Vona Darnell
Certified PRO Dog Trainer
I have had dogs all my life! I have over 35 years of professional experience working with dogs as a Veterinary Technician, professional pet groomer, and a professional dog trainer. I started my adventures in training at the age of 17 teaching my Queensland/Aussie mix, Wrangler to work and herd cattle. Eventually, I moved on to obedience, fly-ball, and herding classes in addition to working with a protection dog company. Additionally, I volunteered as a leader for my local 4-H chapter and taught obedience classes to the kids, who would then participate in statewide competitions. Prior to becoming a trainer, I worked as a Veterinary Technician for 10 years and was the owner and operator of Coalinga Pet Grooming. In 2019, I brought a service dog program to Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP); I was a puppy raiser and a prison liaison for the program. Due to lack of funding, the program was closed and no longer operates at PVSP. While the program was active, to further my education in positive reinforcement training in 2021 I became a certified Pro Dog Trainer through Absolute Dogs. In 2023, I brought Second Chance Canine Program to PVSP, and I met Angel with Wiley’s Wish (WW). Wiley’s Wish, www.wileyswish.com sponsors our prison program and I work closely with Angel and WW, as the trainer for the dog program. The @secondchancedogprogram has expanded to three (3) facilities! I have further developed my skills through the Animal Behavior College (ABC) building on my certifications as a certified ABCDT and have become an American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen evaluator.
I own and operate Zen Games Dog Training and am part of a Bigger Braver World along with Jen Duff (Cool Dog Crew) and Jill Murray (Wags and Kisses, LLC). The Bigger, Braver World chronicles the journeys of Odin, Sierra, and Ana through their training from taking the small world they live in currently, where they lack confidence, optimism, and struggle with disengagement to teaching them they could live in a Bigger, Braver World through positive reinforcement training in the form of games and relationship building. A Bigger Braver World podcast will be coming soon!!
Everyone who gets a dog has a “why”. Mine is powerful, as is yours. The reason I became part of the Pro Dog Trainer movement is because of a dog named Finn.
I was Finns’ Puppy Raiser, and he was supposed to be a service dog. He had a lot of potential and a heart of gold. I loved him! Due to the COVID pandemic, Finn was inaccessible to me for four (4) months. At the end of that long break, we started to notice Finn was a different dog when I picked him up for the first time. For the next three (3) months, Finn’s behaviors became erratic requiring the service dog organization to remove him from the program. I was heartbroken because something was wrong with Finn, and I didn’t know how to help him. Finn eventually went to live with a very respected and knowledgeable person, who had the means and resources to figure out what was going on with him. We found that Finn had an incurable neurological issue which was causing intense pain. Finn was humanely euthanized on December 17, 2020. His death had a huge impact on me. I wanted to save him and couldn’t. Finns' loss left me searching for a different path.
