About Manuela

Manuela Hejna is a certified dog trainer as well as TellingtonTouch & SATS practitioner who embraces alternative animal approaches. The combination of techniques create solutions for a variety of emotional and behavioral conditions.

Manuela was born in Germany, studied and earned certification in alternative animal medicine and behaviorist at the ATM School in Hamburg in 1996. She earned additional certificates as a dog trainer with the Animal Behavior College, as a TTouch practitioner by the TTeam Guild in New Mexico and with the SynAlia System. She has additional experience as a veterinarian assistant and has practiced in the field of behavior therapy/training since 1999.

Manuela had a successful animal training business in Michigan for 10 years and has in addition worked to train dogs for the Invisible Fence Company. She has been featured in articles in the Ann Arbor News and other Michigan newspapers. She has relocated to Phoenix in 2010.

In 2020 she also completed training for Anesthesia Free Dog Teeth Cleaning. She is available for home visits and individual instructions. She also offers classes and presentations for clubs, schools, training facilities and other organizations.

Why I do this work.

In Germany during the 1980’s, I was living in a little house with two Rottweilers, two rabbits, two cats, and a canary—all in harmony without anyone in a cage. We lived in harmony because all of us communicated with each other and understood that every creature was part of this family. From this experience came my determination to help others learn to communicate with their pets, and live with harmony in their families.

As I thought about how many, challenges can occur in the relationship between humans and animals, I realized that there is much misunderstanding about what animals need, what is harmful to them, and what is reasonable to expect from their behavior. I began a study of Alternative Animal Medicine in 1996, and The Tellington Touch Method for animals in 1997, and also attended a variety of Behavior Modification Programs for dogs, so I could see how I might blend and integrate approaches.

After I came to the United States, I founded The Center for Animal Therapy LLC. - now known as Center for Animal Training - which offers an integrated approach to enhancing the understanding, communication, and setting of expectations between animals and their families, necessary for creating harmony. Therefore, we address any obedience issues, behavioral issues or just not knowing “how," as well as help you to understand and remedy any emotional problems in your animals, such as fear or aggressiveness. We can help you handle adding a new animal or human member into the family and coach you on ways you can help an animal cope with issues of old age and death.

Our training is force free, uses positive reinforcement and includes an orientation to social issues among dogs and other animals. Understanding, for example, how dogs communicate their needs with each other helps to see how a dog attempts to find its place in a family. Many common problems are due to lack of effective communication between the animal and the human.

Our work is brought directly to your home. We find it is most helpful for us to assess the needs of the family and the animals in their natural setting. It also will enable us to see the behavior you are looking to improve. Dogs never act the same as they do at home when brought to a different place they don’t know and confronts them with a lot of new and unfamiliar smells. We will teach and show you methods the whole family can use, based on your particular needs and abilities, to create harmony in behavior, and enhanced love and understanding between people and animals in your home.

Why Choose Us? 13 Reasons.

1. Sessions provided in your home

2. Evening appointments available

3. Inclusion of your whole family into the work (if you wish)

4. Effective communication with your companion animal

5. Assistance on integrating new members to the pet family (human or pet)

9. Positive basic training with force free training techniques

8. Integration of teaching about dog communication and social behavior

7. Understanding of your animal's health issues.

(We are not a replacement for a veterinarian but we can teach you a technique that will help you to enhance the overall health of your companion)

6. Use of the TTouch Method

10. Help with any emotional, training or behavioral issues

11. Commitment to looking at every situation as unique

12. Constant further education on our part

13. Increase in mutual understanding, communication and rapport between human and pet

Come share the problem you're having. Let's see how we can help.