Though I’ve lived in South Florida for over two decades, I grew up and spent most of my young adulthood in Southern California. I loved that state back then and if push came to shove, I’d still declare myself a Southern California “Girl.” (The Beach Boys’ influence lives on.) But when driving those beautiful, wide-laned freeways was more a chore than a pleasure, and my brakes wore out twice as fast as they used to, I knew I was being {Read More}
Finding a Professional
August 12, 2015 by
I have a very simple cell phone. It’s an AT&T flip phone. Recently, the screen went white. I ordered a new one. (That sounds easier than it was.) The operator told me when the phone arrived to take the new one with the old one to an AT&T retailer to get the phone numbers and photos transferred. So I did that today. The first store I stopped at looked at the phone and told me their app was broken and {Read More}
Hiring a Professional Dog Trainer
May 11, 2015 by
This is a video I made of my experience hiring an amateur for a professional job. While I got a fine discount on his services, the outcome was I lost what I paid to him more than 50 times over. Due diligence is required when hiring a pro in any field, but because puppy and dog training is unregulated and there are no minimum requirements to declare oneself a pro dog trainer, doing research is especially warranted. Dogs are family {Read More}
Three Questions To Ask Your Potential Dog Trainer
October 9, 2014 by
When you’re hiring a dog trainer, one of the questions you should ask is “How are you going to train my dog?” Out of all the calls and emails I’ve had from potential clients, no one’s ever asked me that, and frankly, this is the first thing that should pop into the dog owner’s mind. There are no regulations in the dog training industry. No one has to prove they know basic behavioral science, or that they’re even competent! Anyone {Read More}
Dog Training Is Unregulated
March 22, 2014 by
Jean Donaldson of The Academy for Dog Trainers “Informed consent means no obfuscating language regarding motivators. Owners should ask any dog trainer what actual physical events will be used to motivate their dogs, as well as whether there are less invasive methods and procedures available to achieve outcomes.” Jean is my brilliant mentor and that is her gorgeous Chow Chow, Buffy. Ask me these questions, and I will be happy to answer you. When I train dogs, motivation is fun {Read More}
