3/20/2023 0 Comments Dog trainer wiSoon thereafter, I developed a special interest in teaching K9 Nose Work®, and earned my Certified Nose Work Instructor™ certification in March of 2016. I started teaching group classes for a local training company in 2011 and since that time, have earned my certification from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, taught classes ranging from puppy preschool to reactive rover. So how exactly did I become a dog trainer? I would say that Fanny introduced me to the concepts of training, but going through the experiences with Oscar catapulted me into wanting to learn all I could about dog training, behavior-and more importantly-the significance of building a true partnership with your canine companion. We started to explore other activities that we could actually enjoy (hint: a big part of this was letting him "be more dog"), which has facilitiated an amazing transformation we both needed. I was clearly not listening to him and needed to adjust the world he lived in. I kept asking, "If Fanny could do it, why can't Oscar?" After lots of mutual frustration, I realized I had to stop trying to "fix" my boy. I tried all the reward-based methods I had successfully used with Fanny, but it just wasn’t resonating with Oscar. He was rushed by another dog in agility class and started to develop fear reactions in the training room. Oscar started to exhibit “stranger danger” at unfamiliar people and dogs. I had dreams of doing therapy work with him and, as a puppy he was a wonderful little bundle of joy. On New Year’s Eve that year, we drove to Northern Wisconsin to pick up Oscar, a pure-bred White Shepherd, who was eight-weeks old at the time. Aaron and I decided to add a second dog to our family. Dogs are dogs - they don't come with an intuitive understanding of how to live in a human world, and they certainly do not speak English.įast-forward to 2009. Working with Fanny taught me that training isn't about trying to suppress a dog’s natural instincts, but rather, trying to understand them and set up an environment that offers them a better lifestyle. As soon as we started working with Jan's methods, Fanny improved drastically as my husband, Aaron, and I set up routines that were comfortable for all three of us. She introduced me to positive reinforcement training and helped me understand behaviors from a dog's perspective. Soon thereafter I met a Milwaukee-based trainer who worked exclusively with reward-based training methods. "This is not right," I realized, "There's gotta be a different way. As I was trying one of the recommendations by "The Dog Whisperer," Fanny locked eyes with me, and her distress hit me hard. One specific interaction with Fanny changed everything. We started training with the practices I thought were best at the time made popular by a certain T.V. I knew we'd need to work together to help her feel safe at home and in our neighborhood. It was clear that she had issues with men. By the time I adopted Fanny in 2003, she'd already lived in three different homes. After spending my childhood pretending to be a dog (thanks for not thinking I was crazy, Mom & Dad!), I was so excited to finally get a dog my senior year of college.
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