Karyn was born in Des Moines, Iowa. At the age of nine, she moved with her family to Bombay India where she was exposed to the harsh realities and living conditions that exist in third world countries. This experience influenced her desire to help others and to make a difference in the world. After a little over three years in India, her family returned to Iowa.
Karyn graduated from high school in 1971, and attended a small junior college in Iowa Falls, Iowa. She was fascinated with psychology and sociology courses where she was introduced to the principles of behavior modification – principles that she still uses today.
Shortly after graduating from junior college, she purchased her first dog, a female German Shepherd. Karyn had grown up with her family’s cats and dogs, but this German Shepherd was her very own. She named the dog Erikka, after a best friend she had known in India, and Erikka did, indeed, become the best friend a dog could be. She credits her relationship with Erikka as the reason for transforming her life and becoming a dog trainer.
Karyn had always suffered from allergies in Iowa - and had never really appreciated the winters either - so she decided to move to Phoenix, Arizona in 1975. Shortly after moving, she found it hard to leave Erikka at home when she went to work, so she began looking for jobs where she could take her dog. Her first such job was working for a guard dog service. It was not a very prestigious position, but she could have her dog with her, and the hours worked out well as she continued attending school at A.S.U. At the time, collegiate courses in animal behavior were almost non-existent, and dog training was seen as a hobby by most people.
She learned a great deal about protection training at the guard dog service - as well as other lessons she still tells stories about today – but it was time to move on. Karyn responded to an ad for a local dog training business looking for dog trainers. At the time, the only dog Karyn had really trained was Erikka, but during the interview, Erikka scored very high with her performance, and Karyn was hired. She began her on-the-job training teaching other people to train their dogs. She used the principles of behavior modification, along with the leading dog training books at that time, to get started in her new career. Erikka worked side by side with Karyn until she made her transition, which Karyn has written about in the story “Dogs Do Go To Heaven Too”. To this day, no dog has touched Karyn’s heart quite the way Erikka did. Karyn will tell you she believes that Erikka was heaven sent.
Karyn kept her position with the first dog training business for a little over three years and then decided to open her own business. Since she had a formal agreement not to compete with her former employer, she relocated to Tucson, Arizona where she has a well-established practice today. Her wealth of knowledge comes from her working experiences. Her career in dog training has provided her with the opportunity to counsel others and to make a huge difference in their lives, as well as their pets. She also has supported the training and careers of many of her associates who have worked with her along the way.
Another area of growth for Karyn’s business has been in pet products. A professional trainer is always recommending certain products to their customers to manage certain behaviors. Karyn discovered in the early 90’s a very successful method of training for marking behavior in male dogs. You can read the story, “How It All Began” on her website www.MarkOut.com. She developed a dog diaper to modify marking behavior and wrote a training manual entitled “MarkOut Marking?”, which details everything you need to know and do in addition to using the MarkOut Wraps. Developing this product - from the idea to its result - took commitment and determination.
If you ask Karyn what drives her, she will tell you that she is very committed to saving pets’ lives. A large percentage of dogs and cats are relinquished by their owners and ultimately euthanized because of behavior problems that were not dealt with effectively. Saving lives has been a major part of what drives Karyn and ultimately rewards her.
In 1998, she had an opportunity to diversify again by acquiring the dealership for Invisible Fence brand solutions. At the present time, she owns the Invisible Fence brand dealership for all of Southern Arizona, which stretches from Phoenix to Nogales.
In September 2004, she opened her first dog day care called Barkin Garvin’s Dog Day C.A.R.E. Garvin’s Pet Doors is another division of her business, which began in 2005.
Karyn’s website www.GarvinsPetPlaza.com was launched in 2008. Should you go there to read “Sally’s Story” you will learn how this integrated group of businesses go about creating harmony in pet owners lives.
Karyn’s business, Karyn Garvin & Associates, Inc., has expanded into pet training products and services. Most of the specialty pet products that she carries are not available at local pet stores.
In September 2004, she opened her first dog day care called Barkin Garvin’s Dog Day C.A.R.E. Garvin’s Pet Doors is another division of her business, which began in 2005. Karyn also is planning to build her own pet plaza, which will include a shop that will feature specialty pet products and provide pet training services as well.
