Jill Kudera
CPDT-KA Certified Professional Dog Trainer
Licensed and Insured
Licensed Veterinary Technician
Canine and Feline CPR and First Aid Certified
360-516-3245
Positive Reinforcement Training
Get to Know Me
Hello! I’m Jill Kudera, a Licensed Veterinary Technician and Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA). I’ve spent more than 18 years working with animals, and over the years my focus has grown more and more toward dog training and behavior.
I believe good training is about so much more than teaching a dog to sit, stay, or come when called. It’s about learning to understand the dog in front of you—how they communicate, what they’re feeling, what motivates them, and what they need from us to be successful.
My approach is science-based positive reinforcement, force-free, positive reinforcement training to help build clearcommunication, trust, and a strong relationship between dogs and their people. Whether we’re working on everyday manners, puppy skills, leash walking, fear, reactivity, or more challenging behaviors, my goal is to help you understand the why behind what your dog is doing—not simply how to stop a behavior.
Most importantly, I want to give you practical tools that make sense for your dog and your real life. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Every dog, every person, and every household is different, and training should reflect that.
I love being a part of helping people better understand their dogs, building stronger relationships, and watching both dogs and their people grow in confidence together.
My Vision
I believe dog training should fit the dog, the person, and the life they share—not the other way around.
Every dog is different, and every household has its own routines, challenges, goals, and expectations. That’s why I focus primarily on private, one-on-one training that allows us to work with your dog, in your real-life environment, on the things that matter most to you.
Lessons can take place in your home, virtually, around your neighborhood, at a park, or wherever you and your dog need support. Sometimes that means working on puppy skills or everyday manners in the living room. Other times it means heading out into the real world to work through leash challenges, distractions, fear, reactivity, or simply learning how to navigate life together a little more comfortably.
There is no single training plan that works for every dog. I want to understand what your dog is communicating, what is driving their behavior, and what both of you need to be successful. From there, we can build practical strategies that make sense for your household and that you can realistically continue long after our lessons are over.
My goal isn’t to create a “perfect” dog. It’s to help you better understand the dog you have, build clear communication and trust, and give both of you the skills you need to enjoy your life together.
My Why
After more than 18 years as a veterinary technician, I became increasingly interested in something beyond the medical side of caring for animals: Why do dogs do what they do? What are they communicating? And what are they experiencing as they try to navigate a world built for humans?
When I first began my dog training education, I’ll admit I was a little skeptical. I had spent years around more traditional training methods, and positive reinforcement training was a very different way of looking at things.
I still remember one of my first lessons with a Certified Professional Dog Trainer. We were working with a little dog who became incredibly excited around people and jumped all over them. I watched the trainer begin working with him and remember thinking, “That’ll never work!”
But it did.
Even more important to me was how it worked. The dog was learning without fear or intimidation. His person was learning how to communicate with him instead of simply correcting him. Everyone was having a positive experience, and the dog was beginning to understand what we wanted from him.
That little dog completely changed the way I looked at training.
The more I learned about behavior, body language, reinforcement, fear, stress, motivation, and how dogs learn, the more I wanted to know. That learning never stops.
Today, one of my favorite parts of this work is helping people have those same lightbulb moments—when something their dog is doing suddenly makes sense. When we stop asking, “How do I make my dog stop doing this?” and start asking, “Why is my dog doing this, and what would I like them to do instead?” we can begin teaching them what we do want, while helping them feel safe and supported along the way.
That shift in perspective can change everything. And I love being a part of it.
