Carmel Team

Michele Years Open: 13 Owner

Michele is a graduate of Purdue University, where she studied Retail Management and Business Marketing. She has been involved in the Real Estate industry for over 20 years, and she enjoys staying active in her career. Michele has two children, Lauren and Justin, and she enjoys spending time with both, along with her husband, Paul. One of her passions is home decor, along with watching movies in her spare time. She enjoys staying active in her church, Northview.

What I love most about my job: Working with my kids!

Lauren Years with Camp Bow Wow: 13 Camp Scout

Skills and Experience

Background: Lauren grew up in Noblesville, where she inherited a love of animals from both parents. She holds a BA in Psychological Science from Ball State University, where she also studied French and Fashion. Lauren enjoys cooking, yoga, spinning, shopping, and spending time at home with her love, Dan. While you may know her as the long-time manager, she recently transitioned to a new position within the camp ans is now the Marketing Director.

Additional Skills/Qualifications: Certified in pet first aid & CPR, trained in dog behavior and play yard management. Lauren also holds a certification as a Camper Care Specialist, part of an extended education program offered by Camp Bow Wow Corporate, which allows her to screen all breeds based upon potential Campers' social skills, behavior, and energy level.

Fun Facts

What I love most about my job: I have made so many lifelong friendships and connections with many of my wonderful clients, the awesome dogs we take care of, and my amazing co-workers! I also get to work with my mom!

My pets: I was lucky enough to enjoy the companionship of a beautiful red Tibetan Mastiff named Bella for 5 years. I am thankful for my short time with Bella!

Justin Trainer

CPDT-KA Certified

Justin started his canine career path right here at Camp Bow Wow Carmel in 2008! He says back then he considered himself a dog person, but not necessarily dog "literate". After graduating from Ball State University, he accepted a job at the Humane Society for Hamilton County, where he gained the invaluable and gratifying experience of helping to rehabilitate and place hundreds of homeless dogs. This is where Justin's understanding of and commitment to ethical and consensual handling and caretaking really began to come together.

In 2019, Justin and his wife, Shandie started their own in-home pet care and training service and have been successfully growing their base ever since. Most recently, they have elected to take a hiatus from this venture to prioritize preparing to welcome their first baby!

Justin has also serviced and volunteered over 400 hours to the Humane Society for Boone County in the past year. His passion project is finding Kane a forever family. You can learn more about Kane here: https://www.hsforbc.org/dogs.html

My training philosophy:

First things first, I have lived to do every single thing many times over that I advise against and often still am inclined to do as a natural human tendency. I consciously counter those learned behaviors and traditions as part of my commitment to fostering a more fulfilling relationship with companions and students.

I think "obedience" is an icky and antiquated word when speaking about the relationship between humans and animals. In a personal capacity, I consider myself my dog's guardian and not his "owner" or "master". Yes, he is legally my "property" but he can more affectionately and accurately be described as my companion. In a professional context, I consider the dynamic a partnership and our goal is cooperation and collaboration. I prioritize trust and consent over all else. There can be no cooperation without consent. There can be no gains without trust. I do not utilize force, pain or discomfort, intimidation, staring, shouting, threats, "discipline", or "dominance" tactics to get my learner to do or not do the behavior I'm looking for.

The traditional and once-presumably credible training methods of yesteryear and the 2000s tv personalities that popularized them have been particularly effective in convincing the public that you must keep your dog "under control" and to do so you need a heavy hand and/or a stern demeanor. Not only that, but they have cultivated a trend of guardians entering and maintaining adversarial dynamics with their companions. Terms such as "who is boss", "in-charge", "alpha", "dominance", "pack leader", "correct", "break", etc. have really buried the lead in regards to how to successfully and safely coexist with those who have been historically characterized as our best friend.

No, dogs are not "people too", but they certainly aren't simply our subjects upon which we impose our wills and whims with the expectation that they should just give in and comply because that's our prerogative. Our goal should not be to "correct" or "break" our dog of anything. Instead, our focus should be to GUIDE them to desirable/productive behaviors and habits and away from undesirable/unproductive behaviors and habits. It is my mission to do this and impart how to do this in a way that is mutually beneficial for everyone involved!