Bette Stallman Brown, PhD, Owner and Mutt Mentor
I earned my PhD in biopyschology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Early in my studies, I focused on motivation, learning, brain physiology, and neuroethology. Later, I shifted to behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology. My dissertation research centered on the social behavior and reproductive success of marmots living at high elevation in the White Mountains of California. A far cry from dog training, but it was pretty cool.
Though I’d dreamed since childhood of following in Jane Goodall’s footsteps, I found, to my dismay, that the animal behavior field was saturated with field researchers. In other words, no one was willing to pay me to sit on a step ladder at 12,000 feet, observing large, furry rodents!
I then spent four years working on human-wildlife conflict issues for The Humane Society of the United States. It was disheartening to see how certain wild animals, like coyotes, are treated in some areas. (Why kill them when we could train them?) So I went to Plan C: science writing. It’s engaging and it pays the bills. But animal behavior has always been my passion.
My return to animal behavior began in 2014, when we adopted our German shepherd/malamute mix, Kaia. By 2015, Kaia had inspired me to begin volunteering at our local animal shelter, Frederick County Animal Control, with the aim of helping other pets who’d found themselves homeless, like Kaia.
I established the all-volunteer Canine Enrichment Team at the shelter to provide socialization, manners, behavior modification, and off-campus excursions for the dogs. And I founded the shelter’s “friends” group, FFOCAS, to help raise needed funds for shelter pets.
Over the course of 6 years, I learned how easy (and rewarding!) it is to resolve dog behavior issues without punishment or intimidation. I gained experience with resource guarding, reactivity, and fear-related issues in addition to manners and impulse control. I even had the opportunity to train shelter cats as a way to help them gain confidence in the stressful shelter environment. I delved into the scientific literature on animal learning and canine behavior modification, consulted with every trainer who crossed my path, and devoured every book and course I could find.
By late 2020, I realized that it was time to return to my roots and combine my research background with my more recent practical experiences by becoming a dog trainer.
Shown in the photo: Capone, a young dog with an unmatched exuberance for life, who spent a few months at the shelter before finding his committed adopter.
Lindsey C. Brown, Apprentice
I am Bette’s 11-year-old daughter and apprentice. I spent my elementary school years learning all about animal shelters and rescue groups, developing a fierce protectiveness of all pets, aiding with training videos, and absorbing all that my mom has learned about training and behavior modification.
My first animal behavior teacher was our late kitty, Ceora, a senior Maine coon. Ceora developed chronic health issues when I was tiny. The discomfort caused by her conditions made Ceora understandably grouchy. From Ceora, who actually was quite tolerant of, for example, having 20+ stuffed animals piled on top of her, I learned to respect an animal’s space. Thanks to Ceora, I am a pro at meeting fearful pets.
My second teacher was Kaia, whose resource guarding was directed at me, then age 5, in the form of nipping. Once we learned how to address this issue, I played a key role in transforming Kaia and this experience, in turn, has shaped me.
Shown in the photo (which is a few years old!): Barley, fka Javon, a wonderful dog who wound up at the Frederick shelter and found his lovely forever family at a yappy hour event.
Muttamorphosis
Dog Training
(301) 693-9661
frederickmutt.com 