Taylor began working with dogs while completing her degree in Veterinary Technology from 2009 - 2011. During this time she worked with the Northwest SPCA in Oroville, and also with Yuba County Animal Care services. This work provided Taylor with the opportunity to handle hundreds of dogs (of all breeds, ages, and temperaments) on a weekly basis, and she gained extensive experience working with extremely fearful and aggressive dogs.

 

In 2010, Taylor took a particular interest in working with a unique feral dog, an experience that led her to accept an apprenticeship under JoAnn Fine at Top Dog Obedience. Taylor was grateful to learn from a trainer with decades of experience, and during her time as an assistant she continued her education in training methodologies, developed programs to increase client engagement, created new classes, and became an integral part of the team. Taylor eventually took over as the primary trainer at Top Dog, where she taught Obedience, Rally, Agility, and behavior modification for nearly a decade.  Taylor has trained thousands of dogs (and people!) during her career, and she takes particular interest in difficult and hard-to-train cases.

 

Taylor is extremely passionate about both teaching and learning!  She holds undergraduate degrees in both Veterinary Technology and Evolutionary Biology, and she recently obtained her Master’s Degree in wildlife genetics from the Canine Diversity Unit at UC Davis.  During graduate school Taylor taught numerous biology classes at UC Davis, including a class she helped design that taught learning and life skills to first generation college students entering the sciences. After completing her Master's degree in 2023, Taylor moved back to Grass Valley where she founded Take the Lead Canine Coaching. Taylor is thrilled to be back in the community she loves, and excited to continue using her teaching skills to help both dogs and humans live their best lives together.

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