Blues Moon-About Us

JACQUELINE'S BACKGROUND

Jacqueline has used her expertise in dog training to give back to the community by volunteering for the East Valley Animal Shelter in Van Nuys, CA. She trains dogs that would otherwise be killed because they keep getting passed by for other younger, calmer dogs. Many of these dogs' only fault is that they are too exuberant and previous owners didn't know how to handle them so they ended up at the shelter. Working with dogs that need a little extra attention and that require someone with a deep understanding of animal behavior and motivation is Jacqueline's specialty. With her CGC Evaluator credential, Jacqueline knows what it takes for a dog to be a "Good Citizen" in the home and out in public.

In order to obtain her degrees, she had to work with numerous other species at school and other animal parks. Having completed externships at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, Los Angeles Zoo, and Santa Barbara Zoo she has used her knowledge of training wild animals to train the easier species, the dog.

Jacqueline also volunteers a few days a month at the Wildlife Waystation in the Angeles National Forest. This allows her to keep in touch with the wilder species and benefit from deepening her experience in Animal Behavior and Management.

The common thread in training all these animals, including dogs, is that they respond very well to positive reinforcement training. A great example is that you cannot pull the dominance game with the Tiger you see in the photo on the left. Who do you think would win that training session?

Dog training at the shelter

Working with high energy dogs and those with short attention spans is one of Jacqueline's specialties.

Exotic Animal Training

Beginning with a rat, Moorpark College schooled Jacqueline on the finer aspects of training animals using Positive Reinforcement techniques to achieve many training behaviors. Jacqueline learned how to teach husbandry (caretaking/veterinary) behaviors such as washing the eyes of a hyena and preparing a coati for an injection, to cute and practical behaviors, such as “sit”, “stay”, and “come”.

Since graduating from Moorpark, Jacqueline is able to use her knowledge and techniques at the Wildlife Waystation help the exotic animals in their care. She has trained and maintained behaviors for bears, various hoofstock, and a hyena.

Washing the Eyes

Shaking Hands

Wildlife Education Management

At Moorpark College Jacqueline completed the curriculum for this degree which prepared her to teach the public of all ages about animals and conservation. These presentations were conducted in classrooms, on stage at Moorpark’s Zoo, and various other venues, usually with live animals.

From 2000 to present Jacqueline is an Outreach Presenter and Animal Handler for the Wildlife Waystation. She gives presentations about animals, animal care and conservation to the public at schools and other events.

Animal Behavior Management

At Moorpark College Jacqueline learned how to care for animals’ both physical and psychological needs. Proper care for any person or animal is key to their health and well being. Jacqueline utilizes the techniques used in both the dog world and the zoo world to assist people in keeping their animals in the best possible state of being.