MEET THE TEAM

Meet Donna | My Story

I Started as a Dog Owner, Just Like You

I never set out to become a professional dog trainer. I was a dog owner who adored my dogs, wanted to do everything right, and knew I had more to learn. My Manchester Terrier, Phoenix, inspired me to seek answers. I dreamed of enjoying life together, especially having the confidence that he would come when called and be reliable off-leash. I later wanted those same skills for my Doberman, Zeus.

I hired a trainer and did the homework, but I felt I was missing something important. I was being told what to ask my dog to do without fully understanding engagement, my own communication, or why things worked. I tried another trainer, found more success, and kept looking for deeper guidance. Each person I learned from offered nuggets of knowledge and those valuable aha moments.

The Workshop That Changed My World

I attended a two-day workshop working around challenging dogs and met Behesha Doan of Extreme K-9. That experience took my understanding to another level. I began seeing the depth of communication and learning that goes into truly working with a dog. It was exciting, eye-opening, and, honestly, a little mind-blowing. I wanted to learn everything I could.

I enrolled in professional dog training education primarily to become a better trainer for Phoenix and Zeus, not because I expected to build a career from it.

Giving Back to Rescue Dogs

My involvement with Doberman Rescue Unlimited in Sandown, New Hampshire, allowed me to give back to dogs in need. Rescue work also taught me to look at the dog in front of me: their history, their confidence, their daily environment, and what they need to feel secure. No two dogs arrive with the same experiences or learn on exactly the same timeline.

Why I Traveled to California to Study Puppies

When I began working professionally with dogs, I realized how many families needed help from the moment they brought home an eight- or nine-week-old puppy. Yet my earlier training-school education hadn’t focused specifically on very young puppies.

I wanted to give those families better guidance, so I flew to Santa Rosa, California, and studied puppy development, puppy management, and early training with Michael Ellis for two weeks. That experience brought my education to another level and helped shape one of my greatest passions: giving puppies and their people a strong start before difficult habits have time to take hold.

Discovering the Importance of a Dog’s Emotional State

Later, studying with Mark McCabe of Training Between the Ears helped connect many pieces of my learning. I had taken valuable ideas from different training philosophies, including positive-reinforcement and balanced approaches, and continued searching for ways to make training clearer and fairer for the dog.

What especially resonated with me was the focus on emotional states and the way emotions influence behavior. A worried, insecure, fearful, or overly excited dog may struggle to respond even to familiar cues. When we help that dog feel safer, develop relaxation skills, and learn new responses, behaviors linked to stress can sometimes diminish, and obedience can become more productive.

Emotional work is important, but it’s not a guaranteed cure for every behavior or a replacement for appropriate training and veterinary care.

Communication Is Training

One of the most important things I teach owners is that dog training doesn’t begin and end when you put on your treat pouch. How you greet your dog, respond to jumping or excitement, reinforce settling, set boundaries, and move through ordinary routines is all communication.

Communication is training—even when you don’t realize you’re training. That’s why human coaching is central to what I do. I want you to understand what you’re teaching your dog, why you’re doing it, and how to apply it during real life, not just when I’m standing beside you.

Why I Founded The Daily Dog

In 2012, I founded The Daily Dog to help more owners experience the same breakthroughs I had been searching for with my own dogs. Over more than 20 years of working and learning with dogs, my enthusiasm hasn’t faded.

I continue studying, observing, refining, and looking for ways to make things easier for both ends of the leash. I love the aha moments, the improvements in confidence, and seeing people enjoy life with their dogs. It has never really felt like work to me.

I Would Love to Meet You and Your Dog

Whether you’re preparing to welcome a puppy, excited to train your new rescue, want to advance your adult dog’s skills, or have been struggling with a behavior that just isn’t improving, I would love to hear your story. We begin by understanding your dog, your goals, and your everyday life.

Wags & Gratitude,
Donna Dunlop
Founder & Professional Dog Trainer
The Daily Dog, LLC

Calm. Clarity. Connection.

A Calm Dog Changes Everything.

My Training Philosophy

The Daily Dog Difference

A Calm Dog Changes Everything. My approach is Dog Training & Human Coaching: helping dogs become calmer, more confident learners while helping their owners understand how everyday communication shapes behavior.

Emotions Influence Behavior

Dogs that are frightened, anxious, overwhelmed, or highly overexcited often find it harder to focus and respond. I look at how a dog is feeling as well as what a dog is doing. Supporting emotional comfort and teaching alternative responses may reduce behaviors linked to stress, while long-established habits may also need direct training.

Teaching Relaxation

Dogs can learn to settle, observe, recover from excitement, and make calmer choices. Relaxation doesn’t mean suppressing personality or expecting a dog never to feel stress. It means giving dogs useful ways to respond with greater confidence and comfort.

Communication Is Training

Everyday moments teach something: our timing, body language, attention, boundaries, greetings, and routines. I coach owners to notice what they’re reinforcing and communicate more clearly, even outside formal training sessions.

Real-World Lifestyle Training

Training should improve life together: greeting visitors, relaxing during meals, walking on a leash, waiting at doorways, coming when called, and responding around age-appropriate distractions. We build foundations before increasing challenges.

A Thoughtful, Individualized Approach

There is no universal program or timetable for every dog. We start with the dog in front of us and adjust progression, reinforcement, management, and suitable training tools with welfare and safety in mind.

My training is not a promise of a specific outcome or a substitute for veterinary or specialist behavior care.