About Me
I am Toni Walton, I am South African born. I’ve lived in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia and for the last 15 years, New York, USA.
Growing up in South Africa and having access to the abundance of wildlife that we did and having the best dogs in the world as a kid (Shandy [pictured], Trixie and Xaro), made me a huge animal lover.
I started my path to the best job in the world by being a dog walker in Manhattan from 2012 to January 2017. I realized while dog walking that there are a lot of dogs needing proper socialization and training to enjoy their lives in the city a little better.
I did a Dog Training course with Animal Behavior College in March 2014 and was placed with a mentor dog trainer in the city whom I shadowed from late 2014 to June 2016. I completed my certification in 2015. Kate who was my mentor, is an inspiration in the dog training arena and her and her team taught me a lot during my time with them.
I then joined Unleashed in June 2016 and went through their dog training course which just added to the ever expanding world of information in dog training.
In October 2017, I was certified through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers by passing their knowledge Assessed Exam, giving me my CPDT-KA. I re-certified my CPDT-KA in 2020!
In July 2018, I became a AKC Approved CGC Evaluator and am current in my registration!
In August 2020, I completed an Aggression in Dogs Master Course.
In April 2022, I completed my fear free animal trainer program course.
I am currently a member of The Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT) and the Pet Professionals Guild (PPG), a member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and am certified through CPDT!
My husband and I have had 3 Korean K9 Rescue Dogs since 2017 - Astro (2017), Lyra (2018) and Nova (2025).