Enter Athena. Dawn had read Jack London's Call of the Wild and White Fang many times. She was determined that someday she would have her own wolf. In 1988, Athena, a black British Columbian wolf cub, entered Dawn's life and another aspect of her animal training business was born.

At 9 months old, Athena became the official mascot for a local Alaskan FM radio station—KWLF, of course! Not long afterwards, Dawn, her children and Athena left Alaska and came back to the states. While visiting a friend in New Jersey, Dawn was invited to attend a meeting of local wolf and wolfdog owners. One of the guest speakers that day was retired U.S. Army Major Fred Fink. Major Fink was a dog trainer who had previously served as principal handler for the U.S. Army's canine corps and had personally trained dogs for active duty in Viet Nam. He was also involved in training wolves for a pilot project for the army. Major Fink was adamant that wolves could learn basic obedience if trained properly. Not surprisingly, Dawn was intrigued by this concept. She moved to the Trenton/Ewing area to apprentice under Major Fink for one year. At the end of the year, Dawn received her "Certified Dog Behaviorist and Master Trainer" certificate and moved to Medford, New Jersey where she served as the South Jersey Regional Director of Training for Major Fink's company, Analytic Dog Training, until his passing in 1992.

On Her Own. At a crossroads, Dawn decided to start her own dog training business. Fink had enabled her to live out her childhood dream of being a professional animal trainer. Not only is she doing what she wants to do, the flexible hours and good money have allowed her to raise her two sons and participate in all of their school events and activities—something that a 9-5 job would not have let her do! Being a "hands on" mom is Dawn's top priority.

Since Dawn believes "you never stop learning," attending seminars and networking with other professionals has always been an important part of her business philosophy. In addition to remote collar training, Dawn is proficient in a number of different training methods and equipment.

Holistic Approach. She takes a holistic approach to helping clients whenever possible. Not only do they learn to understand dog behavior and pack law, but Dawn also educates them on subjects they might not have considered— diet, dental care, essential oils, massage, herbal supplements and more. Fitness training is another  subject she is passionate about—skatejoring, swimming, using a treadmill, etc. Dawn's motto is: "A tired dog is a good dog."  She also runs a 3 week boot camp for pudgy pooches. DogFatCamp.com

Since much of her business is through word of mouth and veterinarian referrals, Dawn has quickly become known as the `go to' person when it comes to problem pooches. Local professionals, as well as other professionals throughout the U.S. and Canada call upon her expertise. Dawn clearly states, "We make bad dogs good and good dogs better." Without Dawn's help, the next step for many of the "bad" dogs would be the local animal shelter or euthanasia.

Full Circle. Dawn began working for Animal Actors Inc. in northern New Jersey in the late 1990s. Recently, she launched her own company, Dawn Wolf'e Animal Actors AnimalActors.biz. Since Dawn has always wanted to train her own "canine star" (she saw "Benji" five times in the theater, after all!), it seems fitting that her dog training should come full circle with Miss Hope, Nikita, Lil' Isis and Mr. Lucky Dog