About Us

 John O'Connor is a former Police Officer with the Irish Police Force, and later, the London Metropolitan Police Force, where he studied and trained with police service dogs. John was also involved in training with the Royal Parks Police Dog Section, and holds a Certificate of Merit from that department.

While in the U.K., John trained and successfully competed at the highest levels in the British Kennel Club Obedience & Working Trials competitions. In the late 1980's John and his wife, Kate, set up a training, boarding, & grooming business in Portugal. It was during their time there that John became deeply interested in the behavior modification aspects of his profession.

In 1990 the O'Connors established their training facility in Martinez, CA., where they deal with clients from the entire Bay Area. John O'Connor has been licensed by the State of California as a Protection Dog Operator (License # P.D.O. 212) and has trained several dogs for a number of Bay Area Police Departments. He has also trained and certified working Therapy Dogs for clients with differing needs.

John has been dealing with dogs with behavior problems that are referred to him from Veterinarians, Animal Control Agencies, Humane Societies, and other dog trainers throughout the Bay Area. He is a Litigation Consultant and 'Expert Witness' who is frequently called upon for advice and to testify in dog related cases. John has been retained in twelve legal cases involving dog bite litigation and has testified in San Francisco and Contra Costa County Superior Courts.

John is the author of two books:

     - 'A Down-to-Earth Approach to Basic Dog Handling'
     - 'Understanding and Dealing with Dog Aggression'

Kate O’Connor is a registered Veterinary Nurse with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, UK, since 1983 (R.N.#1956). Kate worked as a nurse in a large practice in central London and also worked with exotic animals at the London Zoo hospital. In addition, Kate qualified as an animal groomer at the London Academy of Groomers.

Currently, in addition to her work at Euro-Training Kennels, Kate is employed as Director of Animal Services for the City of Berkeley. Prior to this she worked for the City of Antioch as the Manager of Animal Services, having completed the advanced course at the Animal Control Academy. Kate continues to be fascinated with all aspects of veterinary medicine and animal behavior, and attends seminars on both topics whenever possible enabling her to build her ever-growing list of impressive credentials.