Passionate and Experienced
How I got started
Behavior problems in dogs can be anything but easy to deal with. Frustration, anger, fear, anxiety, and sadness can begin to take over and take the fun out of having a dog as a family member. With over 14 years of experience, I can help you solve your dog's problems and get your life back!
I began my dog training career when I decided to get my son, who has autism, a service dog to help him. I started my journey training a yellow lab named Kaylee. She taught me a lot - like how much I needed someone else to help me learn how to train dogs! LOL
My credentials:
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CPDT-KA Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed. (CCPDT)
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CBCC-KA Certified Behavior Consultant Canine - Knowledge Assessed (CCPDT)
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CSAT Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (Malena DeMartini)
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CTDI Certified Trick Dog Instructor. (Do More With Your Dog)
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Member of the Association of Animal Behavior Professionals
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AKC Evaluator
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Stunt Dog Judge (Do More With Your Dog)
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Canine Conditioning Fitness Coach (Do More With Your Dog)
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Be a Tree Presenter (Doggone Safe)
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Kentucky Shock-Free Coalition Regional Coordinator
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Professional Member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers
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Professional Member of the Pet Professional Guild
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Supporting Member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants
I found a trainer who would help me train her to help my son. During the training process with Kaylee, I realized how much dogs and children with autism have in common. Here are just a few of the similarities I noticed:
1) Dogs do not use verbal language. Some children with autism are also
non-verbal. (My son is verbal, but I also worked with some children who
were non-verbal)
2) Dogs, like children with autism, see things in black and white. (Either
I can, or I can't. There is not maybe or sometimes.
3) Dogs and children with autism have a hard time generalizing skills to
new locations.
4) Neither dogs nor children with autism will socialize themselves. They
both need our help to make friends and learn how to interact with their world.
5) When teaching dogs and children with autism, there has to be consistency
and lots of repetitions.
6) Behavior is communication in both dogs and children with autism.
Once I realized these things, it was very easy for me to begin understanding how dogs learn and how to work with them to train the things we wanted them to learn. And there I was, ready to enter the world of being a dog trainer!
I continue to learn more about working with dogs and people to help both live together harmoniously. There is always something new to learn! I love working with dogs and other species to gain the knowledge and understanding I need to be successful at helping them.
"I recommend Pawsitive Purpose based on my dog Willa's progress. She's a German shepherd puppy and needed and needs help with her fear of dogs. She has come a long way in just 8 weeks of training with Tracey! You guys are the best and thank you!" - Amanda H.
I practice a force free, fear free* approach to behavior modification and training. We will focus on what you want your dog TO do and reinforce them when they do it; increasing the likelihood of them continuing to offer the new behavior more often.
*Which means I will never use pain, fear or intimidation training methods with your dog. I do not use "training collars" such as choke, prong or shock on any dog, EVER!