Even though I didn't know very much yet, I took a huge gamble and started my own training business in October of 1993. At this point I stuck with obedience work while I learned about "fixing" behavior issues.
I adopted another wolf puppy, Luna, in June of 1994, and gave birth to my daughter, Raen, in October of 1994.
In March of 1995, I was extremely fortunate to take a weeklong seminar with John Rogerson (and thus began my in-depth training in the world of pet behavior counseling).
By July of 1995, I had worked with over 300 clients, and had nearly 3,000 hours worth of research on behavior and training. I moved back home to Colorado (of which I am a native), and started my training business again, this time in my little town of Canon City. I continued to research behavior through books, observation, trial and error, and by attending seminars, lectures, and the like; which is how I was fortunate enough to work with Karen Pryor and Gary Wilkes and learn clicker training.
I completed a correspondence course to earn my Certificate of Canine Behavior in 1997.
In 1999 I was working in both Canon City and Pueblo, running group classes as well as in-home behavior counseling. I was taking in puppies for training before they went to their new families, with lots of help from Luna and Savage. I also had my own weekly column in the local newspaper, had appeared with my wolves on a couple local television shows, and was invited to do some animal training work with the Pueblo zoo.
My experience was up to 6,000 hours of study, including a 4-day training seminar with Ian Dunbar, and another 500 families.
In October of 1999 I gave birth to my son, Camaris, and decided to take a year off to be with my baby.
When I started work again in 2000, I decided to see what Colorado Springs had to offer. I soon began working with a local rescue group, Colorado Springs All Breed Rescue (CSABR), which led to work with local shelters, veterinarians, other rescue groups (including a wolf rescue), and doggy daycares.
Colorado Springs was a wonderful place to work, and I partnered with Lauren Fox the director of CSABR.
From January of 2000 to January of 2005 I was the President of The F.E.N.R.I.S. Foundation, parent company to Animal Instincts (the only all species, reward based pet-training facility in the Midwest).
I worked an average of 80-100 hours a week, attended at least 2 seminars (for continued education) per year, saw clients for behavior work, taught group classes, had a monthly call-in radio show, did demonstrations at baseball games, parades, schools, the YMCA, taught an animal behavior class at CIVA Charter High School with my partner, Lauren, and worked for the Pikes Peak Library District doing educational work with my wolves.
My experience with animals includes:
* Owning a Peruvian Inca Orchid from 1998-2006 (when she died of cancer); who earned an AKC, CGC title, and did multiple demonstrations in agility, advanced obedience, and tricks.
* Living with two wolf-mixes (85% & 98% wolf) from 1993 – 2007 (both died of old age); who performed frequently as ambassador wolves. Did demonstrations for obedience classes, helped train numerous puppies, rehabilitated dog-to-dog aggressive dogs. They made appearances on television news/educational programs, at the YMCA, at local parades, in elementary and high schools, and regular appearances for the Pikes Peak Library District.
* In addition to my canine behavior certification (1997) by 2005 I had completed over 10,000 hours of research on animal behavior with a large variety of species including: dogs, wolves, cats, parrots, horses, pigs, llamas, ravens, wallabies, sugar gliders, coatimundis, goats, and more.
* Creating canine culture in shelters, veterinary clinics, dog day cares and foster homes.
* The terms, meanings and use of scientific training methods including operant and classical conditioning as well as auto-shaping, bribes, motivators, reinforcers and punishments (I don't use any techniques that cause harm, mentally or physically).
* The use of purely positive methods for resolving aggression problems in and out of the family (for both common domestic, and exotic pets).
* How animals reason, communicate, correct, punish, & operate within family systems.
* How to use games for objective reliability testing.
* Creating positive responses to other animals/humans of all types and ages.
* Living with two wolf-mixes (85% & 98% wolf) from 1993 – 2007 (both died of old age); who performed frequently as ambassador wolves. Did demonstrations for obedience classes, helped train numerous puppies, rehabilitated dog-to-dog aggressive dogs. They made appearances on television news/educational programs, at the YMCA, at local parades, in elementary and high schools, and regular appearances for the Pikes Peak Library District.
* In addition to my canine behavior certification (1997) by 2005 I had completed over 10,000 hours of research on animal behavior with a large variety of species including: dogs, wolves, cats, parrots, horses, pigs, llamas, ravens, wallabies, sugar gliders, coatimundis, goats, and more.
* Creating canine culture in shelters, veterinary clinics, dog day cares and foster homes.
* The terms, meanings and use of scientific training methods including operant and classical conditioning as well as auto-shaping, bribes, motivators, reinforcers and punishments (I don't use any techniques that cause harm, mentally or physically).
* The use of purely positive methods for resolving aggression problems in and out of the family (for both common domestic, and exotic pets).
* How animals reason, communicate, correct, punish, & operate within family systems.
* How to use games for objective reliability testing.
* Creating positive responses to other animals/humans of all types and ages.
* Creating positive responses to a variety of stimulations such as thunder, water, vacuums, trucks, etc.
* Behavior and Temperament Problem Prevention and Rehabilitation.
* Animal nutrition & health: including handling and grooming.
* Working with disabled animals.
* Behavior and Temperament Problem Prevention and Rehabilitation.
* Animal nutrition & health: including handling and grooming.
* Working with disabled animals.
* And anything your animal can come up with to annoy, torment, disturb or vex you.
Any behavior problem can be resolved
…as long as it isn’t caused by a physical problem that cannot be fixed.
My experience with humans includes:
* Teaching humans “animal language” – physical, visual, olfactory & auditory communication as they create an interspecies family.
* Teaching the practical application of the law of behavior, understanding how different species process information, use of reward training, and a basic understanding of how behavior works (emotional and physical), in order to create better relationships with family members, friends, business associates and more.
* Public speaking (in groups from 50 to over 10,000 people)
* Pet grief counseling.
* Developing evaluations for families, to determine their counseling/training needs.
* Professional training of veterinarians and their staff to better understand animal behavior and language including private practices, and teaching 3-week courses each semester at Pima Medical School (from 2000 to 2005).
* Teaching behavior classes for a year at CIVA Charter High School (working with at-risk teenagers) so they can learn how positive reinforcement is more affective, than force and aggression.
* Working with families to create more positive relationships, and cooperation, specifically working to help the family and the individuals to have better communication, be able to express their feelings, and needs, and to listen with compassion so everyone can get heard, understood, and their needs met.
* Working with at risk teens, and mentally disabled (autism, bi-polar disorder, anti-social behaviors, etc.) to reduce stress, create cooperation within their family/work environment, create goals, learn skills that help to meet goals in a positive way, create better relationships without harm, punishment, force, or demands.
* Between 2005 and 2015; I put in an additional 10,000 to 15,000 hours studying, researching, and experimenting (practical application techniques) to better understand behavior, with an emphasis on humans (physiology, psychology, and so much more!).
* Compassionate communication: teaching how to understand and express feelings and needs, to be able to observe and judge ourselves and others more accurately, the use of body language, tone of voice, and micro-expressions.
* Helping humans get out of the monster/victim cycle, and become the hero they were born to be: getting their needs met, and helping others without anyone having to be, or make a sacrifice.
* Nutritional guidance for better over-all health (mental and physical) – without blame, shame, guilt, or feelings of deprivation.
Hello, and welcome to my world!
Since you are an invaluable addition to my world and experience, and I would like to be the same for you, please allow me to tell you a little bit about my knowledge and experiences. It is, of course, impossible to tell you everything, but I think the following is a good introduction. You are welcome to read the following “story” about me, or just skip to the right side column to see what it all adds up to.
Have a beautiful day, and thank you for visiting,
Meg Brubaker
Putting on library shows
My story
As most young people do, I spent some time in my 20’s trying to discover who I was, and what I really wanted. I did some job hopping, attended college, and then I changed my entire life in the early part of 1993 by leaping at an unexpected opportunity to adopt a wolf-mix puppy. I named him after my 5th grade teacher, Mr. Savage (pronounced like garage).
On my first visit to the vet with Savage I was handed an article that was titled “Wolf-hybrid; biological time-bomb.” Despite my vet’s concern, I was not discouraged!
My love of animals, and a challenge to do “the impossible” spurred me to extensively research training and behavior. I learned by reading (over 60 books on dog training, behavior, and wolves within 3 months), trial and error, and hiring a trainer who had experience with wolves.
By the time Savage was 6 months old he was a super-star. Friendly, fearless, and obedient, he made friends with everyone he met, and made me look great, even at the vet’s office!
My love of animals, and a challenge to do “the impossible” spurred me to extensively research training and behavior. I learned by reading (over 60 books on dog training, behavior, and wolves within 3 months), trial and error, and hiring a trainer who had experience with wolves.
By the time Savage was 6 months old he was a super-star. Friendly, fearless, and obedient, he made friends with everyone he met, and made me look great, even at the vet’s office!
Savage 1993 - 2006
My teacher, companion, and inspiration
My Resume
Always a full house
My beautiful children and I at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (2015)
Species I have worked with include:
dog, wolf, wof-dog, coy-dog, llama, horse (miniture and full-sized), pig, raven, cockatoo, cockateil, budgie, hamster, sugar glider, goat, guinea pig, bearded dragon, peacock, chicken, cat, gerbil, coatimundi, wallaby, hedgehog, and human
Because I worked with a rescue group, I worked with a lot of rescue animals. I also took in 1 - 4 foster dogs at a time, which meant I had a lot of animals in my home. At one point my own animals consisted of my 2 wolves, 4 dogs, 4 cats, 5 guinea pigs, 2 hamsters, 2 budgies, a cockatiel, a bearded dragon, and 17 fish. When you added foster dogs to the mix, you can imagine the time it took every morning just to feed the animals, and take care of all our friends.
My experience by January of 2005 included more than twenty different species, well over 8,000 beings (I stopped counting), I had accumulated at least 10,000 hours of additional study through seminars, reading, and research. I was on a roll, and I loved my chosen career!
In 2005 everything changed again for me. My husband went full-time into the military. I had to make a choice to continue to advance my career, or be there for my children. I decided that since I had only a limited time with my children (before they weren't children), they were going to be my priority. I chose to turn over my training business to my partner, Lauren Fox, and I spent the next few years home-schooling and being Mom.
In 2005 everything changed again for me. My husband went full-time into the military. I had to make a choice to continue to advance my career, or be there for my children. I decided that since I had only a limited time with my children (before they weren't children), they were going to be my priority. I chose to turn over my training business to my partner, Lauren Fox, and I spent the next few years home-schooling and being Mom.
During this time the kids and I continued to work with our own animals, and also spent time helping to care for a friends dogs, cats, and horses. I didn't stop my research or education either.
I spent time studying psychology, anatomy, physics, genetics, nutrition, non violent communication (NVC), trauma therapy, and took some on-line college courses. I also started writing things other than behavior programs (something I had always loved doing), and I finished my first science fiction novel in 2012.
Life continued, as life does, to change. Throughout the years many of our family animals moved on, and by July of 2012 we had a mere 4 dogs and 2 cats.
Life continued, as life does, to change. Throughout the years many of our family animals moved on, and by July of 2012 we had a mere 4 dogs and 2 cats.
In October of 2012 my kids and I moved to an apartment in Colorado Springs, leaving all the animals with their dad. I needed to start working again, and spoke to my previous partner, Lauren, who is now the director of All Breed Rescue and Training (formerly CSABR). She was thrilled to have me working again, and began right away to refer clients to me for behavior counseling.
In 2015 sadly, the kids' dad passed away. We rehomed the remaining animals, except for our cat Magnus who joined us in our apartment.
In 2016 My daughter moved out to pursue her own dreams, and my son, Camaris, and I bought a house.
In 2017 Camaris began to officially work with me as an assistant with outdoor clients. He had been working with me his whole life; so it was easy for him to be a big help. He is a very kind, calm, and experienced with dogs that have issues with men.
In 2020, with Covid-19, how I worked changed (as so many businesses had to). I started seeing clients in my home, and Camaris officially became my apprentice and business partner.
In 2016 My daughter moved out to pursue her own dreams, and my son, Camaris, and I bought a house.
In 2017 Camaris began to officially work with me as an assistant with outdoor clients. He had been working with me his whole life; so it was easy for him to be a big help. He is a very kind, calm, and experienced with dogs that have issues with men.
In 2020, with Covid-19, how I worked changed (as so many businesses had to). I started seeing clients in my home, and Camaris officially became my apprentice and business partner.
Like so many, I discovered that working out of my home had a lot of advantages, and decided that I would continue to work in this manner even after Covid.
In December of 2020 our cat, Magnus, passed away (at the age of 18). Shortly after we rescued a Northern Inuit dog/Malamute mix, Soren, and added him to our list of ways to help clients (when appropriate).
In December of 2020 our cat, Magnus, passed away (at the age of 18). Shortly after we rescued a Northern Inuit dog/Malamute mix, Soren, and added him to our list of ways to help clients (when appropriate).
In May of 2023 Camaris decided to change course and look for a different career. While I miss working with him, I fully support my son and his desire to find what truly suits him.
Since I'm just one person, and the nature of my work is very intense, I only see clients three days a week. This allows me to meet the needs of between 26 and 32 families at a time, which is all I can realistically keep track of.