Teach Your Pet

Thanks for visiting my site and letting me introduce myself! I have been teaching pet dog training in the Grand Rapids area since 1994.  My formal education with dogs began in 1990 when I needed training for my own out-of-control puppy and enrolled in community education classes in Grand Rapids.

Many classes, books and seminars later, I have become fairly well grounded in basic learning theory and pet dog behavior - but I still add new books and videos to my library regularly and attend two to four seminars yearly to keep my knowledge and skills up to date.

My primary expertise is teaching family pet manners and household behavior management from the puppy through the intermediate levels of training, including introducing trainers and their dogs to the fantastic sport of Rally obedience.

My approach to dog handling is strongly informed by internationally known trainers and behaviorists such as Pat Miller, Patricia McConnell, Ian Dunbar, Sue Ailsby, Karen Pryor and Jean Donaldson.  Check out their web pages, books and videos. (You can find web links to their work and to research articles about learning and dog training on my Links and Resources page.)

If you become one of my students, expect to use a lot of treat and play rewards with your dog.  Expect to learn how to become the benevolent leader for your dog by setting boundaries and controlling resources and privileges. Expect to learn that training is an open ended process! Don't expect to be advised to use leash corrections, dominant downs, yelling, prong collars, choke chains or e-collars as everyday training techniques. 

My teaching goal is to help people improve their dog training and handling skills using reward based, dog-friendly training techniques.  Using these techniques allows humans to learn how to communicate clearly with other animals and teach them effectively and humanely.

Don't get me wrong: I know that physical punishment or intimidaton DOES change animal behavior, sometimes very rapidly.  Such training strongly affects the behavior and emotions of both teacher and the learner, sometimes with surprising extra effects.  Every ethical human chooses for themselves if the positive results of using physical punishment and intimidation are worth the practical, emotional and relational costs. For myself, I have found that physical punishment is very rarely necessary or effective in building a rewarding training relationship with my canine or human students.

Professional Credentials

In March 2008 I became one of west Michigan’s first Certified Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KA), successfully completing knowledge testing through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT).  I am also a certified evaluator for the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen and S.T.A.R. Puppy programs.

I am a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and a member of West Michigan Therapy Dogs. I uphold the professional standards of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and the code of ethics of the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers.