Three Questions - Lynn Brezina

By Jamie Damato Migdal, CEO & Pet Industry Entrepreneur

We like Lynn Brezina for a lot of reasons - she's smart, she's funny, and even her casual commentary about dogs is invariably insightful and right on the money. But one of our favorite things about Lynn is that she does a mean Duck Tolling Retriever imitation, and that is definitely something you don't see every day.

Which dog has taught you the most, and why? I learn something from every dog I work with, but I suppose I learned the most from Rafe. He was very attuned to me, and bonded with me in a very unique way. He learned things seemingly instantaneously. As a result he taught me a lot about timing. He also taught me a lot about reading dogs for a couple of reasons: 1) he read other dogs keenly, and could respond to them in exactly the right way to calm the other dogs down, and 2) his own body language was very easy to read.

How do you “pay it forward”? I give a lot of free time to prospective CompanionAbility clients and people who are looking for a new dog or some kind of help with a behavior problem, whether they hire me or not. I also give away handouts whether people hire me or not. I want people to get good information so they can make good decisions. I am generous with my time with clients as well. I try to keep my prices fair and am happy to help clients at no extra charge on the phone or email. I am also happy to spend time with anyone interested in working with companion animals, or becoming a dog trainer or handler.

Has your favorite breed of dog changed over time? I don’t really have a favorite breed, but I have been working with dogs since 1971 and in that time I have seen all the breeds change, mostly for the worse. Most have actually changed physically, and all have vastly more medical problems. Many have inheritable behavior problems, too. I have seen the number of dogs within each breed explode, as well as the number of breeds recognized by kennels clubs. And I have seen what I feel is a troubling trend: difficult dogs from shelters being placed as family pets, as well as a large increase in the number of breeds that were never bred to be pets being sold as pets.

Photo of Lynn with Ashley courtesy of Lynn Brezina.