Researching Jonathan Klein

After racing Formula Atlantic cars in the SCCA he moved up to professional racing in 2005 in Star Mazda, finishing 13th for Andersen Walko Racing. In 2006 he moved to the Indy Pro Series driving for Andretti Green Racing. At the time one of Andretti Green's IndyCar entries was sponsored by Klein Tools which at the time was headed by Jonathan Klein's father, Rick Klein. Klein finished second in Indy Pro Series points despite not winning, but did capture a pole at Kentucky Speedway, finishing second, and finished second in the season closer at Chicagoland Speedway. Klein returned to the series in 2007 driving for Team Moore Racing. Klein finished 12th in points with a best finish of 3rd (twice). He returned to the series (then called Firestone Indy Lights) and Team Moore for four late season races in 2008 in what were, as of 2010, his last professional race appearances.

Klein trained dogs for several decades. He began I Said Sit in 1988 as an in-home pet training service and later offered day-care and boarding for dogs; he expanded his service by networking to vets, groomers, pet stores and breeders. In 2016, his 5,000 square foot facility offered training, day-care for dogs, and both long and short term boarding. Klein trained more than 8,000 dogs during a period of 28 years. His I Said Sit service won numerous awards.

Klein advocated reward-based training. He did not believe in punishing the animals, but rather teaching wanted behaviors and rewarding them when they happened. Training should be based on "trust and cooperation" rather than fear or dominance or intimidation, according to Klein. He advocated that dogs and their owners should have a healthy "foundation of interaction" comparable to a supportive parent-child relationship. Dogs with separation anxiety or problems living alone can be helped by day-care, according to Klein. He advocated clicker training and hand signals as teaching methods. He liked to find out what things a dog wanted most, and then used that as a reward to encourage positive behavior; for example, in one instance, he found that a difficult Pomeranian valued her dog bed, and Klein used that as a reward. When a family has a new baby, he advocated a calm period of adjustment to get a dog and the baby used to each other, and continuing to give the pet the same attention as before.

Klein opposed surgical methods to remove or soften a dog's bark, sometimes known as debarking or devocalization. He saw debarking as a "quick fix" but which prevents a dog from communicating with humans or other animals, which can cause other long term problems.

Klein attended Phillips Academy in Andover from 1971-1973, graduated from Palisades Charter High School in 1974, and earned a BA from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1980. He was certified by the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors, Inc, was a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, and a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant by the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. He wrote a blog entitled thedogbehaviorexpert.com and served as a legal advisor and expert witness in dog behavior cases.