Jean Donaldson is a native of Montreal, Canada.  She has trained dogs since 1975, participating in a variety of dog sports such as Obedience, Tracking and Flyball, winning numerous titles such as OTCh, TDX and HIT.  A graduate of McGill, Jean holds degrees in Music and Comparative Psychology.  In 1989 she founded the Montreal Flyball Association and in 1990 Renaissance Dog Training. 

In 1996 James & Kenneth Publishers published Jean's first book, The Culture Clash, which has won numerous awards, including The Dog Writer's Association of America's Maxwell Award for the best training and behavior book of the year.  Since its publication, The Culture Clash has been the number one recommendation for dog trainers of The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) each year it has had a recommended reading list.  Her other books include the multiple award-winning MINE!  A Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs, Fight!  A Guide to Dog-Dog Aggression, and the newly released Oh Behave!  Dogs From Pavlov to Premack to Pinker.  She has also recently authored a DVD on basic obedience, Perfect Paws in Five Days.     

In 1999 she founded The Academy for Dog Trainers at The San Francisco SPCA, which has gained a reputation as the Harvard for dog trainers.  The Academy offers a six-week full-time accelerated program for aspiring dog trainers, as well public lectures, workshops and seminars.  Over four hundred Academy graduates are practicing dog training and behavior counseling world-wide.  Her behavior column in Dogs in Canada, which she has written since 2003, is also a Maxwell Award winner.

Jean is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Evolutionary Biology.  She lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her Chow, Buffy, adopted from The San Francisco SPCA in 2002, and currently the only Chow registered with the North American Flyball Association.