Recommended Dog Trainers
"Choosing a dog trainer can be one of the most important decisions that you make in your dog's life. The techniques that a trainer uses can strongly affect how you interact with your dog for years to come. Therefore, it is very important to choose your trainer wisely. Remember, training should be a fun experience for both you and your dog." - American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB)
Our Therapy Dog Training page including courses taught by our Highly Recommended Dog Trainers profiled below is updated on a regular basis but please join our mailing list to be sure to receive updates directly! Please also scroll down for more important Dog Training Information Links at the bottom of this page. Click button below for specific therapy dog training information, course descriptions & registration ...
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Angel Paws' dog training goal is to preserve and nurture your dog's spontaneous, natural curiosity, interest, and joy for interacting with others - while teaching the appropriate manners and building the relationship, communication and teamwork necessary to be a safe and effective therapy TEAM with your dog! To accomplish that we highly recommend positive reinforcement training best learned from a trained and experienced positive reinforcement dog trainer for many reasons. For more information about what kind of training your dog needs to become a confident and happy Therapy Dog - and why - please see our Can MY Dog Be a Therapy Dog?, Therapy Dog Training Courses and What kind of training does my dog need. The dog trainers profiled below are well trained in not only positive reinforcement dog training but in teaching people how to most effectively apply positive reinforcement techniques for basic skills, behavior modification, and sports (as indicated). Our recommended trainers possess an understanding of our Angel Paws' Pet Partners requirements and teach our Angel Paws Therapy Dog Training Classes when offered (as indicated) and all our recommended courses. Their own web sites are a wealth of helpful information for all dog owners! You will learn more about how to apply those basic skills to therapy work in your Handlers Training & On-site Training. But a solid foundation of relaxed, reliable response to basic verbal/visual cues must come first.
HOW TO CHOOSE A TRAINER
- American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB)
"AVSAB’s position is that punishment (e.g. CHOKE CHAINS, PINCH COLLARS, AND ELECTRIC COLLARS) should NOT be used as a first-line or early use treatment for behavior problems." - American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior
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We highly recommend TRUE Positive Reinforcement Dog Training for
many reasons. Please click HERE for more information about why. 
WE HEAR YOU! Good Therapy Dogs DO "Think & Innovate while being themselves"! In order to accomplish that we HIGHLY recommend true Positive Reinforcement Dog Training taught by a trained professional Positive Reinforcement Dog Trainer.
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PLEASE ALSO CLICK TO OPEN NEW WINDOWS TO VISIT OUR WEB PAGES FOR
ACCEPTABLE EQUIPMENT, DOG TRAINING POSITION STATEMENT , AND ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR THERAPY DOG TRAINING! |
Please call to ask about discounts for Angel Paws Volunteer Candidates!
Please let us know if you are aware of any other Positive Reinforcement Trainers we might add to our list!
Please let us know if you are aware of any other Positive Reinforcement Trainers we might add to our list!
NEWARK / GRANVILLEA Positive Connection
Julie Smith, CPDT
(740) 587-0429 P.O. Box 32, Granville, OH 43023 www.apositiveconnection.com Meet Julie Smith ...
Julie is the owner of A Positive Connection and has been training dogs professionally since 2003. Before starting A Positive Connection, Julie worked for All About Dogs in Woodbridge, Virginia rated by Washingtonian magazine as being one of the top dog training facilities in Northern Virginia. Julie has taught beginning through advanced obedience classes, run puppy parties, and assisted with Agility, Rally-O, Shy dog, and Rowdy dog classes. She is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), The National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS) and is an AKC Certified Canine Good Citizen evaluator. Julie teaches classes at the elegant Bryn Du Mansion Field House in Granville and home privates.
A Frame of Mind Dog Training
Kristen Van Ness, KPA-CTP BA, Animal Behavior (740) 644-0049 A Frame of Mind Dog Training Kristen lives in Alexandria, Ohio, is available for local private training in Licking County, long distance training via email & video & also trains at PosiDog in Columbus. For more information about Kristen see Posidog under Columbus listings above right & visit her A Frame of Mind Dog Training web site. Finishing Institute for Dog Ownership
Heath Wills, Founder
(614) 949-6251 www.fidofinishing.com (new web site in the works!) In-home Dog Training/Behavior Consultations Heath lives in Lancaster and provides in-home private lessons and consultations throughout central Ohio. 
FIDO Training classes with Heath Wills are held at Petplex Animal Hospital. Click on Petplex logo for Petplex Training Services information & registration.
Basic Manners Classes at Petplex Animal Hospital in Buckeye Lake
Meet Heath Wills ...
Heath Wills is a Professional Dog Trainer and a Behavior Consultant who has over a decade of experience with an extensive ongoing Canine Behavior background. Heath will teach you and your dog how to communicate better by utilizing current scientific study about dogs. You will not hear wolf pack dominance theories or receive training based on dominance. He does not believe in or teach dominant/submissive relationships between you and your dog. He teaches and believes in leader/follower relationships. Heath uses Clickers and positive motivators such as Verbal praise, Physical praise, Food or Toys. You will learn about Positive Interrupters, Redirection and much more. You will gain an education about positive ways to get desired behaviors and the cons of using Compulsion training when dealing with household behavior issues.
K9 Coach Dog Training
Julia Kopan, CPDT
(740) 675-1614 www.k9coachtraining.com *** SO very sorry to have had to say good by to Julia when she moved from Granville to Florida summer '13. Julia continues to be missed by many of our candidates both 2 and 4 legged!
REYNOLDSBURG
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COLUMBUS
An excellent comprehensive Positive Reinforcement Dog Training Facility in Columbus that offers our candidates a 20% discount that we HIGHLY recommend is :
Posidog Canine Learning Center
Seriously Positive Dog Training & Behavior 614.859.5238
977 Burrell Avenue, Columbus, OH www.posidog.org Posidog offers Angel Paws candidates a 20% discount on dog training! Meet Kristen Van Ness ...
Kristen is the owner of A Frame of Mind Dog Training, a graduate of the renowned Karen Pryor Academy for Dog Trainers, has earned a Bachelors degree in Animal Behavior from Ohio State University and trains at Posidog Learning Center in Columbus in addition to private home training. She is TAGteach Level 1 certified, a Licking County 4-H advisor, a Canine Good Citizen evaluator, and a licensed Be a Tree program presenter. She has trained multiple species including cats, cows, horses, mice, and a bird. Kristen volunteers with Second Chance Humane Society in Johnstown where she has successfully rehabilitated many dogs of many various breeds with severe behavior problems and has competed in CPE and USDAA Agility and in APDT and AKC Rally Obedience. Kristen has served as a Temporary Alternate Evaluator in Angel Paws Pet Partners Skills & Aptitude Test and is available for private coaching in obedience, rally, agility, manners, and basic behavior problem solving as well as Therapy Dog basic skills training. Kristen also trains long distance via email and video! Please see her A Frame of Mind Dog Training web site for long distance training testimonials!
Posidog - 977 Burrell Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43212
Get A Cue
Ami Jones, KPA-CTP MA, Evolution, Ecology & Behavior;
614.425.0180 Get A Cue www.getacuellc.com Ami lives in Westerville, Ohio and provides in-home private lessons and consultations throughout central Ohio. Meet Ami Jones ...
Ami Jones is the owner of Get A Cue Pet Training & Behavioral Counseling. With a Masters Degree in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior Ami is also a graduate of the renowned Karen Pryor Academy for Dog Trainers. Ami also studied and taught advanced tropical ecology in Costa Rica, where she released three rehabilitated black-handed spider monkeys into the wild. She continued her studies in South Africa where she observed Chacma baboons and dove with great white sharks! She also volunteered for two years as a state-licensed wildlife rehabilitator for the SPCA of Western New York. Ami chose the Karen Pryor Academy for Dog Trainers because in her words; "What I love is that Karen's program is in sync with everything I've learned throughout my formal education in terms of how animals learn best, what motivates animals, and more. The KPA force-free methods and positive reinforcement training resonate with my own ethical compass, and I enjoy the process of training an animal from beginning to end." Ami currently teaches at the Animal Hospital of Polaris in Westerville and provides in-home consultations and private lessons throughout central Ohio.
Dog Training & Behavior 
Sheila Heil Ferguson,
CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, Dip ABT, PDT 614-267-7254 www.dogtrainingandbehavior.com Sheila lives in the Columbus area and provides private in-home/environmental behavior consultation, training and behavior modification.
Meet Sheila Heil Ferguson ...
Sheila is a Certified Canine Behavior Consultant and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT) with a background in the veterinary field and is also a graduate of the Companion Animal Sciences Institute with a Diploma in Animal Behavior Technology. She currently offers in-home/environmental private training, behavior consultation and behavior modification for a wide variety of behavioral issues. Her goal is to promote healthy interaction and a lifelong bond between owners and pets by teaching and using only the most up to date, scientifically sound, non-aversive techniques known in the animal behavior and behavior modification field. See her website at www.dogtrainingandbehavior.com for more about her and how she can assist you.
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BOTH CLASSES & PRIVATE TRAINING ALSO AVAILABLE AT ADVENTURE UNLEASHED TRAINERS
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6475 East Main St Reynoldsburg, OH 43068 - ph# 614.398.2267
Check website for Training Information |
Click on logo to go to PPG web site
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Click on logo to go to the APDT web site
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