Faculty & Staff

Deborah Jones, Ph.D. (she/her) is a psychologist who specializes in learning theory and social behavior. She taught a variety of psychology courses at Kent State University for the past 20 years. Deb has been training dogs for performance events for the past 25 years and was an early innovator in the use of clicker training techniques in dog training. She has owned and worked with a variety of breeds and has earned top level titles in agility (MACH), rally (RAE), and obedience (UD) competitions. Her focus is on developing training methods that are enjoyable and effective for both the dog and the trainer. Her mission is to help others develop strong positive relationships with their dogs. Her favorite saying is “it’s all tricks!”

In 2004 Deb developed the FOCUS training system, along with agility trainer and World Team member Judy Keller. FOCUS stands for Fun, Obedience & Consistency lead to Unbelievable Success. They first applied FOCUS training to agility dogs but quickly realized its usefulness for all dog sports. Their latest work is “The Focused Puppy,” which lays out a strong and systematic foundation for all future training. Deb has written a series of 4 books with Denise Fenzi titled “Dog Sport Skills.”  She also recently finished a book on cooperative care.

Deb has taught a variety of dog training classes, workshops, and seminars. She loves teaching in an online format!  

Deb's website is www.k9infocus.com and her blog is at k9infocus.wordpress.com.

Pronouns: Deb goes by she/her.

Have a question about an upcoming course taught by Deb?  Not sure if your dog is suitable for a specific class?  We welcome you to contact instructors by email to make sure the course is suitable for you and your dog.

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I was impressed with how involved and in depth the instructors were with each of the gold level students. Very labor intensive but I learned a great deal because the instructors went so in depth.  Diane H.

My first Fenzi course was Performance Fundamentals with Deb and Judy. What a great course! I learned a lot and really enjoyed the exercises. Judy and Deb provided great, timely feedback. This was a super course for anyone interested in performance events in the future. Every lesson was well thought out and there were thorough videos and explanations for each exercise. Griffin and I had so much fun with the class. Highly recommended! Kelli Whitfield

Deb and Judy are fantastic instructors. I appreciate the flexibility, and plan to enroll in another round right away to keep going. This course is great fun for both me and my dog. I always felt welcome to ask questions, and fully appreciate the constructive feedback.

This is a fantastic course for breaking down the skills of "stillness" and self control that my dog was so lacking. Even though she is 8 years old (and so you'd think "set in her ways"), she still benefited tremendously from this class, and we'll continue to work on the exercises in the coming months. I'm already seeing ways to carry the exercises over in preparing her for the stationary portions of exercises in Open and Utility obedience classes, and remarkably I'm also already seeing my wild girl exercise some self control in the house (unasked!). As a great side note, the class also helped me improve my rudimentary shaping skills that I hope to keep developing in Deb's next class. I would recommend this as a foundation course for any dog trainer, no matter how beginner or experienced. Thank you, Deb!

I've really enjoyed my Gold level Focus classes with Deb and Judy. They've provided thoughtful, encouraging and practical feedback. I've taken the "Get Focused" and "Focus Games" classes and have seen steady and wonderful improvement in the ability of my standard poodle, Audrey, to maintain focus in training, class and competition environments.

Deb thank you for all of the positive feedback and encouragement. Absolutely brilliant class and it has given me hope that we will not have to repeat the past nightmare in future vet visits and blood draws, forever grateful, Lorraine and Stitch

I've taken over 100 Fenzi classes and this was one of the best. Everyone should work through these skills with every dog! I cannot recommend this class enough and Deb and Judy are committed and supportive instructors.

This is a fantastic course for breaking down the skills of "stillness" and self control that my dog was so lacking. Even though she is 8 years old (and so you'd think "set in her ways"), she still benefited tremendously from this class, and we'll continue to work on the exercises in the coming months. I'm already seeing ways to carry the exercises over in preparing her for the stationary portions of exercises in Open and Utility obedience classes, and remarkably I'm also already seeing my wild girl exercise some self control in the house (unasked!). As a great side note, the class also helped me improve my rudimentary shaping skills that I hope to keep developing in Deb's next class. I would recommend this as a foundation course for any dog trainer, no matter how beginner or experienced. Thank you, Deb!

 I said it already in this survey but I’ll say it again - I love Deb!! Her ability to clearly and concisely break down the behavior has helped me so much in understanding my role in training my dog. I would take any class she offered, on any subject, in a heartbeat!