About us

What do you do with an interior design degree, a certification in fitness, a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT) certification and a passion to educate? Well, if you’re lucky enough, you combine them to make the perfect career! Since the time Fran Berry took her first steps, she had a love of dogs. As a toddler, she hugged every stray-dog in the neighborhood; this terrorized her parents, not because they were afraid that she would get bitten, but because they knew they would end up having to buy a dog or two or three of her own!

Growing up she had dogs, cats, birds, horses and an assortment of reptiles, so it is no surprise that she ended up working in the animal industry. Early on in her career she worked as a dog groomer, veterinarian assistant and animal radiographer. She also had experience showing and training dogs, but left that endeavor because the dog-training methods used at that time were very harsh. It would take another 20 years and a rowdy rescued pup to discover, through the help of an amazing and gifted positive reinforcement trainer, that this was the most rewarding and satisfying way to motivate a dog. Once she started studying animal behavior and training, she was hooked!

Today, Fran’s business combines the best of three careers: She teaches FUNdamental manners, tricks and games, finds solutions for dog behavior issues, educates pet parents on proper pet care and environments, gives dog adoption support, and implements doggie physical fitness programs. Fran’s mission is to get the dogs into good homes, make sure the homes are environmentally sound and dog-proof, teach the dogs what is expected of them, and most importantly, enhance the relationship between human and hound by teaching humans how to be the best pet-parents they can be!

When she’s not busy running her own business, Fran is involved at the Anti Cruelty Society with their School of Dog Training, http://www.anticruelty.org/site/epage/36622_576.htm and volunteers with her dog, Freddie, and other local animal trainers in the Dog Saving Network www.dogsavingnetwork.org where their goal is to train shelter dogs, give on going support to pet-parents, educate the public about the plight of shelter dogs and to promote positive reinforcement training through a unique theater production using clicker-trained dogs. The Events page of this website has the latest information and locations of our training practices that are open for the public to observe.

Currently, Fran shares her home with her two rescued canine kids, Freddie & Fia’ and her two feline-fidos, Felix & Fergus, collectively known as the F-Troop! You can read about them on the Life In The F-Lane page of this website. (coming soon)