shelter’s euthanasia list because he had been surrendered by his owners (so there was no hold time, like there is for strays). He looked just like our resident dog at the time, and became our first foster dog - and our first “foster failure”. Since then we have fostered over 80 dogs (and only “failed” twice more). But that first foster failure dog - Gideon - had some fear and reactivity issues that began my dog training journey and lead me to pursue training and behavior as a second career - eventually enrolling in Victoria Stilwell’s Academy for Dog Training and Behavior and then pursuing my certification with the Council for Professional Dog Trainers and accreditation with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. I continue to be active in rescue; and in addition to fostering and helping with behavior and training, have had roles including direct care and training of dogs in the rescue/shelter, mentoring new volunteers, and working with adoptive families to find a good match for their homes.

I currently live with my four dogs and husband in Niagara County. My dogs have titles in dock jumping, barn hunt, nose work, CGC, and my oldest and best boy is a therapy dog with TDI and the SPCA’s Paws for Love Program.