Animal Training Academy

Dr. Lisa Gunter

Lisa, PhD, CBCC-KA, is an Associate Professor at Coastal Carolina University in the Psycholgy Department and directors the laboratory for animal behaviour and welfare. Before beginning her graduate studies, she worked for nearly a decade with pets in animal shelters and with dogs and their owners. Lisa’s research aims to better the lives of companion animals and their owners. Under the mentorship of Clive Wynne, Lisa earned her Masters in 2015 and her PhD in 2018 as a graduate student in the behavioural neuroscience and comparative psychology program at Arizona State University. 

Prior to her graduate school, she worked as a behaviour consultant and trainer in San Francisco, where she taught group classes and consulted with owners experiencing issues of fear, anxiety, and aggression with their dogs. Her interest in canine behaviour began in 2002 as an animal shelter volunteer, training dogs in basic skills and assisting in shelter dog playgroups. That interest grew into a career where she managed the behaviour programs of several shelters throughout the West.

These experiences led Lisa to co-found Wagfield Academy, an online dog training and behaviour resource for owners (which was acquired by the Humane Society of the United States Pets for Life program), and the Institute for Shelter Dogs with past ATA podcast guest Dr Erica Feuerbacher, where they combine the latest in shelter research with the current best practices in workshops for staff and volunteers.

Six years ago, she founded and annually organised the Canine Science Symposium, which regularly disseminated the latest applied canine science to practitioners from across the country and excitingly might be returning in 2023.