About Cara

​Cara is a Certified Guide Dog Mobility Instructor (GDMI) through the International Guide Dog Federation and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. Cara trained guide dogs for people with vision loss at a prominent non-profit organization in New York for six years. Through her work with the over 100 guide dogs that she trained, she developed a broad knowledge base of dog behavior and cognition and cultivated strong training instincts.  Cara has spent the last four years providing in-home dog training and behavior modification to private clients first in Philadelphia and now in the New Haven area.  She focuses on relationship building, basic skills/basic obedience training, proper socialization, desensitization and counter-conditioning training, puppy training and housebreaking, and overcoming behavioral issues such as reactivity, separation anxiety, resource guarding, fears of strangers, dog aggression, etc.

Throughout her career, Cara has made the effort to spend time with other types of dog trainers to learn more about their specific fields and training techniques. She embraces the idea that in dog training, there is always so much to learn, and is therefore committed to continually improving as a trainer and expanding her understanding and skill set. Over the years, she has worked with trainers in the service dog field, scent detection field, and law enforcement field, gaining valuable insight and perspective that she has applied to her own training.

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Cara has a bachelor’s degree in history, which provided her with a solid foundation in critical thinking, writing, communication, and research. During her free time, she enjoys hiking, playing the cello, traveling, and exploring Connecticut's beautiful cities, parks, beaches, and coastal towns with her husband and dog, Ruby.