Our Story
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 over 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 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.
Other Humans Behind the Leashes at Dogology WNY
Taylor Brown: Taylor has her B.S. in Animal Behavior and loves to pursue continuing education. Currently she is studying an Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation course for certification. Taylor has transferred her behavior and neurobiology knowledge to positions supporting people, too. And is always seeking more knowledge to advocate for and support children in our ever changing world. She strongly believes we can do more together to create a kinder, more humane world! She is passionate about humane education, volunteering, cooperative care, learning through webinars, courses, networking and her animal library, improving animal welfare and any opportunity for creativity (especially in creating enrichment for animals). She loves teaching classes for Dogology of WNY Behavior &Training and private education sessions, too! She has also been an in-home animal caretaker for 11 years. She adores her family’s three rescue dogs: Indi, Mikki & Chia and striving to improve their welfare. The connection and reverence she feels with one-to one time with them doing agility and other preferred enrichment and cooperative care sessions is a gift, and a constant reminder to cherish as many moments as possible with each pup. She is excited to observe Indi sniffing and finding inner peace in a nose work class at Dogology of WNY very soon! A Certified Fear Free Groomer, Taylor teaches Happy Handling and Fear Fighters. She is also a runner and teaches Pace Theory!
Maura Tyrrell, PhD, CPDT-KA: Maura is dedicated to providing effective, human solutions to improve her client’s relationships with their canine companions. She helps guardians understand their dog’s behavior and how to meet their physical, mental, and emotional needs. With force free, positive reinforcement based training techniques, she helps guardians strengthen their connection with their dog in a fun, relaxed learning environment. Maura is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed; and she has a PhD in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior and teaches animal behavior courses at Canisius University.
