FAQs
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I am a Certified Professional Dog Trainer Knowledge Assessed through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. One of the requirements that are needed to maintain and renew my certification is that I stay up to date on current training methods and information by continuing my education through classes, seminars, webinars, videos, and books on any topic relevant to dogs. It could be on topics such as puppy raising, seeing eye dogs, aggression, pet first aid, new training technique, equipment, or aids. Really the list is endless. I am also a member of several dog training groups both in person as well as online where we discuss cases, share thoughts and different techniques. We also get critical feedback that allows us to come at different cases from several angles to be sure that we have all areas covered when dealing with difficult cases.
- What types of customers have you worked with?
OBEDIENCE & AGILITY CLASSES ~ We have small group classes (4-6 dogs) for both obedience and agility training. ~ All of our obedience classes are based on the AKC's Canine Good Citizen & STAR Puppy Program. Our goal is for all puppies in our Puppy Preschool to earn their STAR Puppy medal and all dogs in our Advanced classes to earn their Canine Good Citizenship upon graduation. ~ We also offer beginners and advanced agility classes. Our beginners teaches the basic of entering and exiting the most common agility obstacles where our advanced agility introduces more difficult obstacles such as the seesaw and broad jumps as well as exercises to improve handling skills of both members of the team. PRIVATE TRAINING ~ We offer private training that can be done in our training yard or in the comfort of your home at a time that is most convenient to you the dog owner. BOARD & TRAIN BOOTCAMP ~ For those dogs that need a little extra work, we offer our Board & Train Bootcamp where client dogs come and stay in our home amongst our family (both 2 and 4 legged) for us to address any problem areas for the owners whether it's household manners, obedience skills, socialization, or problem behaviors. Upon the dog's return home, the owners simply have to maintain their dog's the newly acquired skills.
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
I recommend dog owners ask not only how long has someone trained dogs in a professional manner, but also inquire as to why they got into dog training, any schooling they have, or special certifications or memberships they may have that require some kind of testing or evaluation that shows they have the qualifications needed to address the dog owner's needs. Also be sure to ask about the training methods they use and the reasoning behind it. Often times a trainer may say they believe in one thing but follow through with something else. I come across many trainers for instance who say they believe in positive reinforcement techniques but then recommend every dog get a pinch/prong collar which goes against every facet of positive reinforcement training techniques. Be sure to ask for client references. I ask all of my clients if they would feel comfortable speaking with a potential client. I also encourage clients to provide a truthful post or reference on our Facebook page. In addition to these, I have many clients who send in testemonials to be added to our website's Success Stories page.