About

Hi, I'm Alex! 

Like most animal people, I've always surrounded myself with animals. I grew up showing and training quarter horses and I've always had dogs.

I found myself working in veterinary medicine for 5 years both in private practice and in shelter medicine where I learned about small animal care and behavior.

My interest in canine behavior came about after adopting a pitbull mix with high energy and high prey drive, Razz. I got her as a puppy who started out super dog-friendly and lovable, but by two years of age developed severe dog-reactivity and became dangerous to cats and other small animals.

I considered sending Razz to a board and train for a few weeks, but I felt that I was part of the problem and I needed to go to school just as much as she did. I have always valued doing the work myself. Teach a man to fish, or rather, teach me how to train my dog.

So I figured out how to become a better dog handler and a better leader for my dog. After a LOT of hard work, a few trainers, books, youtube videos and working with shelter dogs, we've worked through the reactivity.

I officially launched Liggett Dog Training, LLC in 2022 after a casual pet sitting business morphed into "while you stay with my dog, can you train my dog?" 

One thing led to another and before I could finish my Master's in Social Work in 2023, I had a full time dog training business! I still finished my master's, and spent two years working in the mental health field as a therapist. And yes, this does come in handy when helping people with their dogs. 

In 2025, I moved to full-time dog training where Razz and I help dog people become better dog owners and dogs become better family members.

Razz regularly joins me to assist with training sessions, and at this point, we've helped over 600 dog-owning families across the Southern Tier!