Dog training is an unregulated industry. Anyone can say that they are a dog trainer. To become a better dog trainer, Lucy became a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) because their motto is "Building Better Trainers Through Education." Years of extensive reading and practical experience paid off when, in 2003, Lucy passed the exam to become a Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA). The exam is independently administered by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT).
"The CPDT-KA designation indicates that a dog trainer has demonstrated the excellence necessary to earn the certification, including an experiential requirement of 300 hours; provision of references from a client, veterinarian, and colleague; and passing a written examination covering the science of dog training."
In 2008, Lucy passed the written and practical exams to become a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP).
"Candidates for Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner participate in an extensive educational program culminating in a detailed assessment of their technical knowledge and hands-on skill teaching pet owners and training pet dogs. Successful candidates must complete the program, earn the equivalent of an A on each component of the assessment process, and pledge to uphold Karen Pryor Academy standards and practices."
In 2009, Lucy became certified by TAGteach International at the primary level. She uses TAGteach methods to help coach people as they train their dogs.
"TAGteach is a revolutionary science-based system that enables educators and coaches to teach more effectively and helps students to learn more quickly and more confidently."
Details of Lucy's background and experience are on her personal page.
The best way to reach us is by e-mail. From that we can set up a telephone appointment to briefly discuss your needs. Another option is to meet us in person on Ask the Trainer Tuesdays at Kingsbury Animal Hospital. There you can get a feel for our training style.
This program gives dog owners essential and fundamental information about how dogs learn, how to understand basic dog behavior, and how to address most common behavior issues. It is an extremely affordable presentation.
Some dogs’ owners have told us that they have gotten all the information they need to solve their problems from this one presentation. Wonderful! Owners who have not attended the program have to be given all this information individually at their first appointments – expensive for them and time-consuming for us. Owners who have attended BAT101 but still want help are ready to work on their issues, without needing instruction in the basics of dog behavior.
You can register for a BAT101 session at www.hsmo.org.
We use “clicker training” which involves using a metallic click or similar sound to “mark” the moment when a puppy or dog gives us the behavior we want – then we reward and build on that behavior. This method does not involve force, punishment, or the use of choke chains on dogs.
When working to solve dogs’ behavior problems, we call on our knowledge of how dogs think and learn to eliminate problem behavior and create the behavior the owner wants. We are able to mold and change behaviors without any need to resort to force or punishment.
No, and beware of any trainer who does! Our initial assessment of your dog and our intake interview with you will give us a good idea how successful we can hope to be in helping you reach your goals with your dog. We will be candid about that at our first appointment. If you choose to work with us, we will do some work directly with your dog but in most cases we will be training you to train your dog (or resolve your dog’s behavior problems). We have an extensive “bag of tricks” to draw from when training and problem-solving. But in the end, the amount of time and energy you are willing to put into working with your dog will determine the likelihood of success. If we teach your dog new behaviors one hour each week but you allow him to lapse into his old behaviors the rest of the week, we are not likely to make much progress. Training a dog is a team effort.
All dog breeds, all mixes, all ages, all sizes. We evaluate each dog as an individual. We will refuse to work with individual dogs of any breed or mix if they appear to have dangerous tendencies, body language, or behavior.
Training classes work very well for many people, but not for every dog or every owner. Some puppies are too young to attend puppy class. Some dogs’ behavior – barking, lunging, pulling on lead, excessive shyness, aggressive displays – is too disruptive for a class setting. Extreme behavior issues need to be addressed privately before those dogs are ready to attend a training class.
Many training classes do not address behavior issues. We can work on a wide variety of them in your home, where they occur. It can help us assess a problem to see where the problem behavior occurs. Sometimes a management solution is all that is needed.
Some individuals find it difficult to come to a class, whether they have mobility issues, young children they would like to include in the training process, another pet who needs to be factored into training, a work schedule that does not allow them to attend class, or any number of other reasons. And some people just prefer to train their dogs at home.
Karen Pryor
Ken Ramirez
Ian Dunbar
Patricia McConnell
Temple Grandin
Leslie McDevitt
We think it is easier to learn to cook or remodel your home by watching a television show than it is to learn to train a dog. The training we do is closer to that of Victoria Stilwell on It's Me or the Dog than it is to any other program.
Absolutely! Adult dogs are open to training and can change their behavior. The trick is to make the behaviors you find desirable rewarding to the dog as well.
We recommend the classes given by Greater St. Louis Training Club at the Humane Society Headquarters on Macklind Avenue. We train for GSLTC as volunteers and helped design their classes. We believe that the club is unique in the area in its history and training philosophy. Check out their class offerings and monthly training schedules at www.gsltc.org.
Before signing your dog up with any training club or business, attend at least one class and watch how the training is done. There are a wide variety of training methods out there, ranging from excellent through ineffective to truly abusive. Be certain that the trainer you choose is using training methods you feel are both kind and effective.
There are so many to choose from and, like trainers and classes, they range from excellent to poor and outdated (or, in our opinion, misguided). Here are some of our favorites:
If you can’t find any of these books locally, try www.dogwise.com, a comprehensive online catalog of dog books.