Meet Malena

Malena De Martini-Price is renowned in the dog training world for her expertise in dog separation anxiety disorder. She is the author of Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs and has contributed articles on separation anxiety to the Association of Professional Dog Trainers’ (APDT) journal, Chronicle of the Dog. She lectures on SA at professional dog training workshops and conferences throughout the country, including the APDT annual conference. Malena is an honors graduate of the esteemed San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, where she studied under Jean Donaldson, and is a member of the APDT and the Pet Professionals Guild.

Malena has focused exclusively on SA since 2001, working hundreds of cases and constantly innovating to find better ways to treat the condition and support clients. Her particular strengths lie in reading the subtleties of dog body language and guiding owners patiently and with great enthusiasm through the gentle process of healing their dogs.

Today, her practice is split between overseeing a team of the top SA trainers in the world and continuing to educate trainers to better treat SA, in order to help the most number of dogs and humans possible overcome this agonizing disorder. In addition to writing and lecturing, Malena runs a certification program for accomplished trainers looking to hone their SA skills.

Malena lives in Northern California with her husband Kevin—also a certified dog trainer—their two rescue dogs, and a myriad of local separation anxiety dog friends who hang out while completing their training.