Janice Koler-Matznick has a Bachelor degree in Biology, a Masters in environmental science, an associate certification in applied animal behavior (Board of Professional Certification of the Animal Behavior Society), and 45 years experience as a dog trainer. She is a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Canid Specialist Group and has authored/co-authored journal papers on the New Guinea dingo, dog origin, dog cognition, and the uses of dogs. Her special interest subjects are the origin of the dog, dingoes and aboriginal village dogs. In addition, she has consulted on, and been featured in, several documentaries, including National Geographic’s The Search For The First Dog, Discover Channel’s The Ultimate Guide: Dogs, and Dogs that Changed the World for PBS.
Two decades ago, Janice’s knowledge and hands-on experience with dogs and captive wild canids led her to the conclusion the dog is not, as commonly believed, a domesticated gray wolf. As part of her research, for 20 years Janice kept and studied one of the most primitive dogs, the New Guinea dingo (also called the Singing Dog). Their behavior was very different from that of the gray wolf. In 1996 Janice founded the New Guinea Singing Dog Conservation Society, a non-profit group dedicated to research about and preservation of these unique dingoes.
In her 7 years as proprietor of a dog grooming business, 30 years as a professional dog trainer, and an additional 10 as an applied dog behaviorist, Janice has had hands-on experience with many hundreds of dogs of every type. She also has personal experience with captive wolves and coyotes. Since 1972 Janice’s hobby has been showing and breeding Rhodesian Ridgebacks under the kennel name Kandu.