Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Biglan.
Hi Jennifer, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve known what I wanted to do since the first time I walked into an animal shelter. In 2000, right after I graduated from the University of Oregon, I moved to California and started volunteering at a local shelter — and that’s where I found my purpose. I saw how many dogs were losing their homes over things that weren’t really their fault: a lack of training, a relationship that had broken down, behavior problems no one had helped them work through. And I knew, deep down, that a little understanding and some good training could keep dogs and families together. That became my mission.
I went on to become a staff trainer at a humane society, and in 2005 I moved back to Eugene and started my very first training business.
My business partner, Tera Dschaak-James, came to this work from the other side of the leash. She found training through a dog of her own — a particularly challenging one that people told her she should give up on, even euthanize. She wasn’t willing to accept that. She sought out a trainer, did the work, and watched her “impossible” dog transform through patience and positive methods. Somewhere in that process, she realized she’d found her life’s passion, too.
In 2015, we joined forces to co-found Training Spot. What began as two separate journeys — mine out of the shelter world, Tera’s out of her own dog’s turnaround — became one shared mission: a place built on the belief that empathy, understanding, and great training brings dogs and their people closer together.
Today, Training Spot is a force-free training facility serving families across Eugene and Springfield, with a whole team of trainers who share that same belief. Happy dogs, happy people.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Honestly, no — we’ve had our ups and downs like anyone. One of our biggest challenges actually came disguised as a good thing: growth. When we opened our first brick-and-mortar facility over ten years ago, we grew much faster than we ever expected, and our clientele quickly outpaced the systems we had in place.
Taking care of people matters deeply to us — customer service has always been at the heart of what we do — so we leaned all the way into it, which made us very administration-heavy. That created a heavy workload for our team, and it’s honestly taken us years to build better systems and streamline the behind-the-scenes work so we could keep that same level of care without running ourselves ragged. It wasn’t always easy, but every bit of it made us better at what we do.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At Training Spot, our whole philosophy fits on a dog tag: happy dogs, happy people. We’re a force-free dog training facility in Eugene, Oregon, working with pet parents and their dogs across Eugene and Springfield from our 4,600-square-foot home base. Whatever brings a family through our doors — a wiggly new puppy, a teenager testing every boundary, or a dog working through something harder — our approach is the same: training built on trust, not fear.
We train the way modern science says dogs actually learn: through positive reinforcement and evidence-based, force-free methods. No fear, no pain, no intimidation — just clear communication, good timing, and a lot of celebrating the small wins. We think it’s the kindest way to teach, and honestly, it’s the most fun — for the dogs and for the pet parents learning right alongside them.
Tera’s story is exactly why. When you’ve seen a dog written off and then watched that same dog blossom, you never forget that behavior is something we can teach, not something a dog is stuck with.
Today, Training Spot is also a place where trainers grow. Through the Karen Pryor Academy’s Dog Trainer Professional program, we help shape the next generation of force-free trainers. And from puppy classes to private lessons, behavior support, and our Sniff Club group walks, everything we offer comes back to the idea we started with: dogs and the people who love them, learning together.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Never stop learning.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.trainingspot.us
- Instagram: mytrainingspot
- Facebook: mytrainingspot
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/105312802/admin/dashboard/
