Karyn
was born in Des Moines, Iowa. At the age of nine, she moved
with her family to Bombay India where she was exposed to
the harsh realities and living conditions that exist in
third world countries. This experience influenced her desire
to help others and to make a difference in the world. After
a little over three years in India, her family returned
to Iowa.
Karyn
graduated from high school in 1971, and attended a small
junior college in Iowa Falls, Iowa. She was fascinated with
psychology and sociology courses where she was introduced
to the principles of behavior modification – principles
that she still uses today.
Shortly
after graduating from junior college, she purchased her
first dog, a female German Shepherd. Karyn had grown up
with her family’s cats and dogs, but this German Shepherd
was her very own. She named the dog Erikka, after a best
friend she had known in India, and Erikka did, indeed, become
the best friend a dog could be. She credits her relationship
with Erikka as the reason for transforming her life and
becoming a dog trainer.
Karyn
had always suffered from allergies in Iowa - and had never
really appreciated the winters either - so she decided to
move to Phoenix Arizona in 1975. Shortly after moving, she
found it hard to leave Erikka at home when she went to work,
so she began looking for jobs where she could take her dog.
Her first such job was working for a guard dog service.
It was not a very prestigious position, but she could have
her dog with her, and the hours worked out well as she continued
attending school at A.S.U. At the time, collegiate courses
in animal behavior were almost non-existent, and dog training
was seen as a hobby by most people.
She
learned a great deal about protection training at the guard
dog service - as well as other lessons she still tells stories
about today – but it was time to move on. Karyn responded
to an ad for a local dog training business looking for dog
trainers. At the time, the only dog Karyn had really trained
was Erikka, but during the interview, Erikka scored very
high with her performance, and Karyn was hired. She began
her on-the-job training teaching other people to train their
dogs. She used the principles of behavior modification,
along with the leading dog training books at that time,
to get started in her new career. Erikka worked side by
side with Karyn until she made her transition, which Karyn
has written about in the story “Dogs
Do Go To Heaven Too”. To this day, no dog has
touched Karyn’s heart quite the way Erikka did. Karyn
will tell you she believes that Erikka was heaven sent.
Karyn kept her position with the first dog training business
for a little over three years and then decided to open her
own business. Since she had a formal agreement not to compete
with her former employer, she relocated to Tucson, Arizona
where she has a well-established practice today. Her wealth
of knowledge comes from her working experiences. Her career
in dog training has provided her with the opportunity to
counsel others and to make a huge difference in their lives,
as well as their pets. She also has supported the training
and careers of many of her associates who have worked with
her along the way.
Another
area of growth for Karyn’s business has been in pet
products. A professional trainer is always recommending
certain products to their customers to manage certain behaviors.
Karyn discovered in the early 90’s a very successful
method of training for marking behavior in male dogs. You
can read the story, “How
It All Began” on her website www.MarkOut.com.
She developed a dog diaper to modify marking behavior and
wrote a training manual entitled “MarkOut Marking?”,
which details everything you need to know and do in addition
to using the MarkOut Wraps. Developing this product - from
the idea to its result - took commitment and determination.
If
you ask Karyn what drives her, she will tell you that she
is very committed to saving pets’ lives. A large percentage
of dogs and cats are relinquished by their owners and ultimately
euthanized because of behavior problems that were not dealt
with effectively. Saving lives has been a major part of
what drives Karyn and ultimately rewards her.
In
1998, she had an opportunity to diversify again by acquiring
the dealership for Invisible Fence brand pet containment
systems. At the present time, she owns the
Invisible Fence brand dealership for all of Southern
Arizona, which stretches from Phoenix to Nogales. She has
been criticized by positive re-enforcement trainers for
working with electronic equipment, but Invisible Fence brand
pet containment systems do save lives. She also has been
a loyal dealer for Tri-Tronics
bark collars and recommends their line of remote training
equipment when she thinks the situation calls for it.
Karyn’s
business, Karyn Garvin & Associates, Inc., has expanded
into pet training products and services. Most of the specialty
pet products that she carries are not available at local
pet stores.
In
September 2004, she opened her first dog day care called
Barkin Garvin’s Dog Day C.A.R.E. Garvin’s
Pet Doors is another division of her business, which
began in 2005. Karyn also is planning to build her own pet
plaza, which will include a shop that will feature specialty
pet products and provide pet training services as well.
