March 26, 2024 marks Behavior United’s 6 year business anniversary and Jackie Moyano’s 11th year as a dog trainer. Let’s look back to how Jackie pivoted from a long career in respiratory therapy to dog training!

Jackie is a dog trainer because of her cat and mom. In 2007 her mom passed away from breast cancer. Suddenly, life for Jackie was so finite. Why was she wasting time in a career she no longer enjoyed? What did she enjoy? She didn’t know what her next step was, but she knew she didn’t want to be a respiratory therapist for the rest of her life. Time to make another dream come true, because who knows how much time any of us has left.

Jackie slogged through the grief abyss, experiencing milestones like marriage and buying her first home without her mom. Her mom loved her husband and would have loved their first condominium, except for the original 1980s kitchen. After surviving a challenging 3-month kitchen remodel during snowmageddon 2010, she wanted to reward herself with a companion animal. Because their condo was on the 8th floor, they decided to adopt a cat instead of a dog. They named their 1-year-old gray Siamese cat Slinky.

One night after they had gone to sleep, they heard a crash. They jumped out of bed and immediately realized their kitchen design flaw. Open shelves above the countertop instead of cabinets. Slinky knocked a stemless wine glass off of the shelf. Not a great financial loss, the glass cost about $3. The financial and wellbeing impact was watching Slinky try to eat the glass! “WHY!?” they shrieked. They were able to intervene in time and no Slinkys were harmed.

Glass eating had to be prevented. Jackie did what anyone with animal problems does, she asked Google. Jackie spent hours researching cat behavior articles and books. She finally ordered a book called “Think Like A Cat” by Pamela Johnson Bennett. With a few changes in her behavior, Jackie was able to change Slinky’s behavior. That was incredibly reinforcing for her.

Helping Slinky change his behavior reminded Jackie of her childhood dream. She wanted to work with animals! Jackie cold-called trainers asking if she could apprentice with them. One woman turned her down because she had a cat instead of a dog. Jackie described the training and behavior modification she had done with Slinky, but that did not matter to her.

That “no” was the best thing that happened to Jackie’s training career. Because of that “no”, Jackie apprenticed with another trainer, Sandy Modell of Wholistic Hound Academy in Alexandria, VA. Sandy told Jackie about Pat Miller’s academies at Peaceable Paws. Jackie completed all three of Pat Miller’s academies making her a Pat Miller Certified Trainer. At Pat Miller’s 1st academy, another trainer told her about Bob Bailey, ScD. She worked for and completed all 5 Bailey-Farhoody Operant Conditioning Workshops where, after scientific lectures, training principles were practiced by training leghorn chickens.

In addition to numerous hours of animal training education, Jackie passed the Certified Professional Dog Trainer exam. Between 2013 and March 2018 she volunteered at an animal shelter, got her first paid part-time dog training job, quit her job as a respiratory therapist, transitioned to a full time dog trainer, adopted her own dog, became an entrepreneur, and launched Behavior United, LLC with her former business partner. Had you told Jackie at the launch of Behavior United, LLC in 2018 that she would have to navigate a government shutdown, her business partner moving away, and a pandemic, she wouldn't have believed you. But, Jackie’s still here, helping dogs and their people live their best lives!

Behavior United, LLC gives back to the community. Charity work includes donating dog training services for fundraisers benefiting Flora Singer Elementary School PTA and Improbably Comedy.