Our mission at Love Your Dog is to present our readers with the right information they need to become better dog owners for their furry family.
Originally started as a website for children, Love Your Dog is now a website that covers all topics related to owning a dog which include:
- Training and Behavior
- Breed Information and Comparisons
- Dog Product Reviews
- Nutrition Education and Food Reviews
- Dog Wellness including Supplements & Insurance Advice
- Resources for Parents, Kids and Teachers that provide an educational overview of owning a dog
Kelly Wilson - Managing Editor
Kelly is the managing editor at Love Your Dog. She has revitalized Love Your Dog with the help of her oldest daughter who is 13. This effort was only possible due to the wonderful work and effort that the original Founder, Janet Wall contributed over the years. Janet made Love Your Dog one of the most sought after resources about dog ownership since 1997 (you can read more about her below). Kelly is a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and a member of the Dog Writer’s Association of America. She has been published in other online publications about dog ownership and contributes regularly to the site as both an author and editor.
Kelly has owned many dogs throughout her lifetime. Her dogs include:
- A Female German Shepherd Mix named Pepper (Rescue Dog)
- A Male Golden Retriever Chow Mix named Nugget (Rescue Dog)
- A Female Chocolate Lab named Bailey that passed away at 13 years old (Rescue Dog)
- A Male English Mastiff named Uhtred (Current Dog aged 3 and was a rescue)
- A Female American Mastiff named Freyja (Current Dog aged 3 from a breeder)
This is a passion project for Kelly and her family. Kelly has 4 kids and a husband who she’s been married to for 15 years. Her oldest daughter is passionate about rescue pups, and is helping with the Love Your Dog mission. She’s responsible for many of the article topics on this site and hopes to one day become a veterinarian.
Kelly contributes to the site and acts as the managing content editor for all content posted to Love Your Dog. You can reach her at [email protected] with any questions or stories you’d like to share.
We continue many of the traditions that Janet Wall (the original founder of Love Your Dog) had in place, including posting stories, pictures and videos from our readers.
You can catch up on Kelly’s contributions to LoveYourDog.com as an author by checking out this page here.
Janet Wall - Founder and Author
Janet Wall was the original founder of Love Your Dog. She gave the website the base it has today, and has many years experience in handling and training dogs, which is detailed below. Jan will continue contributing to the site when her schedule permits.
About Jan:
Jan grew up in Southfield, Michigan, with two brothers and a sister. When Jan was two years old her parents took in a collie named Laddie. During her childhood the family also had a fox terrier, a dachshund, and a German shepherd.
Through Jan’s teenage years she studied all she could about dogs, their care, and training. She loved reading books about dogs, especially Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight, and the Lad a Dog series by Albert Payson Terhune. Jan joined dog clubs and her collies won ribbons at dog shows.
After High School Jan went to Eastern Michigan University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and her Teaching Credential. She began teaching in Michigan Public Schools in 1974, the first nine years with hearing-impaired students. Jan was awarded a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education at Western Michigan University in 1980.
Collies remained Jan’s passion and she enjoyed competing in AKC competition. She trained, Duke, Star, and Brandi for obedience trials. She conducted dog obedience classes for children and adults.
Jan moved to San Diego, California, in 1982 and received a Communication Handicap Specialist Credential from San Diego State University, and her Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential for California Public Schools. Jan continued teaching special and general education, kindergarten through sixth grade, in Chula Vista, California.
In 1985 Jan designed a Humane Education Program to teach kindness and responsibility to children. She developed a lesson series using dogs as the theme and, along with her collies, Trouper and Kelly, Jan taught the lessons at schools in Chula Vista, CA. Later, Jan would adapt her Humane Education Program for the Internet and create the website, How to Love Your Dog.
Besides her professional work, Jan served as a volunteer puppy trainer for Canine Companions for Independence. She promoted pet food drives for Animeals. Jan joined Therapy Dogs International in 1988 and began regular therapy dog work with Trouper, in health facilities for severely handicapped children and Alzheimer’s patients.
Jan joined the volunteer staff at Alvarado Hospital in 1991. Along with Trouper and Kelly, her second therapy dog, she visited stroke and brain-injured patients.
Jan took leave from the school district in 1998. She found a partial replacement for her love of teaching in the creation of this website. How to Love Your Dog was based on Jan’s original Humane Education Program. In 2003 Jan launched a second website as a resource for therapy dog owners, Therapy Dogs.Net.
Until the spring of 2006 Jan volunteered at Kaiser Hospital in the pediatric oncology department. Cody and Bailey, Jan’s registered therapy dogs, provided comfort and friendship to children receiving chemotherapy treatments.
Jan also was responsible for the orientation of new therapy dogs and their handlers at Alvarado Hospital. Currently, she enjoys her hobbies: dog agility, gardening, and photography.
You can see all of Jan’s content on this page. Some of her content has been updated and revised over the last 6 months, but we’ve strived to keep the original theme of LoveYourDog.com intact.
Emma Braby - Author
Emma Braby is a writer with experience in blogging, copywriting and ghost-writing. She left her almost decade-long job as a Police Officer in the UK for a better life travelling around Europe. Her time as a Police Officer was spent in the Investigation Unit interviewing witnesses and suspects, as well as writing complex crime files for the Crown Prosecution Service. She currently travels with the love of her life, Bonkers her rescue dog, whilst her husband Matt tags along.
Emma enjoys writing about all thing’s dog, travelling and health and wellbeing. Her hobbies include taking an obscene amount of selfies with Bonkers, and all the other dogs that she is lucky enough to look after along her travels, as well as long walkies in the forest and embroidery.
She has vast experience of looking after all kinds of dog breeds with their different personalities, due to her many years of experience as both a professional dog sitter and as a volunteer in her local dog shelters.
Emma’s long-term plans are to fine-tune her successful writing career, to keep travelling until she finds somewhere to settle down, have some little humans and rescue as many dogs as her back yard will allow.
Emma is one of our featured writers who contributes regularly to LoveYourDog.com. You can catch up with all of Emma’s content on this page.
Gemma Johnstone - Author
Kristin Hitchcock - Author
Kristin Hitchcock has loved pets since she was a child. She grew up in Tenessee and continues to live there today with her husband and young daughter. She currently has a multitude of pets, including four dogs, three cats, two fish, and three lizards.
She is passionate about helping pet parents make informed, educated decisions and increasing awareness on little-known pet topics. She loves helping owners stay up-to-date on current scientific information as well as giving practical advice on all things pet.
You can catch up with all of Krsitin’s articles on LoveYourDog.com on her author page here.
Amber LaRock - Author & Vet Tech
My name is Amber LaRock. I am a Licensed Vet Tech that took my career online to spread knowledge on animal welfare, as far and often as I can! I grew up with a deep passion for helping animals, and knew that it was my life’s purpose. After gaining my degree in veterinary technology along with my license, I began work in an emergency animal hospital.
With the experience I gained from my time in the hospital, I have been able to travel the world, offering my services to as many animal rescues as I can find. If I am not at my laptop, or back home visiting family, you can find me somewhere in the world, cuddling every furry friend that I can find! You can find all her content on LoveYourDog.com here on this page.
Shannon Maguire - Author
Shannon Maguire is a seasoned traveler, reader, animal lover, rescue advocate, and dog mom. Her zest for life and its adventures has always contributed to a deep passion for storytelling. This love of storytelling became intertwined with her love of dogs during the slow summer walks of her childhood with her beloved Golden Retriever named Guinness. As an adult, the special bond she shared with Guinness shines through in all facets of her writing and her life.
Shannon is a Content Creator for Pet Industry websites and businesses. She is a passionate rescue advocate and has fostered many dogs from local shelters. She is a part-time dog sitter and a full-time dog lover. Shannon resides in Los Angeles with her two rescues, a 10-pound spaniel mix named Boots and a 100-pound Great Dane/Lab mix named Bear. This oddly sized pair informs much of her writing. If you’d like to keep up with Boots and Bear’s many adventures, please check out Shannon’s personal blog at Doggo Dance. You can see all of her content at LoveYourDog.com right here.