Note from Jyl

little did I know that a wonky legged one-eyed dog would change the direction of my life. for years I had perfect dogs. perfect pets, actually. and lots of them. I worked in radio for a long time, using my position to help animal rescue groups whenever I could. Blue Dog Rescue in Austin Texas did me a good turn, so I was returning the favor when this totally broken puppy appeared. I was in love. our other dogs were not. two years later I realized that the fear that our funny little puppy was showing had grown into true fear based aggression and I needed help fixing it. I met Lee Mannix - a bigger than life texan with a gift when it came to reading and training dogs. he told me a few years later that when he saw my dog he didn't think she could be helped, but he agreed to work with me and (for once) kept his opinions to himself. with Lee's help (and the help of other trainers at his center) I dealt with the issues, and more that arose - altering my personal interest into a mission to help people enjoy their dogs and to work with other fearful and reactive dogs.

Along my dog training journey, I was introduced to Tellington TTouch - and have been fortunate to work frequently with the developer of the technique - Linda Tellington-Jones and her sister Robyn Hood. Encouraged by them and the other TTouch Instructors, I realized that TTouch was the tool that made the most sense for me in my search to create more trusting relationships between dogs and their owners. I continue to assist Senior Instructors at 6 day trainings, and lead my own 1 and 2 day seminars on the technique. Because I infuse all my training with TTouch, I consider myself a TTouch Practitioner that Trains Dogs.

Certifications and Qualifications Background

Jyl Hershman-Ross is a Level 3 Tellington TTouch Companion Animal Practitioner. She has studied with and assisted seminars led by Linda Tellington-Jones, Robyn Hood, Lucie LeClerc, Kathy Cascade and Debbie Potts in the United States, Australia, and Canada. She is a Behavior Consultant working with challenging, fearful, disabled and shy dogs, an experienced Certified Professional Dog Trainer (Knowledge Assessed) through the CCPDT, a member of the Pet Professional Guild, Certified in Pet Loss & Grief Companioning, a trained Red Rover Volunteer and a Canine Good Citizen and Trick Dog Evaluator for the AKC. She also is the in-house trainer for PAWs Shelter of Central Texas and trains their Canines Who Care Therapy Dog teams.

She enjoys working with rescue groups and shelters to help make dogs and cats more adoptable. She trains with her own dogs, and with clients and their dogs in a variety of sports for fun (Agility, Barn Hunt, Herding, Conformation, Air Scent, Nosework, Tracking, Lure Coursing, Therapy Dog, Rally-Obedience), and continues to learn new sports and attend webinars and seminars with a variety of respected international Trainers and Behaviorists to gain new skills and perspectives.