Blogger Biographies
Catherine Collignon is engaged in the pet dog training profession in France with a specialization in behavioral rehabilitation.
In 1993, she studied psychology at the CERFPA (Center of Study, Research and Formation in Applied Psychology, Nice -France) with a special interest for canine social behavior and aggression.
She is the founder and owner of ANIMALIN, the School of Clicker Training, Dog Training, and Animal Behavior. A vocational training center with courses dedicated to anyone who wishes to practice pet dog training following ANIMALIN’s philosophy. ANIMALIN was the first training school in France with a specialization in clicker training.
In 1999, she attended the Association of Pet Dog Training (APDT) conference in San Diego and became an APDT member.
In 2000, she studied at the Northern Centre for Canine Behaviour (Durham - England) with John Rogerson.
Chirag lives in London, with his gorgeous German Shepherd Kane, a beautiful African Grey Shivam, and two cheeky Cockatiels Mickey & Minnie.
Chirag's life as a trainer began after he acquired his naughty Shepherd. His passion for training and behaviour has taken him to the States where he successfully earned certificates in 'Behaviour & Training' and 'Dog Aggression' after completing an internship programme at the SF SPCA under Jean Donaldson. He has also had the honour of training with his inspiration Dr. Ian Dunbar and the pleasure of meeting some fantastic trainers to whom he is very grateful, for all their help and support.
Cindy Bruckart is the owner of The Puppy Playhouse Dog Daycare & Training Center.
She prides herself on being a pioneer in the dog daycare industry, advocating for a well-balanced daycare experience that includes appropriate socialization, rest, reinforcement of basic manners and enrichment.
Cindy's training philosophy centers on relationship and clear communication. She doesn't believe that science and spirituality are opposites or competitors. Her goal is to arm dog owners with scientific facts that can be coupled with the spiritual and emotional connection we feel for our pets in an effort to enhance the human/animal bond.
Cindy is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She conducts both group and private training and is also an evaluator for the AKC Canine Good Citizen program.
Dr. Ian Dunbar is a veterinarian, animal behaviorist, and writer. He received his veterinary degree and a Special Honors degree in Physiology & Biochemistry from the Royal Veterinary College (London University) and a doctorate in animal behavior from the Psychology Department at the University of California in Berkeley, where he spent ten years researching olfactory communication, the development of hierarchical social behavior, and aggression in domestic dogs.
Dr. Dunbar is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the International Society for Applied Ethology, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, the California Veterinary Medical Association, the Sierra Veterinary Medical Association, and the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (which he founded).
Jennifer completed her Bachelor's Degree at McGill University in 1993, graduating with first class honors in Psychology. She then went on to study Veterinary Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, Ontario, and graduated as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2001. During her years as a veterinary student, she established and operated Montessaurus Puppy School – the first puppy school in Guelph - where she now serves as the curriculum consultant.
Jennifer has given numerous lectures and workshops to veterinarians, dog trainers, veterinary students, government agencies, and the general public on a variety of canine behaviour topics, including aggression and early training and socialization. She has been featured on television, written extensively on canine behaviour for the popular media, and has been a longstanding columnist for Modern Dog magazine.
Dr. Jon Klingborg (‘Dr. K’) is a small animal veterinarian in Merced, California. His practice includes dogs, cats, and other furry creatures (chinchillas, hamsters, etc.)
He has been a vocal advocate on animal welfare and has encouraged veterinarians to take a leadership role on such issues. ‘Dr. K’ has lectured at state and national veterinary conventions on animal welfare issues, and was instrumental in developing The CVMA’s Eight Principles of Animal Care and Use and the AVMA’s Animal Welfare Principles—landmark documents that states how animals should be treated by veterinarians and society.
In 2006, ‘Dr. K’ was named a “Distinguished Practitioner” by the National Academies of Practice—an honor bestowed upon only 150 practicing veterinarians in the United States.
Nicholas H. Dodman
Professor, Section Head and Program Director,
Animal Behavior Department of Clinical Sciences
Tufts’ Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
North Grafton, Massachusetts
Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman is one of the world’s most noted and celebrated veterinary behaviorists. He grew-up in England and trained to be a vet in Scotland. At the age of 26, he became the youngest veterinary faculty member in Britain. It was at that time that Dr. Dodman began specializing in surgery and anesthesiology.
Roger Abrantes, PhD in Evolutionary Biology and Ethology, and BA in Philosophy, DHC, DF, MAPBC, born in Portugal in 1951, has lived most of his life in Denmark.He is the author to 17 books in English, German, Spanish, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Italian, and Czech, and innumerous articles on behavior. He is probably one of the most versatile ethologists in the world.
His work ranges from lecturing at the Etologisk Institute, where he is the scientific director, to appearances as guest lecturer in universities world wide, popular talks, treatment of behavior problems, as well as teaching canine and human behavior to police officers.
He has written popular books with sound advice to pet owners as well as theoretical scientific dissertations. He teaches ethology, anthropology, and epistemology (theory of knowledge), besides his practical work with dogs and horses.
Drayton Michaels is a 2007 graduate of The SFSPCA Academy for Dog Trainers. He has worked professionally with dogs since 2000. He owns and runs Urban Dawgs and Pit Bull Guru with his wife Vyolet, also a graduate of the Academy. In addition to his full time career as a positive reward based dog trainer Drayton is producing a documentary film entitled Judging the Innocent. The goal of the film is to show the true nature of the Pit Bull dog, as a kind and loving creature that has been unjustly profiled by the media and abused by the criminals of society. Drayton is the proud dog dad to Mojo a 9 year old male Pit Mix and Keyshia a 6 year old female Pit Bull. When he is not training dogs Drayton can be found making music or in the kitchen cooking.
Read more by Drayon at Trainer Tales
Gillian began her dog training career in 1972 as a dog training apprentice and has been involved in the animal world ever since. She has come a long way. Now overseeing a staff of 22 trainers, she is the Director of Who’s Walking Who Dog Training Centre with 3 locations in Toronto and Ajax, Canada. Overseeing over 200 dogs per week, gives great insight not only into the dogs we live with, but their people as well.
Attending Centralia College for Animal Health Technology, she graduated with honours in 1984 and was the recipient of the Cormach Award for Most Proficient Student. Gillian has continued her education by obtaining Certificates in Small Animal Nutrition, Small Animal Dermatology and Behavioural Problems.
She has served on the Board of Directors for the Ontario Association of Animal Health Technicians and was a popular key speaker at the 2006 Veterinary Technicians Conference.
Jeff is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer (CPDT), Certified Dog Behavior Conultant (CDBC), and co-owner of Training Tracks Canine Learning Station with 2 full-service training centers in Southwest Ohio. He has been working with dogs for over 20 years, and training professionally since 1998. He specializes in working with fearful and aggressive dogs and assisting animal shelters in creating behavioral enrichment programs and support services for adopters.
Jenn Merritt is owner of Blue Dog Creature Coaching in Efland, North Carolina that offers group and private training and Tellington TTouch.
Jenn's career in dog training began when she attended reward based obedience classes at the Animal Protection Society in Mebane, NC in the 1998 with her behaviorally challenged dog Elvis. Seeing the connection between positive training and better behavior first hand, Jenn became a volunteer, a dog training instructor, and eventually manager of the APS Dog Training Program for four years.
After an accident left her dog Big Sandy an amputee, Jenn discovered Tellington TTouch. Using TTouch to assist in her dog's recovery, Jenn found that the gentle bodywork and non-habitual movement exercises of TTouch combined seamlessly with reward-based training producing not only vibrant health, but also better behavior.
Jerry Hope is the author of The Breeder’s Guide to Raising Superstar Dogs and the creator of the Superstar Dog Program, which is designed to prevent many common behavior problems in dogs by imprinting correct behaviors very early puppyhood. The book outlines for breeders how to best prepare puppies for life in the real world. Additionally, the book is an excellent source for future puppy owners to use in selecting the right breeder; a breeder that has produced a puppy that will have the best chance to blend into their family with the least amount of problems. The Breeder’s Guide to Raising Superstar Dogs is available on Jerry’s website, www.k9fixer.com.
Dogs recognize John Flanagan as the gentle giant who they want to serve. You may recognize John from some of the many national TV commercials he has done over the years. Others will know John as a freelance union animal trainer to the entertainment industry.
John began his home training practice in 1998 after experiencing success and discovery from his work with his standard and giant Schnauzers, Garbo & Franklin. John uses a technique to teach dogs commands using rewards and hand signals. A strong believer in training using positive reinforcement, John likes to say, “I vibe the dog”.
Kelly Dunbar is a cofounder and the executive editor of the dogstardaily.com and a contributing editor at dogtime.com.
She is the President of Open Paw, a non-profit organization devoted to addressing the unwanted animal problem in a whole new way, arming communities worldwide with valuable user and animal friendly training and behavior information with the goal of keeping cats and dogs out of shelters by keeping them in their original homes. Kelly lectures internationally on the principles of Open Paw and consults for animal shelters regarding layout, and staff-and-animal training protocols and procedures.
She is a Director of the Center for Applied Animal Behavior, a multi-faceted business that focuses on teaching people how to train their dogs to be the best canine citizens possible.
Laurel Scarioni is the founder of Pawsitive Results Critter Academy, LLC, which offers training and behavior modification for dogs, cats, and parrots. A significant portion of Laurel’s business involves working with people to resolve behavior problems such as fear and aggression. However, her ultimate goal is to prevent such problems, so she also conducts puppy socialization and training classes to help families start off on the right paw. Fun is an important part of any good relationship, so Laurel also offers classes to introduce people to sports such as agility and canine freestyle.
Laurel is a regular contributor to Sonoma Pets, a quarterly insert in Sonoma County’s Press Democrat newspaper, and has also contributed to Fetch, a Bay Area newspaper dedicated to all things dog.
She is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer (CPDT) and has earned a certificate in dog behavior counseling (with honors) from the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers.
Marie Finnegan is the founder and owner of K-9 Solutions Dog Training Inc.
Specializing in private training for dogs and their owners, her focus is teaching effective communication between the two for the betterment of the relationship. Her motto is, "I do not whisper, I translate."
Marie has been training her own dogs since 1992 and decided to pursue a professional career in training in 2000 after noticing that many dogs at her local shelter were given up for simple training issues. Of that period she says, "I knew enough to know I didn't know quite enough to teach others, so I went in search of some advanced training. I found myself fascinated by the whole process of teaching, behavior modification and effective communication." Her thirst for knowledge lead to a yearlong hands-on apprenticeship learning both traditional and progressive techniques,
Nicole Wilde is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer (CPDT) who specializes in behavior issues. She is a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), the recipient of the prestigious Ian Dunbar Member of the Year Award for 2006, and a popular speaker at the organization’s national and international conferences. Nicole is also an Instructor and on the Advisory Board for the Companion Animal Sciences Institute, the educational branch for the International Institute for Applied Companion Animal Behavior.
Patricia McConnell, Ph.D. is an Ethologist and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist who has consulted with cat and dog lovers for over twenty years. She combines a thorough understanding of the science of behavior with years of practical, applied experience.
Her nationally syndicated radio show, Wisconsin Public Radio’s Calling All Pets, plays in over 90 cities nationwide, including Washington DC and Dallas, Texas. She is the behavior columnist for the BARk magazine (“the New Yorker of Dog Magazines”) and a Consulting Editor for the Journal of Comparative Psychology. She is also Adjunct Associate Professor in Zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, teaching "The Biology and Philosophy of Human/Animal Relationships."
Rachel Friedman has worked with both people and animals for more than 25 years. She has a B.A. in Social Sciences from The University of Michigan and a Master's Degree in Social Work from The University of Pennsylvania and is an independently licensed social worker in Ohio. Rachel worked for many years in early childhood development/in-home parenting and emergency mental health/crisis intervention work in both Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Combining her passion for and long experience in working with animals with her extensive social work training and work experience, Rachel became a full time dog trainer in 1999 and founded her company, A Better Pet LLC. Her background makes her uniquely qualified to help clients learn how best to teach their dogs, and thus how best to create a harmonious household.
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