I started out like many of my clients. I love animals! I lived on a family farm in Vermont for most of my youth surrounded by chickens, goats, horses, dogs, cats and everything else you can think of to raise on a farm.
We had several different breeds, ages and sizes of dog without many behavioral problems. We had the typical "good" dogs. They would listen to our commands some of the time and didn't always come when called. They were the average family dog that learned to work us over for treats in exchange for their attention and cooperation (sometimes). We always thought that was as good as we were going to get from our family dogs and couldn't expect any more from them. They meant no harm ... right?
We had several different breeds, ages and sizes of dog without many behavioral problems. We had the typical "good" dogs. They would listen to our commands some of the time and didn't always come when called. They were the average family dog that learned to work us over for treats in exchange for their attention and cooperation (sometimes). We always thought that was as good as we were going to get from our family dogs and couldn't expect any more from them. They meant no harm ... right?
I spent my youth enjoying click and treat, "positive only" reinforcement training. I got mediocre obedience from my dogs depending on their appetite and attitude. I started working with a few of my dogs on agility training and found that it sparked a fire under me to pursue training more. I began competing and showing at agility trials and was winning blue ribbons before I was 18 years old with none other than our beagle. I started doing some work with a few friends dogs as well and that was when I started being noticed for having a knack for training and working with animals. I loved working with friends and families dogs and getting them to learn more commands and gain better focus. Up until I got out of high school I didn't realize that I had only worked with "easy" dogs. I was lacking in experience with dogs who were unmotivated or had behavior issues.
I began working with rescue dogs and foster dogs after high school to try and help improve their behavior so they could be adopted out to forever homes. One of the hardest cases I ever took on gave me a run for my money and I found myself struggling to get past his dangerous behavior with any of the training methods I had learned throughout my past years of experience. I reached a troubling realization that he was aggressive toward humans and other dogs and I did not know what to do. He would pull on the leash in public and bark, lunge or growl at other dogs that we saw while out walking. He would growl and bark at people who walked by our car. He had bitten people who tried to pet him on more than one occasion. He needed to be muzzled for us to trim his nails or he would act out aggressively. He was terrible at the vets office and a nightmare in the waiting room and exam room. He would guard furniture, toys, food or anything else he wanted to claim from people and other dogs in the household.
I tried everything I knew, but nothing worked and no one could help me "fix" or work with his issues. No one had any answers to help us and I feared the worst if he could not improve. It was at that time that I started looking into educating myself on training dogs much more so than I had ever done in the past. I started exploring any and all methods of training to see what could help us. I pulled from every article, book, YouTube video, TV show and more that I could find on training to pick and choose what worked and what didn't. There was a lot of trial and error as we figured out what helped and what did not.
That was the beginning of my training journey years ago which lead me to where I am now.
Now I help others who are struggling with their dog from starting a puppy right, to basic obedience and problem behaviors.
Fast forward to today and that same problem dog is now off leash trained, reliably obedient, can keep his cool around other dogs and strangers, rides calmly and quietly in the car and can snuggle on the couch with us and our other pack members. It is all thanks to our hard work, consistent training and rules, boundaries and structure to get him to this better place in life over many years together.
My mission in training and helping others work with their dogs is to offer hope for a better life with their canine companion.
I want to raise the bar and expectations of what we should expect to accomplish with the average family pet.
Many of our clients have been to other trainers and training classes before coming to us and seen less than satisfactory results. Some have taken years of training classes and still struggle with simple things like loose leash walking, down stays and jumping up on guests.
It should not take years to enjoy your dog and get them to be obedient and calm.
I want to make it easier for families to train and enjoy their dogs.
I want to keep more dogs in the homes with the people that love
them when they feel they are at their wits end if something doesn't change.
You should not have to struggle!
You are not alone and you can have a well behaved, well trained dog and we can help!
I began working with rescue dogs and foster dogs after high school to try and help improve their behavior so they could be adopted out to forever homes. One of the hardest cases I ever took on gave me a run for my money and I found myself struggling to get past his dangerous behavior with any of the training methods I had learned throughout my past years of experience. I reached a troubling realization that he was aggressive toward humans and other dogs and I did not know what to do. He would pull on the leash in public and bark, lunge or growl at other dogs that we saw while out walking. He would growl and bark at people who walked by our car. He had bitten people who tried to pet him on more than one occasion. He needed to be muzzled for us to trim his nails or he would act out aggressively. He was terrible at the vets office and a nightmare in the waiting room and exam room. He would guard furniture, toys, food or anything else he wanted to claim from people and other dogs in the household.
I tried everything I knew, but nothing worked and no one could help me "fix" or work with his issues. No one had any answers to help us and I feared the worst if he could not improve. It was at that time that I started looking into educating myself on training dogs much more so than I had ever done in the past. I started exploring any and all methods of training to see what could help us. I pulled from every article, book, YouTube video, TV show and more that I could find on training to pick and choose what worked and what didn't. There was a lot of trial and error as we figured out what helped and what did not.
That was the beginning of my training journey years ago which lead me to where I am now.
Now I help others who are struggling with their dog from starting a puppy right, to basic obedience and problem behaviors.
Fast forward to today and that same problem dog is now off leash trained, reliably obedient, can keep his cool around other dogs and strangers, rides calmly and quietly in the car and can snuggle on the couch with us and our other pack members. It is all thanks to our hard work, consistent training and rules, boundaries and structure to get him to this better place in life over many years together.
My mission in training and helping others work with their dogs is to offer hope for a better life with their canine companion.
I want to raise the bar and expectations of what we should expect to accomplish with the average family pet.
Many of our clients have been to other trainers and training classes before coming to us and seen less than satisfactory results. Some have taken years of training classes and still struggle with simple things like loose leash walking, down stays and jumping up on guests.
It should not take years to enjoy your dog and get them to be obedient and calm.
I want to make it easier for families to train and enjoy their dogs.
I want to keep more dogs in the homes with the people that love
them when they feel they are at their wits end if something doesn't change.
You should not have to struggle!
You are not alone and you can have a well behaved, well trained dog and we can help!
I have yet to come across a dog whose behavior has not improved with our training.
I am a member in Professional Level standing of the
International Association of Canine Professionals.
I have attended many educational and training seminars by some of the top names in the training industry today. I am continually looking to expand my knowledge and strengthen my skills. I believe in continuing education and that there is always something new to learn! I attend seminars and workshops all over the country from many different perspectives of training by many different trainers.
I want to learn as much as I can to better serve my clients and their dogs.
I want to learn as much as I can to better serve my clients and their dogs.
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I have attended and learned from Chad Mackin of Pack to Basics Dog Training in his Dogmanship workshop. |
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I have attended and learned from Tyler Muto of K9 Connection in his Dogmanship Through Feel seminar.
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I have attended the Train the Trainers seminar with Sean O'Shea owner of The Good Dog Training and Rehabilitation and Jeff Gellman owner of Solid K9 Training. An intensive 5 day training seminar geared toward real world obedience training, behavior modification for mild to severe issues and positive client interactions for success.
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I participated in the aggressive dog training and handling seminar held by Ted Efthymiadis of Mango Dogs Inc. who has rehabilitated and worked with hundreds of some of the most aggressive dogs.
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I have had the opportunity to attend several seminars with multiple IPO world champion Ivan Balabanov learning about his motivational techniques
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Art of Attention Duke Fergeson
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TBTE Mark McCabe
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I also worked at Solid K9 Training as one of the head trainers for obedience and behavior modification, private instruction for 1-on-1 lessons, and was the agility instructor at the facility. Their facility is recognized as an internationally renowned, award winning board and train facility in Providence, RI.
At Solid K9 Training I was responsible for: Behavior modification Obedience Training Socialization with difficult / aggressive dogs Puppy Training Agility Training and Instruction Teaching Owners how to work with their dogs Kennel Management Deaf Dog Training and much more! |
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Contact us before you give up hope!
