DANIELLE WILSON
Owner, Canine University

Detailed Resume

Danielle earned a B.S. in Education from Slippery Rock University and has been training many different breeds of dogs for the past 17 years. She is a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen Evaluators, Therapy Dogs International, Delta Society Pet Partners, High Flyers Hunting Retriever Club and the Greater Pittsburgh Golden Retriever Club. She most recently accepted a contract position with Paws With A Cause® assisting with the training and integration of Assistance Dogs for people with disabilities and providing lifetime team support which encourages independence.

She established a regional therapy dog program in Western PA and actively participates in competition Obedience, Field and Agility events. She was a charter member of Duke University Children's Hospital and Medical Center Critical Care Pet Therapy Volunteer program and began a visitation program at the Ronald McDonald House in Durham when she lived in North Carolina. During her 17 years as an obedience enthusiast and instructor she has attended yearly educational seminars given by the APDT in the area of advanced temperament evaluation, canine performance enhancement, aggression issues in pet and shelter dogs, evaluating shelter dogs, and countless others. She also runs a therapy dog training discussion group, A1 Therapy Dogs, on the internet with over 80 world wide members. Danielle is currently working to become a Therapy Dog Evaluator.

Her oldest Golden Retriever and founding father of Canine U, Jake, was awarded a medal of honor in 2001 from the American Kennel Club. He achieved the Award for Canine Excellence in the area of Therapy Dog Volunteer and the Golden Retriever Club of America awarded him the first ever Gold Standard Award. Only one of these awards is given yearly to an outstanding Golden Retriever. Jake received it for his countless hours of Pet Therapy Volunteer work. Jake was given a certificate of achievement, the TDIA pin, by Therapy Dogs International and Delta Society honored him for his 8 years of volunteer service. Her Golden Days Read-Ins at local libraries are a big hit with children experiencing reading difficulty. She also uses her dogs in presentations called Prevent-A-Bite to teach children how to prevent being bitten by a dog. Additional information on Jake's accomplishments and gentle nature were featured in a book entitled The Compassion of Dogs. Jake had 10 agility and obedience titles accumulated throughout his career. Sadly he passed away in 2005 due to auto immune disorder.

Her current canine family (in addition to son, Ryan and husband Doug) consists of Cobi, Luna, and newest member Dewey. Cobi is a 7-year-old Golden Retriever with 6 titles in obedience, agility and field. Cobi also has a working certificate from the Golden Retriever Club of America. He is also a Therapy Dog International and Delta Society volunteer therapy dog at Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital. Luna is a 5-year-old Labrador Retriever currently competing in field and agility events. She has various field trial and hunt test ribbons and currently holds 2 agility titles. She has a working certificate from the Labrador Retriever Club of America. Dewey is a 1 year old labrador retriever who is just starting his field career. He currently has multiple passes at the beginning hunt test level and is beginning his agility training.