|
|
| Tara, Zorro and Toto |
GoodDog! Training is a one-person
training business owned by Tara McLaughlin, CPDT-KA, CDBC, that offers private in-home dog training lessons
and behavioral consultations for dogs of all ages. Tara has lived in Ivy, VA with her husband for over
30 years. Along with raising their two daughters, they’ve had many animals including cats, birds, bunnies, hamsters,
chicken, fish, and of course, dogs! Always fascinated by training her own puppies and dogs, and spending many years doing
volunteer Therapy Dog work, she started offering professional training in 1999. Over the years, her training metamorphisized
into the business she operates today - GoodDog! Training.
Tara specializes in helping owners get off to the best start with their puppies, helping new puppy owners obedience train their dogs, preventing problem behaviors and aggression.
Tara provides a personal relationship that focuses on individual attention for all of her clients. Because of this,
Tara is only able to take a limited number of clients. Tara has worked with a wide variety of breeds and shelter dogs, and has had years of hands
on experience helping clients with training their dogs to be happy, polite, and well-adjusted family pets. She stays
current in the field of dog training and behavior by regularly attending seminars for professionals, researching the most
current and best thinking on animal behavior, and conferring with other specialized trainers and veterinarians. Her unique
combination of training and behavior experience brings to her clients the expertise to be able to successfully attain their
goals. Tara is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, an international testing
and certification program for professional pet dog trainers whose program is based on humane training practices and the latest
scientific knowledge related to dog training. Tara is a professional member of The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT.) Tara is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) and Certified Member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC.) She
is also a member and endorsed professional of Association of Animal Behavior Professionals (AABP) which was founded to promote professionalism and dedication to nonaversive methods among companion
animal trainers and behavior consultants. Tara has served as a licensed Delta Society Pet Partners Team Evaluator and volunteered as a Pet Partner with her German Shepherd Dog and Yorkshire Terrier doing Animal Assisted
Therapy for nearly 10 years. She has helped many of her clients and their dogs pursue Therapy Dog work. She
wrote regularly for A Pawsitive Canine Experience, an award winning newsletter focused
on training assistance and therapy dogs. Her article, Animal
Assisted Therapy - The Human-Animal Bond. A Personal Perspective,
can be found at iknowledgenow Veterinary Medicine website. She has also written articles for The Delta Society's magazine, Interactions,
and Doggone Safe's newsletter. |
 |
|
|
Why Use Reward-Based Training?
|
|
|
- It’s
fun! Dogs think it’s a game and their people love the relationship
they
develop with their dog.
- It’s
fast and you can integrate it into your daily activities with your dog. Training sessions are short and
sweet . . . 5 minutes at a time.
- It’s
mentally stimulating for your dog and enriches your dog’s life.
- It's effective.
It
teaches your dog to offer behaviors that you
reinforce.
- Reward-based training is based on operant conditioning. It’s
like a science because it IS a science.
- Your
dog will learn to think, make good decisions, and develop self-control because
good things happen when they are a GoodDog!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
