Meet Our Talented Animal Training and Studio Trainer Expert!

Byron Wusstig is currently a Studio Trainer with Hollywood Paws where he teaches owners just how rewarding a career in the animal entertainment industry can be.  Growing up in Redding, a small northern California town, Byron always knew he wanted to work with animals.  He spent his childhood days catching lizards, snakes, and countless other reptiles, and from there his passion for animals was established.  While he was studying biology at the University of California Davis, Byron decided to take a few courses in Animal Behavior, and he knew he wanted a career working with animals.  After graduating with a Biological Science degree from Davis, Byron wanted to pursue his animal career further.  He enrolled in a two year program in Exotic Animal Training and Management and was able to get hands on experience working with a variety of animals ranging from cockroaches to primates.

Animal Training Career Began by Working with Top Animal Trainers at Universal Studios

After graduating and obtaining degrees in both exotic animal training and wildlife education, Byron was ready to put his knowledge and skills to use.  He started off his animal training career at Universal Studios Hollywood working with some of Hollywood’s top trainers on the live animal shows.  Byron was able to gain experience working with a variety of famous animals.  He was responsible for the training and show presentation of animals ranging from birds and primates to reptiles and invertebrates.  When he is not busy training animals at Hollywood Paws, Byron also works at the Los Angeles Zoo where he has been an animal keeper for the last year and a half.  He was in charge of a ' Spider City ' exhibit where he was responsible for the care, management, and record keeping of a variety of tarantulas and spiders.

Long List of Studio Animal Trainer Credits

Byron has been a studio trainer here at Hollywood Paws for the past year.  He has had the privilege of working with and training many of our studio dogs in preparation for various production jobs.  He has developed many credits as a studio animal trainer including jobs for Animal Planet, MTV, National Geographic, and The Today Show, as well as nationally televised commercials for Hyundai, Miller Lite, Purina, Burger King, and many more.  His experience of on set training with a variety of exotic and domestic animals has allowed him to become a valuable asset to our Hollywood Paws team.

Animal Training Continues at Home

Byron currently resides on a 10 acre ranch in Palmdale, California where he spends much of his free time training his own two dogs, Diesel, a two year old Victorian Bulldog, and Bentley, a nine month old English Mastiff.  Along with his dogs, Byron also takes care of hundreds of different reptiles that he has captured, bought, or rescued.  These reptiles include snakes, turtles, lizards, spiders, and scorpions, just to name a few. Byron’s career at Hollywood Paws has only just begun and he is excited to work with such a talented group of dogs and cats.

Read some of Byron's stories about training animals and why he says, "Dog training is my favorite."

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