About Our Behaviorist

Ellen Mahurin earned her master's degree in animal behavior from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She began pet behavior consulting under the name Clever Critters in 2004 in Knoxville, TN. Her business moved to Yorktown, VA in 2010. Ellen keeps up-to-date on scientific research in pet behavior and training. Her training methods effectively treat problem behavior, reduce stress for pets and people alike, foster interspecies communication and support the human-animal bond. Ellen is currently completing rigorous requirements to become a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist. More information: www.certifiedanimalbehaviorist.com

Download Ellen Mahurin's vita - current through June 2011

Ellen's Earlier Years

Ellen grew up on a horse farm in east Tennessee where training dogs and horses was a part of daily life. Adults who noticed her love of animals suggested that she become a veterinarian. Ellen set her sights on vet school. Ellen's first paid training experience was at the Knoxville Zoo Bird Show in 1996 where she worked with a variety of species of parrots and birds of prey. While working in Knoxville veterinary clinics in the late 1990s to early 2000s, Ellen began to offer private dog training lessons to clients. She found that she very much enjoyed this work and was able to help improve the lives of dogs and people. She also noticed that the veterinarians with whom she worked did not enjoy addressing behavior problems nor did they have much knowledge of animal behavior. As a result of these experiences, Ellen decided to change her course of study at the University of Tennessee from pre-veterinary medicine to ethology (animal behavior). She began to build her pet behavior consulting business, Clever Critters, while still in graduate school in 2004. In 2006 Ellen earned her MA in experimental psychology with an emphasis in animal behavior.