About Us — A Balanced Dog LLC

Meet The Trainers

Shannon
Owner/Trainer

Shannon has over 13 years of experience in the Animal Industry. She graduated in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science & Technology from the University of Rhode Island. She has interned with Animal Control, volunteered in the shelter, and worked as a Veterinary Technician at a local animal hospital. She was then employed as an assistant trainer to a well-established trainer. There she worked with dogs all breeds and sizes, in training that ranged from basic obedience to working with severe behavioral imbalance such as dog/human aggression. She also worked at a kennel as a dog daycare manager for 5 years. There, she worked with dogs of all breeds- creating and controlling large socialization groups. It was between working as a trainer and as a daycare attendant she saw how she wanted to create a business using a combination of the two. So in the summer of 2016 she started booking her first clients and A Balanced Dog was born.
In her free time, Shannon enjoys participating and competing in various sports with her dogs. From weight pull, to dock dive, disc, agility, barn hunt, and fast CAT. Shannon plans to get involved in GRC with her newest puppy this year. In May of 2024 Shannon was invited to attend the Westminster Dog Show to compete in dock dive with Kona and they won 1st place! Then in October 2024 Shannon and Piper qualified for the Fast CAT invitationals where Piper became the 3rd fastest Labrador Retriever in the country.
Shannon is also pet first aid and CPR certified through Pet Emergency Education and she’s a professional member of the International Association of Canine Professionals. She frequently attends various dog training seminars throughout the year to continue her education as well as takes training classes with her own dogs to train them in various sports and expand her knowledge there.

Alice
Trainer

Alice has always had a natural and calm ability to communicate with dogs. She often practiced different training techniques on her dog Kaiya to build a solid foundation by learning commands, desired behaviors, and utilizing training tools to hold her accountable. After Alice adopted Shelby who was extremely dog reactive, and Remington who was rehomed 5 times at 10 months old, she recognized the need for balanced dog training. She has successfully focused her time on providing her dogs with clear, consistent communication, structure, and boundaries to become much more calm and confident dogs.
Prior to being a dog trainer, Alice was a United States Marine for 5 years and a Veterinary Technician for 4 years. As a result, she has extensive experience practicing various techniques to reduce fear, anxiety, and stress in her aggressive/reactive patients. When a 1-year-old Golden Retriever patient kicked her and fractured her sternum, she decided to make it her job to help families learn how to communicate effectively with their dogs to help set them up for success. Alice believes that this is one of the most important aspects of her job and she enjoys meeting new families and helping their dogs be a better member of the household.

Tori
Assistant Trainer

Tori has always loved being around animals, she grew up around dogs, horses, and livestock. Through out high school she was very active in her schools Future Farmers of America program as well as agricultural classes and her electrical career and tech program. In one of those classes she learned about veterinary science and became pet first aid and CPR certified. In 2018 she got her first dog, a boxer named Pepper and in 2019 she adopted her soul dog Brex a staffy mix. She enjoyed training with both of her dogs and seeing their progress. Brex was the proof that old dogs can learn new tricks. In 2021 she began her journey into the dog training world working under a well-established trainer as a kennel attendant and assistant trainer. She worked there for 2 years, during her time there she worked with dogs of various breeds and sizes and training from basic obedience to severe behavioral cases. Despite working for a trainer that used purely positive methods Tori used balanced methods with her own dogs at home. Tori decided she wanted to advance her skills with balanced training methods and joined the A Balanced Dog team in 2023. Unfortunately she does not have either of the two wonderful dogs who got her into training anymore Pepper leaving her in mid 2022 and Brex passing away in October 2023. In November 2023 Tori traveled down to Ohio to pick up her new side kick a female fox red lab puppy named Tig.

Continued Education

We have and continue to attend many seminars throughout the years because just like in dog training, there’s always more to learn! Training never stops!

Shannon & Alice with Jay Jack, Larry Krohn, and Joel Silverman

Shannon with her dog Tanner working with Jay Jack

Meet The Pack

Tanner

Tanner is the guy everybody wants to be. He is very balanced in his energy and demeanor. It’s like he’s cool without trying and dogs often try hard to get the “cool kid” to like them! Tanner helps us with the more difficult females (and males). He is not afraid to correct any unbalanced or rude behavior fairly to help dogs find more balance.

Piper

Piper extremely sweet. She is very social and respectful of everyone she meets. She helps the new dogs come out of their shell. Piper is the first to tell everyone “don’t worry, it’s lots of fun here!” She has developed into a very well balanced dog for the rest of them to follow.

Colby

Colby is one of our smallest members of the pack, but he is also the boss. At 14 years old, he’s not interested in any rough-housing and dogs immediately understand and respect him. There is just something about him that dogs just know from the start that they have to respect him despite his size!

Kona

Kona is our helper with just about every dog that comes through here. She is actually my parents dog who lives next door! So whenever we are looking for someone to walk by down the street or a distraction to walk with, we call her up! She will be seen in many videos as the distraction for dogs to work through reactivity or excitement with.

Baz

Baz is the newest member of the pack! He just recently turned 1yr old. He provided us with lots of puppy content! He is always making everyone smile due to his silly antics and the smile he’s always wearing. In his short year with us so far, he has already helped many dogs come out of their comfort zones and taught them to be more confident. Whether it just by being a friend, teaching a dog to swim or try a new sport. He’s always happy to show off and be the example to lead others.

Addie & Millie

We often get dogs that like to harass their cats at home. Our resident cats are very dog savvy. They are not afraid to get close and test dogs, as well as put them in their place! They also often attend our group classes.