meet Lynn Wunderli

Lynn’s training philosophy:  Lynn believes that to be successful in dog training, it is important to focus on and to understand a client’s needs and lifestyle.  In applying ‘relationship-based training,’ Lynn teaches dog owners about innate dog behaviors, signals and cues, and how to best communicate and interact with their dogs.  She has found that this results in solutions and dog training, focused on the client’s goals and objectives.  Lynn’s goals are straightforward, whether working one on one with families, or in her daycare programs, providing enrichment for the dogs through tactile experiences, exercise, daily manners and exposure training -all to ensure a balanced dog and client satisfaction.

Lynn takes special joy in starting puppies in training programs beginning with basic husbandry, obedience, and safe exposure training; this training creates the behaviors necessary to foster well-mannered dogs, both with their families and within the community.  Lynn also places a high value on the importance of staying current with the latest science-based canine behavioral findings and training techniques.  She actively attends conferences and brings this information to her clients and to her colleagues, to ensure everyone receives the highest quality experience possible.

Lynn’s animal advocacy and interest has also included dog rescue - first independently, then in affiliation with Paws New England (2009-2012).  During this time she worked on fostering, assessing behavior, training, and rehabilitating problematic dogs.  Her efforts resulted in a high success rate of placing rehabilitated dogs with new owners.  Additionally, as an owner of the breed for more than 20 years, Lynn has been and still is a liaison for the Giant Schnauzer Club of America (GSCA) Rescue, and donates her time whenever possible - offering dog and home assessments and training.  

One of Lynn’s rehabilitation and safe exposure practices involves partnering with her behavioral model dog, Evvi, a Giant Schnauzer.  Evvi’s model behavior is the result of Lynn’s puppy and dog training programs.  Together, they work with puppies, reactive dogs, and dogs with other behavioral challenges.  This partnership accelerates the therapy and recovery because the troubled dog is able to learn from and read Evvi’s behavior right away.  This creates a calming environment that allows the dog to be more receptive to training from Lynn.

Lynn’s business and education background: Owner and President of Wunderdog K9 Care and Training (14 years), and Wunderdog, LLC (6 years), Lynn’s knowledge and experience with dogs began in her childhood.  Her father, Glenn, was a successful breeder and trainer of English Setters and Pointers, for over 55 years in Illinois.  Lynn’s love of being with these dogs meant she spent hours upon hours, playing with, learning from, and teaching them, starting in her earliest years.  The first English Setter pup her parents gave her as her own, Frosty, was also her first trainee, and the pair enjoyed success in junior field trial competitions and bench shows.

This early exposure in dog behavior and training was complimented by her college curriculum in early childhood education and psychology.  Lynn’s interest in understanding behavioral patterns extended beyond animals and into working with children and families.  This led to her working with and developing programs for preschools, and after-school care to supplement the curriculum being offered at the time.

Lynn was able to augment her behavior and education experiences by working in the Department of Media and Training Services at the Centers for Disease Control from 1990-1992, which allowed her to learn more about communicable disease and public health.  Her years at the CDC increased her understanding of epidemiology and disease transmission which has aided her in assessing the risks in canine community environments.  

Lynn officially launched her career in dog care and training when she started Wunderdog K9 Care and Training, in Windham, NH in 1998.  The growth of that full service dog business (daycamp, training, boarding, grooming, and in-home services) required that she move to a larger setting in Sandown, NH (2003).  

Wunderdog was one of the first day camp programs in New England, and the training-based program generated word of mouth advertising and resulted in rapid growth and requests for facility consultations.  Her growing reputation in the New England region as an entrepreneur, consultant, and dog trainer resulted in Wunderdog outgrowing the Sandown location.  Lynn was actively planning and designing a still larger day camp, boarding, and grooming facility in New Hampshire when her husband was offered an opportunity requiring the family to move to Wisconsin. 

That move resulted in the start of Wunderdog, LLC in 2013, with a focus on offering relationship-based training with both 1:1 instruction and group classes.  As a dog behaviorist, her programs in the dog friendly greater Madison area won rapid recognition in the community, resulting in client referrals, local veterinary recommendations, and her Madison Magazine Best of Madison Silver award for dog training in 2016.  

As a six-year Waunakee resident, she has seen first-hand its growing community, which includes a high percentage of families with dogs. With this, Lynn recognized that Waunakee needed a large, well planned day care and training center, ideally suited to her background.  She is thrilled to team up with business partner Kori Keene in creating Zen Dogs Center –providing an enriching environment with an extended family setting for all the dogs and their owners who attend.

Lynn continues her education and training by regularly attending science-based canine conferences and workshops to ensure she brings the very best training techniques and knowledge when helping client’s families every day.

Lynn’s personal life:  Lynn has been happily married to Peter for over 34 years, has 5 beautiful daughters, two sons-in-law, two (adorable) grandchildren (Jack and Mae), and 3 personal dogs you will see around Zen Dogs (Napoleon - Shih Tzu/Pomeranian, and her model dog, Evvi - Giant Schnauzer), and newly adopted “Wellington,” a Shih Tzu/Bichon.  When not working, Lynn enjoys hiking, fishing, biking, reading, boating, exploring Wisconsin, and spending lots of time with her family and dogs.

Lynn was interviewed by The Waunakee Tribune in June, 2019 (click this to read the article).

Lynn was interviewed by WORT 89.9fm (8 O’Clock BUZZ)! Click the link below to listen: