• BUSINESS HISTORY

Jennifer Zatkowski and her husband Rob opened Pawticulars in their Capitol Hill neighborhood in 2003. The store was inspired by their English springer spaniel, Daphne. Pawticulars provides Washington, DC the very best in dog and cat nutrition, stylish collars and clothing, custom crafted dog beds and adorable treats. Pawticulars recently expanded to include dog walking, pet sitting and training, to provide the highest level of customer service to dog owners.
• Pawticulars Pet Shop opened September 2003
• Pawticulars Pet Sitting/Dog Walking started June 2005
• Pawticulars Dog Training started November 2006
• February 2006 named one of Washingtonian Magazine’s Best Shops

• PERSONAL HISTORY

Jennifer Zatkowski was born and raised in Darien, Connecticut. She graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart high school in 1990. Jennifer came to Washington, DC to attended Georgetown University, which she graduated from in 1994. She continued her education by graduating from Catholic University Law School in 1998. Jennifer worked as an attorney at Securities and Exchange Commission from 1998 until 2005. Jennifer is now a retired member of NY and CT state bars.
Jennifer married Rob Zatkowski in 2002. They have two children: William, born in 2004 and Henry, born in 2006. Their third child is due in December 2007. They all reside on Capitol Hill.

• MEET OUR TRAINER - REBECCA GOLIAN

Rebecca grew up around horses and dogs in Frederick County, Maryland. She has been training horses for over ten years and much of her knowledge from the equine world helped develop her skills as a dog trainer. Learning from her mother who has a Ph.D in Animal Behavior, Rebecca began to work with dogs at a very young age. After she graduated high school in 2006 she studied at the University of Delaware as a pre-veterinary science major. She then became interested in training guide dogs for the blind. Rebecca is an active member and puppy raiser/trainer for The Seeing Eye. She was certified to do initial puppy training for Seeing Eye dogs in 2007. Working with several trainers and fellow puppy raisers, Rebecca has gained extensive experience in puppy training as well as behavior modification. In 2008 Rebecca transferred to the University of Maryland to study psychology and animal behavior. She hopes to continue her education in graduate school in comparative psychology or ethology (animal behavior). Rebecca is also looking into becoming certified to do initial puppy training for Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) which is a service dog organization that trains service, skilled companion, facility, and hearing dogs. She hopes to begin working with a CCI puppy this summer.

Training Methods:

Rebecca takes a balanced approach to training. She believes that positive reinforcement should be the backbone of dog training. She also believes that the best training results are achieved with systems that include both rewards and consequences.  Corrections, when used, should always be the mildest correction that works for each individual dog. A “purely positive” approach should be reinforced through correct use of body language and proper voice corrections and rewards. Please visit the “Training” link on the home page for more information regarding the training services that Rebecca offers.