Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Deb spent most of her childhood around her Grandfather who bred Yellow Labs. She began training dogs as a hobby and in the early 90’s, she moved to Southern California and shadowed a seasoned trainer and picked up certain techniques and communication skills she still uses to this day.
She started teaching group classes in the back parking lot of a local pet store. It wasn’t long before she was offering private teaching packages and meeting clients in their homes, including Patricia Arquette, Comedian Billy Connolly, to name a few.
Patricia’s Arquette’s pups
In 1997, she opened Camp Happy Dog, a full service state-of-the-art facility featuring grooming, classes, boarding, day-care, pet transportation, dog adoption, and retail products. Camp Happy Dog quickly became one of the premiere dog day care facilities in Southern California and was featured in Fido Friendly and Dog Fancy Magazines, The Daily News (L.A Life), Valley Magazine, and was interviewed by CBS, ABC, and Fox News in L.A.
Deb has more than 26 years experience teaching and rehabilitating dogs of all ages, breeds, mixes and backgrounds. She is also a CGC (Canine Good Citizen) Evaluator and helps place volunteers and their companion dogs in facilities making a difference for people in need of unconditional love and support.
In 2004, she sold Camp Happy Dog and moved to one of the most dog friendly states...Colorado!
Deb was hired by the nation’s largest pet retail chain as senior area trainer teaching thousands of puppies, dogs, and pet parents as well as accrediting the trainers for their program.
She is currently the host of “The Mutt Matcher” radio show on Denver’s Talk Station 630 KHOW. Deb lives with her husband and four dogs in Parker, Colorado and continues to teach dogs, educate pet parents, and save lives.