Our new Junior Trainer, Allison Kao, has been working in the animal training field since 2008. She has worked with and trained a variety of species at different institutions and

Allison with Dexter and Delilah

organizations, including the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Pueblo Zoo, the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Shedd Aquarium, and Canine Companions for Independence. Allison has a passion for all animals, but she really became interested in dog behavior and training after adopting her second dog, Delilah.

"One of the most important things I learned while training giraffes is that a good trainer always considers the advice of others. That's one of the things that really excites me about joining AnimalSense - the best way to learn is to surround yourself with great trainers!"

Allison credits her dog Delilah, who suffers from separation anxiety and is highly reactive on walks, with opening up a whole new world of dog behavior. Allison feels that working with Delilah through her reactivity issues by using positive reinforcement has made her a better trainer.

"I feel that every species of animal can have its own training challenges, and therefore the more species you work with the better trainer you become. Working with both dogs and humans will make me a better trainer. I hope to one day be able to be able to take part in rehabilitating "problem" dogs so that they can find loving homes."

Allison's favorite behavior to teach is eye contact. "Eye contact is one of the strongest tools an animal trainer can have. Many people take it for granted because most dogs have no problem with this. But when you are working with a fearful or shy dog, or even an exotic animal, gaining that animal's trust to the point where they are comfortable enough to look you in the eyes is an amazing feeling."