Dog Training & Behavior Consulting

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. I offer in home private lessons and group lessons to teach owners how to train their dogs. My lessons and classes are fun and informative with science based training techniques being used. I often am not only training the dog in basic obedience and manners, but also helping the owner work with the dog on some behavior issue that needs modifying.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. I cannot stress enough that kindness and positive reinforcement based training methods are the gold standard and industry-accepted way to train dogs these days. Even hunting dog trainers and guard dog trainers are finding that they can get more reliable and better performance from their dogs by using positive reinforcement, rather than using choke collars, prong collars or electronic collars. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact me, and I can provide you with several very informative and interesting papers on why these methods work and using punishment and "dominance theory" does not.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. If I were looking for a dog trainer to help me train my dog and perhaps help me with some problem behaviors, like pulling on-leash, and mouthing, I would want to know what methods any dog trainer used that I was considering working with.

The biggest insider secret I want to share as a dog trainer is that punishment based training methods do not work as effectively as using positive reinforcement based methods. The old adage "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" kind of applies. If you love your dog, but don't like his behavior, you really don't have to jerk on a choke chain or a prong collar or yell at him to teach him good behavior. It is much more fun and rewarding using dog-friendly, humane methods.

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. When looking for a dog trainer, dog owners should see what the dog trainer's credentials are. Are they certified by a professional organization? Do they belong to professional organizations that promote continuing education? Are they endorsed by your veterinarian? Have any of your friends used them?

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. Every dog owner should have thought through what they would like their dog to do; and what behaviors would they like to enhance or modify. Once they are clear on what their goals are, I can work efficiently with them and their dog to achieve those goals. My methods are proven to be scientifically sound, effective, fun and easy!

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. I am the only dog trainer member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and the Association of Animal Behavior Professionals on the North Coast and the Long Beach Peninsula. I have spent hundreds of hours and earned many credentials, including Certified Dog Walker, as honing my skils and increasing my knowledge base to provide my clients and their dogs with the best quality of dog training expertise is extremely important to me. I will be sitting for my Certified Professional Dog Trainer's exam this September, so check back to see that credential added to the list of my accomplishments. I am dedicated to using dog friendly, humane training methods utilizing positive reinforcement. My goal is to coach owners and train dogs, so that owners can continue to reinforce their dogs' training and build new skills throughout their happy lives together.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I love meeting and getting to know new people and their dogs. There is nothing more rewarding to me than seeing a frustrated owner and a confused dog arrive at their first "light-bulb" moment where they are communicating and really understanding each other for perhaps the first time in their lives together! It's magic!

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. "Is my dog aggressive" is a question I hear alot. Most often, dogs are not truly aggressive but instead are confused, insecure, scared and acting out. There is a world of difference between a fearful dog exhibiting defensive behavior and a dog who is no longer fearful, because he has discovered that aggressive behavior works for him. It gets people and other dogs away from him, and keeps them at a safe distance. Then the dog starts to get more reactive and using this behavior more often, and becomes a very confident aggressor. Sometimes these dogs bite, and become confident biters. These are the truly dangerous dogs in our neighborhoods. But they were created by owners who did not protect and socialize the dog properly as a puppy. It is the extremely rare puppy who is born with an aggressive dangerous temperament.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. I had a client contact me for a very unique reason. She is a concert violinist and composer, and she had in the past had her beautiful collies come up on stage for the encore at her concerts. They would sit regally while she played and then greet the audience after. She had a new collie named Paco that she wanted to train to sit quietly for the encore. Paco was a bundle of youthful enthusiasm when I met him. In spite of running 2-5 miles every day with his owner, he was still unable to sit still when someone came to the house, let alone sit still on a stage in front of thousands of people!
But with diligent practice between and during our lessons, Paco's owner and I trained him to sit and wait while she opened the door for guests, and also to sit on the stage and stay in his "place" while she and her husband played. It was so amazing to see this happy, energetic young dog gain confidence and learn to control his impulses. Their testimonial is on my website!

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. Customers should know that anyone can hang out a sign saying that they are a dog trainer. There is only one body that actually certifies that a person knows what they are doing as a dog trainer, and that is the Certification Council For Professional Dog Trainers. A dog trainer who has applied for, taken and passed the CCPDT exam is then qualified to use the initials "CPDT" after their name, meaning Certified Professional Dog Trainer. This designation means that individual has established and maintains recognized standards of competence in dog training based on experience, testing, and continuing education. The examination covers the dog trainer's knowledge of instruction/teaching skills, animal husbandry, ethology, learning theory, and proper use of training equipment. CPDT's are required to keep their knowledge current through continuing education, and must prove this by submitting proof (CEU's or continuing education units) of the seminars and classes they have attended. This is one guarantee a client has that a particular trainer really knows what they are doing. I have passed the preliminary qualifying requirements, have submitted my application, and will be taking my CCPDT exam in September of 2010.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. I taught horseback riding for years to young people in 4-H. In learning more about teaching riding skills and training horses, I learned about positive reinforcement based training through a couple of different horse trainers - John Lyons and Pat Parelli. That and understanding the animal's behavior were very interesting to me. As I began to study more about horses, and horse behavior and training, the more I realized that I could apply these same principles to my own dogs. Then The Dog Whisperer hit TV. I thought his methods were interesting but I had an uncomfortable feeling about poking my dogs in the neck, and using the choking methods he employs on-leash. I started asking a couple of dog trainers I knew about his methods, and they helped me learn more about how dogs really learn, and that "dominance theory", which is what Cesar Millan bases much of his techniques on was not followed by any reputable dog trainers or canine animal behavior professionals. I became fascinated with the study of dog training and the study of dog behavior, and after reading many many books on the subject, and attending many seminars and watching dvd's of seminars, and finally working with dogs myself, I decided to become a dog trainer. I found that there was a great need for a dog trainer with current dog learning and behavior knowledge on the north coast of Oregon, the lower Columbia River, southwest Washington and the Long Beach Peninsula.

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. I am very proud of my students in my group class at Warrenton's Carruthers Park. This was a very diverse class with young dogs, middle age dogs and an older dog, and all with different training levels and behavior issues. As we approach our last class, every dog has come so far and accomplished so much. The owners really worked hard, and I hope they had as much fun as I have.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. As a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, I'm required to complete a certain number of Continuing Education Units in order to maintain my certification. I am continually ordering books and dvd's to extend my knowledge about dog behavior and training methods. I completed course work for the dogTEC Dog Walking Academy where we particularly learned how to put together groups of dogs for play and for hiking/walking. I passed the certification exam at that academy and am now a Certified Dog Walker, as well as a dog trainer. The skills I learned at this academy were invaluable for the work I've been doing. I attended a seminar in September 2010 up in Seattle, Washington on dog aggression and on dog play behaviors. There are seminars all over the US for me to choose from. I'm always scanning seminar offerings and budgeting not only money but my time so I can continue to deepen my knowledge of dog behavior and how dogs learn.

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. The most exciting developments have been in the area of dog aggression and how to modify an aggressive dog's behavior. It is very interesting, but very complex. There are a couple of very new methods - Constructional Aggression Treatment or C.A.T. and Behavior Adjustment Training or B.A.T. that I have been studying and will be attending a seminar on. We are seeing a slow evolution in the general public's awareness from believing in the debunked theory of dominance in dog behavior to understanding that dog behavior is actually much different than they think.

Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.

A. I took on a summer project to promote awareness of how dangerous hot cars are for dogs. The website www.mydogiscool.com has great information on it, and I designed a colorful postcard with eyecatching graphics on one side and important info on how quickly cars heat up, even on mild days, and how hot they can get. The most interesting fact is that cracking the windows a couple of inches does nothing to reduce interior heat. I put hundreds of them around at coffee drive-throughs, veterinarian's offices, and pet stores and kennels so the information would reach the dog-owners.

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. Pricing for my services is very simple. $55/hour for an initial consultation, and each hour thereafter, or a package of 5 lessons for $250, and group classes are $180. I'm also offering a 2 hour workshop for time-strapped dog owners, on select Saturday mornings throughout the summer months.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. If you are able to commit to the time and money investment, go to an accredited dog trainers school, such as the Karen Pryor College or the Academy for Dog Trainers, run by Jean Donaldson. It is critical that before you start to take clients that you really understand how dogs learn, training theory, and the mechanics of training dogs. You are making a huge commitment to people and their dogs and you absolutely must be able to deliver on it in a professional manner. Just being good with dogs isn't enough. Learn about this profession and how to be a dog professional before taking on that first client.