I’m Jason Lukwinski (and that’s Zazu). I’m a certified professional dog trainer who has always had a love for dogs. We got our first family dog when I was six years old. I can thank Janis Joplin for getting “Mercedes Benz” stuck in my moms head. Leading up to Christmas my mom would sing “Oh Lord, won’t you buy a Mercedes Benz”. My brother and I would interrupt with what we thought was a better version, “won’t you buy me a little puppy dog”. Well, my mom did get a Mercedes that year, she just had four legs instead of four tires. As I grew so did my love for dogs. I was that guy at the party or holiday hanging out with the dogs as much as the people. It wasn’t until later in life that it would manifest into a professional capacity. Covid brought a lot of changes to the world and one of those was my career path. I had previously worked in casinos and when lockdowns came I decided it was time for change. I started to explore training and once I realized it could lead to a legitimate profession I took a leap of faith.
I started with an apprenticeship under an ex-military turned pet trainer learning methods that were tried and true. Throughout the process of learning his old school ideologies something didn’t feel complete. I felt that there needed to be more to it, and that’s when it really started. I began to expand and study alternatives and there was no turning back. What drew me in was the diversity of approaches in a constantly evolving industry. I knew I needed to see the dog training world from a wider lens.
I spent the better part of the next 4 years working with dogs and trainers around the country. I attended the Highland Canine School for Dog Trainers. From Massachusetts to Alabama I traveled the country learning differing techniques and approaches, and more importantly, which ones were most effective given a dog’s temperament and behavioral concerns. Now I want to share that knowledge with you so you can maximize your relationship with your four legged family member.
Outside of training you can usually find me searching the woods for my golf ball or spending too much time researching for my fantasy football draft. But don’t come to me for advice on that, Zazu’s Puppy-Bowlers (yes, my dog manages his own team) has had a better record than mine 2 years in a row.