Bonita
This month we are featuring our trainer, Bonita. Bonita is a Certified Dog Trainer with certifications from Petsmart and Petco since 2007. She has 3 yrs experience as a vet tech, and is also the owner of www.ManhattanLifestyleApparel.com. They are unique in the fact that they have clothes & accessories specifically designed for large breed dogs and the people who love them. A portion of their profits are donated to large breed rescues.
Her journey began when she was very young, and would read books on dog training. She practiced on her friends’ dogs as well as her own. It wasn’t until her 8 yr old daughter passed away from heart defects that she decided to do something with her God given gift.After 20 years in the optical field she started a very successful dog walking & pet sitting business to help fill the huge hole in her heart.
Bonita always owned Chow Chows, but an encounter with a Great Dane changed everything. That’s when she instantly knew this was the breed for her. She acquired a deaf Great Dane and it was truly a life-changing experience!!! Her deaf dane, Brooklyn, taught her so much and changed her whole approach to dog training.
After a very successful 3 years running her dog walking & pet sitting business Bonita wanted to try dog training. She got a job at Petsmart. Well, actually, her great dane, Manhattan, secured the job for her. She took Manhattan to the interview and after 5 mins she was hired on the spot.
Caring for and training dogs has truly been a joy, not a job for Bonita! She has trained deaf dogs as well as humans with physical and mental challenges. Bonita believes that through positive reinforcement anything can be accomplished. Her background in childhood psychology also plays a big role in her success.
You can work with Bonita via our group classes, day camps, and she teaches our Canine Good Citizen (CGC) course as well as an agility course.