WHO ARE WE?
Meet Stefanie Strackbein,
LFDM-shelter, Support, and working dog division
Owner & creator, Dog advocate, canine behavior & enrichment specialist, Licensed Family Dog Mediator
Background with Dogs
Stefanie has worked with dogs her entire life, professionally since 2004. She is a Licensed Family Dog Mediator specializing in shelter dogs and working dogs, and actively participates in improving enrichment opportunities for dogs in this population.
She is the creator and owner of What Dogs Want, a center dedicated to promoting enrichment and fun learning of important skills for dogs and their people. Her passion is to help people understand the importance of meeting their dogs' needs, through play, fun educational opportunities, and providing an enriching environment that feeds dogs' souls.
Stefanie has appeared on several media outlets including the PawsGo PAWdcast, hosted webinars for Your Dog's Friend and worked closely with DogTV to discuss the power of, and importance of enrichment.
Early Life
Since then, she has worked in/with the behavior departments of the Arizona Animal Welfare League, The Humane Society, and Maricopa County Animal Care & Control. Stefanie has also worked in humane education, teaching dog-bite prevention classes to kids, and recently received a letter of recognition from the City of Phoenix, acknowledging her vocational skills class, teaching challenged students about dog care and training.
CERTIFICATIONS AND WHAT DOGS WANT HISTORY
Stefanie is constantly learning about dog behavior and the positive effects of enrichment. She has attended the Aggression in Dogs Seminar in 2020, 2022, and 2023 as well as the LEGS in Motion conference in December 2023. She completed a course of study in Play Way for Reactivity and Aggression Challenges and is certified in Core Behavior Assessment for canines. Stefanie is currently enrolled in Michael Shikashio’s Aggression in Dogs Master Course.
Stefanie continues to work with several shelters and is a proud partner of #LOVEPUP, providing enrichment for dogs at their shelter and hosting shelter dogs at the Academy while they wait for adoption. She also works closely with the FDM community, creating pathways for less stress in a kennel environment and more successful adoptions for dogs.
In 2007 Stefanie co-founded The Canine Connection, a rescue organization dedicated to saving dogs that were scheduled to be euthanized at county shelters. In 2008, she started What Dogs Want, to help people learn about and appreciate their dogs’ needs and wants in a fun and effective way. In 2010, she co-founded the program Edu-Care for Dogs, bringing mental and physical enrichment to dogs in a group setting then started the What Dogs Want Academy in 2017 as a bigger, bolder, smarter program to provide great, good things for dogs and their people.
Meet the TEam
Maren Bussey
CFDM, Director of Operations & Creative Director
Maren has been a part of the What Dogs Want team since 2018, but has been surrounded by, and worked with dogs in some capacity since she was little.
With a degree from Arizona State University in Film, she enjoys using her creative side in her role here at the Academy. Coming up with projects such as the yearbook, organizing events with our clients, and finding ways to showcase the school are all ways she enjoys putting her brain to use.
Maren also loves having the opportunity to work with the #LovePup shelter dogs weekly, working on enrichment and giving them outlets to use their brain and bond with new people. Seeing these dogs blossom and come out of their shell is a great sight to see!
Maren is a Certified Family Dog Mediator after completing Kim Brophey's LEGS Applied Ethology course, and she enjoys having this knowledge to better understand the dogs who come to school every day. Seeing the students develop and harness useful skills to help them navigate their world is extremely rewarding and exciting.
Alana Grubb
CFDM, Director of Behavior & Enrichment
Alana has been working at What Dogs Want Academy since 2022, where she considers herself fortunate to wake up every day doing what she is passionate about: bettering the lives of dogs.
She has always loved and wanted to help animals, and as a child Alana wanted to be an animal rights activist and veterinarian. Although her career goals changed over time, she was a veterinary technician for about three years before joining What Dogs Want and has previously interned with the Arizona Animal Welfare League and Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center. Having gained a background in animal medicine, she sought a way to contribute to animal welfare that wasn’t as heavy as the veterinary field can often be.
Alana’s activist dream was reignited once she started working for What Dogs Want Academy. She was especially inspired by dog professional Kim Brophey. After becoming a Certified Family Dog Mediator through Brophey’s course, Alana attended the annual LEGS in Motion Conference and has brought what she learned there back to the Academy and into the homes of families that are trying to understand their dogs. Now she is responsible for developing and implementing enrichment plans and offers private appointments to help families understand and meet the needs of their dogs. She has written course content for What Dogs Want online classes as well as for a nationwide shelter dog enrichment project. Alana is passionate about how What Dogs Want contributes to the welfare of dogs while teaching better communication between dogs and humans.
Riley Bilodeau
CFDM, Canine Activities Coach
Riley has been working at What Dogs Want Academy since January, 2024. She couldn't be happier to come to work every day doing exactly what she loves to do-encouraging dogs to be themselves!.
Before moving to Arizona from New Hampshire, Riley worked with dogs in daycare/kennel settings as well as apprenticing with a dog trainer and assisting classes. She has always had a love for animals and has always dreamed of being an animal behaviorist since learning what a "dog trainer" was as a kid. To this day, she wishes to pursue more schooling to become a trainer..
When Riley was around 7, she got her first dog, Daisy, a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. She instantly fell in love with Daisy and started teaching her silly tricks. Daisy loved learning new things and showing them off to the family.
Riley found her passion for helping dogs be dogs and advocating for them them when she started working with groups of puppies. Being able to help the puppies desensitize to the crazy human-centric world, teaching them basic manners while also watching them grow to be smart, silly adolescents was very rewarding.
After moving to Arizona, Riley was happy to find What Dogs Want Academy. She has a blast every day learning new things about all the dogs and bringing enrichment into their days. She has also completed Kim Brophey's Family Dog Mediation course which has opened her eyes when it comes to how dogs learn and the importance of genetics.
