Annie Phenix

Professional dog trainer Annie Phenix is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with BA in English. She grew up near Austin writing for her family’s weekly newspapers (The Westlake Picayune among others) and has been an award-winning, professional journalist most of her life. Phenix was named The Austin Communicator of the Year in 2000. As a working journalist and the previous owner of a literary publicity firm (Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicist), Phenix has worked with all forms of media from small town weeklies to national programs such as The Today Show and the Oprah Winfrey Show. She began her career working with dogs in the early 1990s as a behavior consultant and trainer for a large Austin non-profit dog rescue group. She has fostered more than 400 dogs since that time. Phenix wrote a dynamic dog training column for Dogster Magazine for several years and she was often the most read writer for Dogster.com. She is the author of the popular book among dog trainers and owners, The Midnight Dog Walkers: Positive Training and Practical Advice for Living with Reactive and Aggressive Dogs (Fox Chapel Publishing, 2016). Her book was nominated for a Maxwell Award for best behavior book of the year by the Dog Writers Association of America. She recently wrote her second book on canine behavior concerns and solutions titled Positive Training for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs: Proven Techniques to Help Your Dog from Fear and Anxiety and Enjoy Walks Again (Fox Chapel Publishing, 2022). Her articles written about dogs have been printed in well over 100 publications, including Bark Magazine, Barks from the Guild, Lucky Puppy, INTO Dogs, The Mountain Mail, Pet Perennials, The Durango Herald, Simply Dogs, Coast Dogs Training, Rover.com, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Fear Free Happy Homes, International Canine Behaviourists, Dr. Andy Roark, and others. Over her career as a behavior counselor for troubled dogs, she has achieved many certifications (Certified Family Dog Mediator, Certified Canine Behaviourist (INTODogs), CPDT-KA (retired), Fear Free Certified Professional, Graduate of a Schutzhund Dog Academy, CGC Evaluator and others) and has belonged to several professional organizations such as The Pet Professional Guild, The National Association of Canine Scent Work and Fear Free Certified Professionals. She is a lifetime advocate of training dogs without the need for fear, force or pain and with compassion and science-backed methods. She divides her time between Durango, Colorado and Heber City, Utah. She loves taking long mountain walks with her husband, Jeff, and their two sibling cattle-collie dogs, Finn and Cooper.