Janice Koler-Matznick

Janice Koler-Matznick is a biologist specializing in animal behavior. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a Master of Science degree in environmental science. After college, she continued her studies in several subjects as an independent scholar. Janice is also certified in applied animal behavior by the Board of Professional Certification of the Animal Behavior Society, and is an invited member of the Canid Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, representing the interests of the New Guinea dingo.

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.