An Introduction

It’s me! Amber!

I am so happy! I have been writing for years. Blogging for other online outlets, articles for print magazines, and dog training books I’ve never published but now, I get to blog for YOU. My loyal clients, friends, colleagues, and followers. Thank you for this opportunity.

For my new followers, please allow this first blog to be an introduction. My name is Amber Theising Walker. I am a mom of two kids, a very old yellow Labrador, and wife to a magnificent husband who is so supportive of my dog training career.

I graduated Southern Illinois University, Carbondale and have 2 degrees: Zoology and Speech Communications. I went to work for Brookfield Zoo as a zookeeper and trainer in the Children’s Zoo for 4 years. I left and headed to Seward, Alaska for 1 year and did rescue and rehabilitation of marine animals, basically anything in the ocean. We rescued too many harbor seals to count, 1 Stellar sea lion, 1 baby walrus, 1 whale (which ended up being too large for our facility to take so he went elsewhere), several sea otter pups (incl. Kiana, who now lives at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago!) and countless other marine birds. I came back to Brookfield Zoo and spent 1 year inside Seven Seas with marine mammals. From there I did 3 months at Phillips Park Zoo before Disney’s Animal Kingdom offered me a position as an animal trainer (Sorry Director Randy Johnson! He was so generous and kind when I left PPZ). While in Florida, I also volunteered at University of Doglando (Teena’s place is incredible, go there!) and started my hands-on education with dogs. And after 2 years, I came back to Chicago suburbs to get married and start a family and spent 6 years with Shedd Aquarium’s marine mammals and quarantine teams.

This is when I went back to school. Karen Pryor Academy accepted me in their Animal Training and Behavior program and I intensely studied dogs. I received my dog trainer certification and started Animal Intuitions, LLC. And here we are!

So in short, June 2017, I’ve been training animals for 16 years!

I have a few hobbies that could be professional work if I took it there but I don’t want to add stress to my stress relievers! I am classically taught piano and self-taught guitar. I played clarinet and harp for a 1 year but haven’t touched them in 15. I write songs and then I sing them anywhere from the Internet to hookah bars. I am a hard-core hobby photographer of wildlife, landscape, and my kids. And finally, I paint. Landscapes mostly because people look ridiculous when I put them on canvas.

I’m a right brained artist with left brain degrees! Welcome. And thanks for hanging out!