Beyond's staff are trained in an accurate analysis of dog behavior and humane treatment rooted in positive reinforcement. We have designed our care to safely accommodate dogs of a variety of behavioral needs including dog aggression, resource guarding, nervous/fearful dogs, and dogs with a bite history. We are happy to speak with you about your dog's behavioral needs.
Beyond the Walk is bonded and insured through Business Insurers of the Carolinas. Beyond the Walk LLC is a limited liability corporation.
Diane began her career in retail management and progressed to corporate retail in store operations. Diane holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from the Anisfield School of Business at Ramapo College of NJ. She changed career paths to align with her passion for animals and worked in shelter management for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). She earned the certificate of CPDT-KA from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers in 2017. Over her 10 years of experience, Diane has worked with thousands of dogs in a variety of capacities including training, behavior evaluation, behavior modification, owning and operating daycare and boarding, sheltering, and foster/rescue. She has provided training and behavior solutions, evaluations, consulting, and husbandry services to hundreds of dog/client teams and adoptive/foster homes with several rescue groups she consults for.
Diane has experience with fearful/nervous dogs, high arousal behaviors, high drive/energy breeds, resource guarding, aggression, dog-dog issues, and dogs with bite histories as well as developing behavior modification plans and advanced canine skills. Diane's five rescue dogs are a variety of breeds and personalities which she has trained to overcome behavior challenges including resource guarding, fear, dog-dog issues, and aggression. She has trained, and continues to train, her dogs in a variety of skills, sports, and working capacities including trick dog and competitive agility, dock diving, rally, disc, and scent work as well as search and rescue and pet therapy. Diane volunteers with Creature Comfort Pet Therapy both as a certified working pet therapy team with Girl and Kane, volunteers as a therapy dog evaluator, and is a certified AKC evaluator.
Diane's expertise in behavior and training is rooted in the expansive, scientifically documented benefits and effectiveness of reward training. In training and boarding, she uses food and toys to reinforce desirable behaviors. Diane believes in empowering dogs within their comfort level, respecting dogs' communication, and maximizing choice, clarity, freedom, and enrichment. She believes in setting dogs up for success, creating a fulfilled and enriched life for each unique dog, and earning dogs' trust. She works at each dog's pace and bases rewards on their preferences and their humans' goals. Diane passionately seeks modern practices and is dedicated to continuing her education in the canine field.
photographed: Diane's dogs left to right; Ross Girl Bo Riley Pup Kane
Crack the Whip the First TKI
Yorkie/Chihuahua/Maltese Born 2013
Riley was surrendered to a shelter for "not being housebroken and can't be trained". Her shelter cage said "caution! bites!". In 2014 I fostered Riley and I knew after a few days that she was whip smart and here to stay! Riley has trained through resource guarding, dog reactivi
Crack the Whip the First TKI
Yorkie/Chihuahua/Maltese Born 2013
Riley was surrendered to a shelter for "not being housebroken and can't be trained". Her shelter cage said "caution! bites!". In 2014 I fostered Riley and I knew after a few days that she was whip smart and here to stay! Riley has trained through resource guarding, dog reactivity and selectivity, and human fear aggression. Riley now knows over 25 cues and is one of the smartest dogs I have ever met. Through counter conditioning and no forced contact, Riley has come to learn that new people aren't scary and now welcomes new people!
Riley earned Novice and Intermediate trick dog titles.
Riley is working on training in the sport of scent work.
Best Served Ice Cold THDN CGC TKI
(certified therapy dog)
Siberian Husky Born 2016
Kane was seized by NYPD for being left in an apartment with his sister as a baby while the "owner" was on vacation. The owner was given a second chance, but Kane and his sister were picked up again by NYPD for running through the streets of Queens. After their
Best Served Ice Cold THDN CGC TKI
(certified therapy dog)
Siberian Husky Born 2016
Kane was seized by NYPD for being left in an apartment with his sister as a baby while the "owner" was on vacation. The owner was given a second chance, but Kane and his sister were picked up again by NYPD for running through the streets of Queens. After their legal case, they were made available for rescue. Kane came to our home with the intention of fostering him, but after recovery from spinal meningitis, I decided to adopt him. As he aged, meeting new dogs became stressful for Kane. He successfully trained through dog reactivity and resource guarding by working at his pace and also needed crate training. Kane has continued to make progress with his neutral and affiliative behavior towards other dogs.
Kane passed therapy dog testing and earned his Canine Good Citizen and Novice and Intermediate trick dog titles. Kane provides animal therapy through Creature Comfort Pet Therapy and assists in therapy evaluations for new teams and as a neutral dog for training.
Kane is working on training in the sport of rally.
Nobody Puts Puppy In the Corner TKI ACT2
Australian Cattle Dog/Beagle Born 2016
I brought Pup home as a foster from an inner-city shelter after he was transported from the south. He was not separated from his littermates at 16 weeks of age or socialized which is very detrimental to a puppy's behavioral development. He was extremely fearful
Nobody Puts Puppy In the Corner TKI ACT2
Australian Cattle Dog/Beagle Born 2016
I brought Pup home as a foster from an inner-city shelter after he was transported from the south. He was not separated from his littermates at 16 weeks of age or socialized which is very detrimental to a puppy's behavioral development. He was extremely fearful and was dubbed "Corner Puppy" for his behavior of clinging to a corner in my kitchen for weeks and the name "Puppy" stuck. He remained indoors for months as my urban area at the time was too scary for him. Through dedicated counter-conditioning and association training, he was able to grow from scared of shadows to able to compete in agility. As Pup matured it became apparent that he requires some management around other dogs due to big feelings when aroused, but has been successful in hiking with his housemates.
Pup earned his Novice and Intermediate Trick Dog and beginner trick titles and earned an additional qualifying and second place score in agility.
Pup is working on training in the sports of disc and scent work.
Maned Wolf Was a Dog TKI
mixed breed Born 2017
Bo was fostered here for about 8 months in 2018. He was scared and vocal when he entered foster care. Bo has a particularly loud alert bark when meeting new people which confused and made prospective adopters nervous. While in foster, Bo helped test guest dogs to see if they would like dog comp
Maned Wolf Was a Dog TKI
mixed breed Born 2017
Bo was fostered here for about 8 months in 2018. He was scared and vocal when he entered foster care. Bo has a particularly loud alert bark when meeting new people which confused and made prospective adopters nervous. While in foster, Bo helped test guest dogs to see if they would like dog companionship during their stay and ease fearful dogs into boarding. Bo had been such a helper in foster, I couldn't imagine my workday without him and he continues to be imperative to dog evaluations here at Beyond. Once adopted, as I began to teach Bo skills and tricks, he learned that training involved his behavior could make treats happen and it was like a lightbulb went off in his head! Bo quickly grew from a dog that knew zero cues to knowing much more than just the basics. Bo has made huge strides with meeting new people and enjoys making friends, jumping in their lap for cuddles (his favorite) in just a meeting or two.
Bo has earned Novice and Intermediate tricks dog titles. Through his interest in dogs, Bo has worked lost dog cases, helping seek out and lure in dogs needing capturing.
Bo is working on training in the sport of scent work.
Once In a High Speed Lifetime DS CGC TKN THDN
(certified therapy dog,
search and rescue 2019-2022)
Belgian Malinois Born 2018
Girl was pulled from a large urban NJ shelter for foster in 2019. Her rescue posted a video of her people and dog evaluation which portrayed an incredibly stable and friendly dog and continues to assist with dog eval
Once In a High Speed Lifetime DS CGC TKN THDN
(certified therapy dog,
search and rescue 2019-2022)
Belgian Malinois Born 2018
Girl was pulled from a large urban NJ shelter for foster in 2019. Her rescue posted a video of her people and dog evaluation which portrayed an incredibly stable and friendly dog and continues to assist with dog evaluations here at Beyond and as a neutral dog for training. I was seeking a k9 partner for search and rescue and after a short foster period she was quickly adopted. Girl trained for almost 3 years in airscent search and rescue showing incredible ability and dedication to her job. She experienced a medical episode in 2022 requiring us to leave SAR. As she is a big older now, I have decided to focus on her sport goals.
Girl passed therapy dog testing and earned her Canine Good Citizen and Novice trick dog titles. She provides animal therapy through Creature Comfort Pet Therapy and assists in evaluations for new therapy teams. She continues to compete during the dock diving season.
Girl is working on training in the sports of rally and scent work.
Just an Island Boy
mixed breed Born 2018
Ross was pulled from a southern shelter in 2021 for rescue placement. In less than a week he had managed to escape his foster home twice and had jumped in a jersey shore bay and swam to an uninhabited island. After two days down at the jersey shore, we were able to bait him into a trap crate. I foste
Just an Island Boy
mixed breed Born 2018
Ross was pulled from a southern shelter in 2021 for rescue placement. In less than a week he had managed to escape his foster home twice and had jumped in a jersey shore bay and swam to an uninhabited island. After two days down at the jersey shore, we were able to bait him into a trap crate. I fostered Ross to evaluate him further. He had seemed to be very fearful at the shelter, but it became apparent there was more to his behavior. After a few weeks I introduced him to Girl and he adored her. I placed him into another foster home with a female dog and 6 foot fence. Despite the foster's best efforts, Ross escaped their home in less than a week, this time with a new behavior of opening the door to their garage and, the following day, chewing through a long line in the backyard and squeezing under a tiny gap under the gate. By this time he had a gps collar and was able to be captured in a few hours. He returned to foster here for further evaluation and dna tested to see if he was a hybrid considering his behavior, returning a result of "all dog". Given all his past behaviors and further evaluation, it became apparent that he was (and still is) truly feral. He required desensitization and counter conditioning training for separation anxiety he developed from Girl, his best dog buddy. He continues to seek minimal interaction from people and display shyness and fear, however he is comfortable with his main caregivers, displays no aggression, and is happy in life. Recently he began hiking and traveling with me and the other dogs and though outings away from home were odd for him to understand, he seems to enjoy adventuring.
DS
Belgian Malinois Born 2018
My foster malinois is continuing competing in dock diving and working on training for the sports of rally and scent work.
The resident foster malinois' full bio is available on our community page.
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