Khala is an Alabama native who recently moved to Seabrook, Texas with her 2-year old Boston Terrier/Fox Terrier mix Charlie to be closer to the family. This ultimate go-getter found her love for dogs around the age of two when she got her first dog “Bandit”, a lab/St. Bernard mix that grew to over 110 pounds. Even as a small child she was able to connect on another level with animals, especially with dogs, which lead to an unbreakable bond and understanding. She has had several dogs over the years in various different breeds and temperaments, she has found through making training fun and rewarding, using effective communication and consistency is the key to a well-behaved companion.
Khala hasn’t always been a dog trainer, although the passion and drive was there from an early age there were other adventures to be had. Once graduating from high school the quest for something bigger had begun. She was accepted to Harvard, but could not attend due to an accident the summer after her senior year. From that point she was lost, not sure what to do with her life, so she worked hard at the local hardware store and on construction sites, but still, something was missing. Next, she went to massage school, this was fun but not quite the right fit, but she still earned her degree and passed the national boards, making note of how her education could benefit her in the future. She studied nursing and business, but it wasn’t until she found psychology that things started to make sense. Earning a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology lead to a higher understanding and ultimately to her passion. She worked in group homes and psychiatric hospitals and was able to see the impact that service dogs, emotional support animals, and care companions have in healing and recovery. It was in that moment that Khala felt like her purpose had been found, not only to train dogs, but the higher calling was building the relationships between human and animal.
Working closely with the Humane Society she was able to take rescue dogs to the group homes for visitation and talk about the benefits of having a care companion in treatment, therapy, and recovery. She was also able to rehabilitate the shelter dogs for reintegration back into a loving home by teaching the core good behaviors; recall, sit-down-stay, focus, enter and exit kennel/doorways, leave-it, take it, go to place (bed), loose leash walking, and heel to name a few. She is a graduate of Animal Behavior College (2011, ABCDT) and has a goal of helping rescue animals and people with severe mental illnesses by creating a safe environment for learning and growth. Since graduating Khala has had her own training business and continued to work with people with severe mental illness, substance abuse, and emotional disorders; her focus in dog training is to build the relationship between canine and human, using only positive reinforcement techniques and trust building exercises. Every life experience up until this point has prepared Khala for the opportunity to help other people with their canines, from the basic use of good manners to giving your dog a “job”.
She has experience in providing rehabilitation, puppy classes, socialization, basic obedience classes, advanced obedience, Canine Good Citizen training/prep, private in-home lessons, behavior modification, dog walking, day care, and cage-free board and train. She also has experience with fearful/skittish behaviors, disabled animals, especially amputees and deaf dogs.