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“It’s the cat’s meow!” — Scholarship recipient Cindi Gazda & service dog Zoe

December 21, 2020 by sharon Leave a Comment

Did you know that At Your Service Dog Training has a scholarship program? It was established earlier this year by donations from the friends and family of one of our past clients who tragically died in June 2019.

The Natan Maimes & Travel Service Dog Scholarship Fund covers training costs for local low-income disabled people who are training their own service dogs. Natan had trained his poodle, Travel, with At Your Service Dog Training in 2017.

Travel the poodle training on public access at Big Y

Three service dog teams have received scholarship funding for training in 2020 — Frankie Mazzei and German shepherd dog Maizie, Elizabeth Kilgallon and golden retriever Beasley, and Cindi Gazda and mixed breed Zoe.

In this post, you’ll learn about Cindi and Zoe — and about Travel and Natan, who inspired the fund. We’ll post updates on each of the other teams, too, in the coming weeks. As you learn about how much these teams have benefitted from training support, we hope you’ll consider supporting the fund.

“Like an about-turn!”
Retraining Zoe after a dog attack

I first met Cindi and Zoe in 2017, when they attended a talk I gave at Animal Alliances in Northampton. Channel 22 News did a story on my presentation and the reporter took lots of video of Zoe!

Cindi lives with a traumatic brain injury which affects her balance, mobility, hearing, and other activities of daily life. She had trained Zoe as her mobility service dog but needed additional help with training Zoe to retrieve her keys and a few other items. Zoe’s lessons were very successful as both she and Cindi were fast and motivated learners.

Cindi sent this update after our second lesson:

“I went to a  ecotarium today with my brain injury group in Worcester. I showed a couple of my friends what Zoe had learned and I told him I was unsure on whether or not she actually do it in a place with a lot of people around and I threw my keys down with the little cloth on the keychain and I’ll be damned if Zoe didn’t pick it up right and gave it to me as if we are sitting at home. I am shocked how fast she learned. Excited elated and shocked. I am doing what you said giving her treats her food as treats. I’m so excited to figure out what’s the next thing to work on.”

Earlier this year, Cindi got back in touch when she heard about our scholarship program. She explained that Zoe had been attacked by a Rhodesian ridgeback mix the previous year. Since then, Zoe had started barking and lunging at other dogs. Because balance and mobility are already a challenge for Cindi, this was a big problem. Cindi wanted to train on the issue but did not have finances for lessons.

After completing an application that included training goals, current training motivation and practices, and documents showing financial need, Cindi was accepted into the scholarship program. We agreed that 80% of the lesson fees would be covered by the Maimes Service Dog Scholarship Fund, and Cindi would pay the rest.

At our first lesson, Zoe pulled uncontrollably to get to my stuffed dog, “Jack”

We met for lessons first at Cindi’s home in Granby, training Zoe around a fake stuffed dog. As Zoe progressed in her training, our lessons moved to different locations in Northampton and Hadley, training around my two dogs and then around strangers’ dogs.

Zoe made quick progress! At our first lesson, Zoe lost control around a stuffed dog. After Zoe’s lessons, she was happily and calmly walking past every dog she saw, looking to Cindi for a treat!

Tan pitbull with red vest
A very mannerly Zoe

I checked in with Cindi this week to see if Zoe is still relaxed and able to work well around other dogs. Cindi said that she is, even despite the lack of practice for both of them caused by the pandemic.

“She’s much better around other dogs. When she sees another dog, I tell her ‘Zoe leave it.’ She’d look at me and I’d reward her.

“When we visited my sister, who has four dogs, she was just fantastic. Zoe’s totally changed her attitude with greeting other dogs.

“She’s been responding so much better with the command. She’s listening so much better! It’s like an about-turn.”

Cindi also told me that she’s really loved the treat suggestion I made at our last lesson to use a squeeze tube for treats. “I put canned wet food in a mayonnaise bottle, watered down, and put a probiotic in there. So that’s much, much easier. I love it! It’s the cat’s meow!”

Cindi says the lack of socialization and training during the pandemic has been hard on her and on Zoe. “Earlier today, she saw a neighbor getting out of their car. She wanted to go to them because she hasn’t seen anyone for so long. She’s definitely doing much better. I told her “leave it,” and she about-faced and came right back to me. I praised her and praised her. And petted her and petted her!

Cindi hopes to receive additional funding to train Zoe on hearing alerts and turning lights on and off. We are waiting until the pandemic recedes for this training as Cindi learns the best with in-person, in-home coaching.

“She has helped me more than I thought a dog could”

Natan and Travel

Zoe and Cindi are the beneficiaries of the loving family and friends who miss Natan, a social, creative, and adventurous young man from Easthampton.

In 2017, I trained Travel several days a week with Natan and his parents, Donna Maimes and Ellen Lacroix in their home in Easthampton. Spending several hours a week with the family over most of a year, I grew close to them and appreciated what a struggle daily life often was for Natan. A year and a half later, on June 11, 2019, it was a horrible shock to get Donna’s call that Natan had died. He was 40 year’s old.

It makes sense that Natan’s family thought that a fund for service dog teams was a fitting legacy, as that’s how Travel came into Natan’s life and transformed it. The money to purchase his poodle and pay for her training was raised by Natan’s friends and family through a previous GoFundMe in 2016. In March 2018, Natan emailed the friend who had organized the fundraiser to tell her what a difference his service dog made in his life:

“Woke up in pain and headed to emergency room. Had emergency surgery, internal bleeding, blood and platelet transfusions, and was ‘50/50’ for a while according to the surgeon. I spent the next 7 days in the hospital and took months to heal everything.

“The one constant thing that’s has been my constant throughout has been Travel. She has visited me in the hospital every time and been at my feet through recovery. She has helped me more than I thought a dog could.

Natan and Travel

“Through the last years, I have lost the drive to do anything at times. Travel helped me through that. She has helped through my physical rehab, and been my emotional constant.

“It has been hard for me to talk about this, as I am normally a private person. And I wish I could express how thankful I am for all you have done for me.

“I can honestly say at times I would love to have just closed my eyes and not woke up. Travel helped motivate me…

“So when I look at Travel, I remember where she came from. She came from you….and I do not know if I can ever express to you how much that means to me.”

Natan and Travel training on public access at Holyoke Mall food court

Local service dog teams benefit from training support

“I just want other people to know that people care”

Since the fund was launched this past year, it has paid for $3,900 worth of service dog training for disabled individuals in Western Mass. These include an Agawam veteran whose German shepherd did a three-week board-and-train, a Granby woman with traumatic brain injury whose service dog had become reactive to other dogs following a dog attack, and a UMass student with psychiatric disabilities who is training her golden retriever to mitigate the impacts of her disability.

Until last month, about $2250 remained in the fund. About $1000 of that has already been earmarked to the current teams to complete training, which has been delayed in a couple of cases by the pandemic. The remainder is ready to be allocated for new service dog teams that can benefit from financial assistance to complete training.

However, Donna and Ellen got in touch with me in November because they wanted to raise another $1600 for the scholarship fund in honor of their son’s birthday, December 28. This would be Natan’s 42nd birthday. Donna told me that she would like to honor the legacy of her son and his service dog. “Natan’s words really capture the importance of the work that you do, and the impact it has on the world,” she said. “I just want other people in that situation to get that support and to know that people care.”

Donna helped with Travel’s training when Natan was too ill

While the bulk of the $6150 fund was raised by the family of Natan Maimes of Easthampton. After Additional donations have been received by donors to the Scholarship’s GoFundMe.

To donate to the Maimes Service Dog Scholarship Fund in honor of Natan’s upcoming birthday, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/remembering-and-celebrating-natan039s-42nd-birthday

Scholarship funding is geared to those who can benefit most

I get several inquiries every week from people who would like funding for training their service dog. There are several requirements in order to apply.

Applicants must

  • Be local — you must be able to do some in-person lessons
  • Already own the dog you want to train
  • Be highly likely to succeed — the dog must have the right health and temperament for a service dog, and the owner or handler must be committed and capable of dedicated and successful training (learn more about how to assess your dog in our free video)
  • Already be a client of At Your Service — you must be able to do a consultation and several lessons with us before you receive funding

Before you contact us, please read more about the scholarship and its requirements.

Learn more about donating to the Maimes Service Dog Scholarship Fund.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Prepare Your Dog for Your Return to Work: Preventing Separation Distress in the Age of COVID

June 22, 2020 by sharon 1 Comment

By Sharon Wachsler CPDT-KA, KPACTP

If you have been doing stay-at-home due to the pandemic, now is the time to make sure your dog is able to cope with you returning to work. Make sure your dog is not developing separation anxiety, or if she is, start to turn it around.

I speak from firsthand experience. When I first brought home my poodle puppy a year ago, I noticed that Kismet was clingy and had a tendency toward isolation distress. He always wanted to be lying on my feet and would bark or whine if I moved out of sight. I did some training then to prevent separation distress, and he was fine with my departures for many months.

Then, when he was nine months old, I moved to a new home. He had more trouble adjusting to the change than my older dog. Just two weeks later, before he had adjusted, the pandemic hit and I was working from home.

Black poodle sits very tall on short metal stool
Kismet shows off his “balance on a stool” trick

Although I was making sure to at least leave him alone for half an hour every day, there were too many other factors that created a “perfect storm” for him to develop separation anxiety (SA). His temperament, the move, and then the excessive togetherness during stay-at-home — compounded by the fact that I was using him as my demo dog during online training lessons — so he was working with me all day.

I have heard from others whose dogs have SA that was successfully modified that they are finding it challenging to maintain these days. I also have several clients now whose dogs are having more issues with separation distress and clinginess than they did in the past.

Any dog can develop separation issues, but the dogs that are particularly at risk to develop SA during this pandemic are

  • newly adopted dogs
  • puppies
  • dogs that have a tendency toward SA, such as highly social/affectionate “Velcro” dogs, generally anxious dogs, or some rescue dogs (dogs that have been rehomed, especially repeatedly)

If you have not already been helping your dog adjust to you going back to work eventually, please start now.

Start by videoing your dog while you go out for half an hour. This will assure you they are OK with your absence. Behaviors to watch out for when you watch the video include:

  • whining, barking, howling
  • refusing to eat or drink
  • soiling in the house (for dogs that are otherwise reliably house trained)
  • chewing or pawing at doorways, windows, gates
  • chewing, collecting, or shredding your clothes (socks, shoes, or underwear)
  • restlessness, inability to settle, panting, pacing
  • staring at the door where you left or looking out the window for you

If your dog has developed separation issues, get in touch. We can help you set up a training plan to teach your dog how to be relaxed and confident on their own. You can also consult the books in the resources section below. It’s very important that you only work with a positive reinforcement trainer or behavior consultant because punishment (scolding, leash corrections, shock, etc.) will worsen your dog’s anxiety.

If your dog is not showing significant distress at your departure, make sure to maintain and prevent this with the following steps:

1. In a very nonchalant, “normal” way, start doing your “go to work routine” then just sit down in the house. E.g., put on your shoes, get your bag, get your keys, sit down, take off shoes, put down bag, put away keys. Repeat. While you do this, surreptitiously watch your dog’s body language. Are they following you around anxiously or are they napping through it? If they’re relaxed, move to step 2. If they are panting, following you around, etc., keep doing step 1 several times a day for several days until they are completely bored by it.

2. Set up a video camera to see what your dog does in this phase. Start heading out the door and sit in the car or drive down to the mailbox or end of the road. Do this for 5-15 minutes. Review the video. If your dog is chilling out, repeat this a few times, then start leaving for longer outings every day. Do this even if you have nowhere to go – just sit in your car for an hour, listening to a podcast. If your dog is showing distress behaviors like those above, you will need to leave for much shorter times. Your trainer will help you break it down.

You want your dog to be truly relaxed when you go out

3. Give your dog some alone time while you are still home, using gates or doors or pens. Provide them with a chew toy, or some other interactive toy during this time. But also leave them alone for a few minutes after they have finished the toy so they learn to cope with some time doing nothing without you present.

If your dog has not developed separation issues, make sure to maintain that by going out at least three-to-four times a week for different lengths of time. Make sure to drive away several times a week, not just walk in the back yard. Your dog knows the difference.

Resources to Learn More

  • I’ll be Home Soon: How to Prevent and Treat Separation Anxiety by Patricia McConnell is a very readable and helpful, short booklet
  • Don’t Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog’s Separation Anxiety by Nicole Wilde is a more in-depth guide for dog owners on training a dog with SA
  • Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs by Malena DeMartini-Price is geared to professional dog trainers that are helping clients train a dog with SA

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: behavior modification, pandemic puppy, separation anxiety

Great Gifts for Dog Lovers

December 11, 2019 by sharon 2 Comments

It’s the time of year when many of us are thinking of what to get for family, friends, and coworkers. If those people happen to have dogs, we’ve got some great ideas for you! Here are some of our favorite gifts for dog lovers, with prices ranging from $3 to $300.

Microspikes are wonderful for those of us who must walk our dogs on snowy, icy dirt roads or woods trails at this time of year! Even if you’re walking a Chihuahua, if you don’t have traction, you can slip or fall. For a large dog, all the more reason to have a solid grip (and a well-trained dog that doesn’t pull!).


Chuckit! Max Glow Ball is a ball your fetch fiend will love. It doesn’t erode the teeth like a tennis ball, it bounces high, and this one glows in the dark. So even during these very short winter months, you can play fetch in the mornings or evenings.


Food tubes! A food tube is any squeeze tube into which you put a treat your dog loves, such as peanut butter, cream cheese, or canned (paté-style only) dog food, such as Wellness CORE or Just for Puppy. Food tubes are great for a number of reasons: the food is high value, it is great for little dogs because you can give them just a tiny lick (so they don’t fill up fast), it leaves your hands clean, your fingers don’t get pinched by excited dog teeth, AND during cold winter days you can keep your gloves on! My current favorite tube is the humangear GoToob, but my old standby that is also terrific, super cheap, and can hold a lot of food is the Coghlan squeeze tube.


West Paw Toppl is the next generation of natural rubber treat-dispensing toy. You can screw two of them together to make a treat-dispensing feeder ball for dry food or treats, or use one and stuff it with canned food or peanut butter or yogurt. This toy is similar to a Kong in the way it can be used, but if you often end up with a lot of food left in the Kong, the Toppl is a great option because it is easier for dogs to get all the food out. If you have a destructive chewer, the Kong Extreme is still the best bet.


Let’s Go Design dog-walker’s jacket is the purple jacket many of you have complimented me on when I show up wearing it at lessons. It is my all-time favorite jacket! It is extremely versatile and practical. It is waterproof, warm, has a ton of pockets, can be converted into a vest or lightweight raincoat, has a poop bag dispensing pocket, and the belt is an extra leash. The piping is reflective so you can be seen by approaching cars at night. I wear it as my winter coat all winter, and in the spring and fall, I remove the fleece layer and use it as a windbreaker or raincoat. Sometimes I wear the inner shell as a fleece jacket on its own. It comes in red, black, blue, and purple.


Flirt poles are dog toys that are basically “cat toys for dogs.” It is a stick, with a rope attached to one hand, and then a toy (usually a plush squeaky toy) dangling from the rope. You can make one or buy one. You can make a little one for a chihuahua with a drumstick and a piece of string or a massive PVC-pipe affair with durable rope for a 70-pound pitbull. They are a great way to exercise a dog in a small space, and you can use them for training “drop it” and impulse control in high-arousal states, too. An inexpensive and easily available option is the Tail Teaser. My poodle puppy loves it more than anything else on this earth! If you have a big, strong dog and want something more robust, check out Squishy Face Studio.


Did you know that not all DINOS are extinct? I’m talking about Dogs In Need Of Space, of course! If you have a DINOS, you and your dog might appreciate this bright yellow vest that says PLEASE GIVE ME SPACE.


Spray cheese, otherwise known as “cheese in a can,” is a trainer’s secret weapon. Inexpensive and readily available at most grocery stores (look in the snack aisle, not in the dairy aisle!), it is the highest-value treat which is also clean, neat, inexpensive, and easy for us to dispense. No, it is not health food! But it is a very high-value food that can be dispensed through a muzzle or gate or crate door, sprayed quickly and easily into a Kong, Toppl, bone, or trachea. I always have a can in my trainer’s bag.


A magic wand is the perfect gift if your loved one who just wants their dog to behave! Use the wand to gently tap the dog’s nose three times, say the magic words, and sprinkle the pooch liberally with magic dust. But if that doesn’t work, the dog might need training! In that case, the perfect gift is a gift certificate for training with At Your Service. We offer behavior consultations, service dog classes, private lessons, and day school. Contact us to ask about gifting someone in your life the joy of a better-behaved dog.

What is your favorite gift for the dog lover in your life?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: dog toys, gifts, holiday

“Here to Help, Not Judge” –Trainer Alex Wise

August 26, 2019 by sharon Leave a Comment

At Your Service was thrilled to introduce you to our new staff trainer, Alex Wise. Alex brings a wealth of experience as both a client and trainer, with group classes and private lessons. As you’ll read, Alex fits in beautifully with our commitment to individualized training approaches, a nonjudgmental and supportive attitude toward both canine and human clients, and a passion for both pets and service dogs. Alex recently shared their experiences in getting started as a dog trainer, learning from their own “problem dog,” favorite training challenges, and TV dog fandom.

White pit bull with mouth open in a big "smile"

First things first! Tell us about your dog

I have a 6 year old deaf Pittie mix named Hitch, whose main goal in life is to fit into as many human laps as possible! Over the 4.5 years he has lived with me, we have had to work through more behavioral challenges than I ever imagined when I brought him home, and I ultimately attribute a large amount of my training skills to those experiences.

His favorite training activities are anything involving nose, paw, or chin targeting…. preferably with gusto! I frequently joke that his best skills are anything that could be described as a “hulk smash.”

How did you get started training dogs?

Dogs have always been a part of my life, but my career as a dog trainer started with being at the right place at the right time. During a visit at a trainer’s house, I was able to communicate with a tough-to-handle puppy they were boarding. From there I started assisting with classes at Animal Alliances, and eventually apprenticed and acted as a substitute trainer before becoming a staff trainer at the school in 2015.

A few months after beginning to assist with training classes, I adopted Hitch, who was 1.5 years old at the time. To my surprise, Hitch had far more behavioral challenges than anticipated. For example, very soon after I brought him home, Hitch decided to jump onto my kitchen table with all four paws to get a better view out of the kitchen window! The major issues we have had to address included jumping habits, significant counter surfing, separation anxiety, and dog reactivity. Several years ago I worked with Hitch as a service dog in training, but ultimately decided to have him do tasks only in my home due to the dog reactivity he developed as he reached social maturity. Combined with the challenges and creativity involved in modifying training techniques for a deaf dog, working with him through the years has significantly contributed to my training skills.

Looking back, I believe I owe a large amount of my expertise to all of the research, classes, mistakes, and eventual successes involved in his training. My experience in adopting him and discovering each of his challenges has also made me a firm believer in the value of consulting an experienced trainer or behaviorist before adopting any dog, particularly if you hope for that dog to participate in a sport or to train as a prospective Service Dog or Therapy Dog.

What are some of your favorite types of dogs to work with? 

I particularly enjoy working with dogs who are working toward a possible career (Service Dog, Therapy Dog, etc.) and are working toward the advanced manners skills necessary to succeed in the field they are training towards.

Alex stands in front of a display of boxes inside a home goods store. Hitch is sitting in front of him wearing a blue Service Dog vest

I also love it when dogs require some creativity in my training approach. I enjoy the challenge of modifying what’s usually effective so that it works for each individual dog.

This is one of the reasons that another of my favorites is working with deaf dogs—even just finding ways to “click” for behaviors in a way that is distinct and visible to the dog is a satisfying puzzle! In the photo above, you can see Hitch getting ready for a reward while I mark a correct behavior with a hand cue.

Finally, I also appreciate training dogs with a strong desire for clear “jobs.” Often, their love for working out the “puzzle” of a training activity is so obvious that it’s almost palpable! I particularly love seeing owners who have little previous training experience begin to view training as the wonderful bonding opportunity it is, and the effects are satisfyingly clear when someone owns a dog with this kind of drive.  

Is there a dog in popular culture that is a favorite? 

My recent favorite is Pepper from the show Speechless. The main character JJ, who has Cerebral Palsy, surprises his family with Pepper. They pressured him to get a Service Dog to fulfill their own desires for a pet. But, while Pepper came from a SD organization, he is one of their “career change” dogs because of his overzealousness for performing assistance tasks without anyone asking. (For the training nerds out there, his assistance tasks lack good stimulus control.)

Golden retriever sits on carpet

Pepper is constantly turning lights on and off and has a particular love of retrieving bananas one after the other. While this behavior would be wildly inappropriate and unhelpful as an assistance dog, I get a kick out of how excited Pepper is about performing these complex behaviors. He might be overeager to offer a retrieve, but retrieving a banana without damaging it takes skill!

What’s it been like to work for At Your Service Dog Training?

One of the things I love most about working for At Your Service is the importance we place on tailoring our services and training plans so carefully to each client’s individual goals and needs. I strongly believe in meeting both dogs and humans where they’re at, and setting them up for success. In particular, I’m proud to work with an organization that not only helps owners who already have a dog they are working with, but also provides such extensive support in the task of choosing a dog that best fits their preferences, needs, and lifestyle.

One of my professional priorities is to always find ways of making training feel as accessible as possible for my clients

– Alex Wise

On the less technical side, I appreciate that Sharon and I have a wonderful working relationship. We have a shared appreciation for thorough research and continuing education opportunities. In addition, one of my professional priorities is to always find ways of making training feel as accessible as possible for my clients. In my experience, this is a shared priority and particular strength of Sharon’s. We check in regularly about each of my clients’ strengths, challenges, and progress, and I have never left one of these discussions without new and exciting ideas for getting a challenging concept to “click” for one of the teams I’m working with!

Do you have a dog trainer “super power”?

I’m great at coming up with tricks for humans to remind themselves to set their dog up for success, plan lower-cost DIY projects for behavioral management or training tools, and figure out how to put harnesses or other gear on their dog with less confusion over straps and buckles. (Note from Sharon: True! Alex came up with a brilliant idea of how to color-code the buckles on harnesses to make it easier to remember how to put them back on.)

What should people know before they hire a trainer?

I always strongly recommend that dog owners search for an experienced positive reinforcement trainer, read client reviews carefully, and when possible, talk with other owners who have worked with the trainer you’re considering. Those are all suggestions I hear often and that may seem obvious to some owners. What I don’t hear often enough is that we are here to help, not to judge you, your dog, or your training skills! When you meet with us, don’t be afraid to interact with your dog as you normally would. After all, if you do things differently only when the trainer is around, we can’t make recommendations on what to modify or tell you what you’re doing a great job with!

What training services are you offering right now? What towns do you cover for in-home lessons?

I am excited to be offering some new group classes for At Your Service, in addition to private lessons. I’ll be teaching Foundation Skills for Therapy & Service Dogs and Public Access Foundations in Northampton in the fall. For private lessons, I can train dogs in manners (leash walking, coming when called, polite greeting, etc.), tricks (ride a skateboard, chin target, hang-your-head), and other issues.

For in-home lessons, both owner-lessons and day school, I cover the whole Northampton/Amherst/Pioneer Valley area. With online lessons, of course, I am able to train anywhere you have an internet connection.

Would you like to get Alex’s help with individualized, nonjudgmental training instruction for your dog? Contact us at sharon@atyourservicedogtraining.com or register your dog for Foundation Skills for Therapy & Service Dogs.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: deaf dogs

Dog lovers in MA – Support this bill!

July 21, 2019 by sharon Leave a Comment

Did you know that anyone in Massachusetts can charge you to train or handle your dog, whether or not they know anything about dog training or have ever trained a dog before?

It’s shocking but true: Whether for private lessons, group classes, or board-and-train, the trainer who handles your dog, and to whom you may pay hundreds or thousands of dollars, may not have the most basic knowledge or experience with dog training. Currently this is legal in MA. But there’s a new bill in our state legislature that can change that. I urge you to support it!

Right now, dog trainers in MA are not licensed. This means anyone can charge you to train your dog, whether or not they know even basic information about dog training theory or methodology

Mass. Senate bill 118 will protect you and your dog — but only if it passes. Why does this matter? Why should you care whether dog trainers are licensed?

Consider that all of these jobs require a professional license in Mass.:

  • Hairdressers, nail-care technicians, cosmetologists
  • Pharmacy technicians, pharmacy interns, doctors, nurses, chiropractors, physician assistants, dieticians, nutritionists, optometrists, massage therapists, and virtually all health-care providers
  • Engineers, electricians, construction supervisors, land surveyors, plumbers, architects
  • Family therapists, educational psychologists, rehabilitation counselors, social workers
  • School bus drivers, run a child-care program, assist in a family child care program,
  • People who store, repair, or sell cars; funeral directors; accountants; wholesale distributors of medical devices; real-estate brokers and appraisers, real estate salespeople
  • Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, wildlife rehabilitators, horseback riding instructors, and pet shop owners in MA require a license to operate — but not dog trainers

Hundreds of professions in Mass., require a license to operate a business — but not the people who are rewarding or punishing your dog.

Your hairdresser, auto mechanic, real-estate agent, massage therapist, and accountant all require a license, but not the person who is handling and teaching your dog

Why is it a problem if dog trainers are not licensed?

  1. Trainers without sufficient education on effective and humane training techniques can put your dog is at serious risk for physical and behavioral injury. There are a variety of trainers in Massachusetts. Some are in business for themselves. Some teach classes in pet stores. Some own the local branch of a training franchise that focuses on invisible fences or eliminating barking, etc. While some of these trainers in any category may be fantastic, others may lack necessary knowledge to safely and effectively train your dog.

Hairdressers require a license…

A bad haircut is embarrassing and annoying, but it grows out. A car that is not repaired properly is a huge hassle, but it can be fixed. Because dogs have emotions, if a dog is physically or emotionally injured by incompetent training, she may never entirely recover. Bad training experiences can negatively affect a dog — and therefore their owners — for the rest of the dog’s life.

For example, I have worked with clients who told me their previous trainers…

  • Told them to bite their dog’s ear. This was a couple who were training their golden retriever as a service dog for their son. This is one of the weirder pieces of training advice I’ve heard. It sounds funny. But if they had gone through with it, at best, it would have confused and caused their dog mild pain and given the owners a mouth full of fur. More likely, it would have taught the dog to be fearful of the owners and to avoid their faces coming near him. At worst, it set the owners up to get bitten in the face
  • Instructed her to shock her fearful dog when he approached her horses. This was particularly dangerous advice in this case. This dog barked and charged at horses because he was afraid of them. Because of the way dogs form emotional associations (classical conditioning), this dog’s fear-driven behavior of charging the horses was made much worse by being shocked when he saw the horses. When this dog was surprised by a porcupine, he was so frightened that he killed it — meaning he attacked despite being quilled hundreds of times. Horses are large, powerful animals that are even more dangerous if they are spooked. This trainer’s advice not only potentially put the dog’s life at risk, but also the horse’s and the client’s
  • Tried to force a puppy to bite his hand so that he could punish him for biting. When the puppy kept refusing to bite, the trainer pinned the puppy and forced his hand into the puppy’s mouth until the puppy lost control of his bowels

2. Incompetent trainers cost you time and money — and you have essentially no recourse. Causing damage to your dog is obviously the biggest concern for many people, but wasting your time and money is no small potatoes, either! Trainers who are not able to set up an effective training plan and instruct you to carry it out are doing a disservice to you, your dog, your relationship with your dog, your budget, and your community (which may be affected by your dog’s behavior).

Trainers should have the expertise for which you are paying

At some pet stores, the employee who stocks shelves and works the cash register may also be given a manual to read about dog training and then start teaching classes. They might be an enthusiastic amateur trainer who talks impressively and has a few useful tips, or they might not. They might never have trained a dog before. I usually find that dogs who have taken classes at big-box stores require a lot of “catch up” when they join one of my classes in comparison to dogs that have taken classes with my certified, experienced colleagues.

I remember a service dog consult with a young woman had been taking her dog to classes at a pet store and thought the trainer at the store was great. He came across as very confident and experienced. However, her dog was lacking in basic manners training, and his greeting behavior had gotten worse from going to classes at the store. At the end of the consult, we spent five minutes on training her dog not to jump when he met someone new, and the client was astonished at how effective my recommendations were. She said she had learned more from me in those few minutes than she had in the months of classes she’d taken at the store.

Requiring licensure would weed out these trainers who have no experience and cannot pass a basic competency exam.

3. Even if you don’t have a dog, lack of regulation of dog trainers can affect you. Dogs that are ill-behaved can have a negative impact on the community due to nuisance issues (e.g., barking, running away, etc.). They can also affect community safety. Trainers who lack an understanding of applied behavioral psychology may exacerbate reactivity or aggression in vulnerable dogs.

Hairdressers require a license….

“Licensing is for consumer protection. It means that in order to take money as a trainer, you’d have to be certified or pass a test and then pay for a license.

“Licensure has nothing to do with methodology. 

“Once licensed, if a trainer hurts a dog, rips off a client, makes fake promises they can’t keep, etc., they lose their license if found guilty of the offense.
If the consumer can only hire licensed dog trainers, it at least prevents the worst of us from getting hired again, because they’ve lost their license to practice dog training in the state.”

– Marjie Alonso, Executive director of International association of animal behavior consultants

If this bill becomes a law, what will it mean?

It will mean that in order for someone to work as a dog trainer in Massachusetts, they will have to show that they have met a very basic set of requirements, which mostly amounts to:

  • 300 hours of dog training experience, working under supervision of a licensed trainer
  • Pass an exam on how dogs learn (behavioral psychology principles), training instruction, dog behavior, and basic dog husbandry
  • Pay a fee to maintain licensure
Drawing of an analog clock
Trainers should put in the time to earn licensure (and your trust)

Isn’t this the bare minimum you’d want from someone whom you were paying for their expertise? Before you pay someone to instruct you on how to handle or train your dog — or who is responsible for your dog 24/7 in a board-and-train where you can’t see how your dog is being treated — wouldn’t you want to know they have at least minimum experience and competence in the field?

Will this law make it harder or more expensive to hire a trainer?

No, it shouldn’t. Its main effect for consumers should be that you’ll be less likely to accidentally hire someone who will harm your dog.

The majority of current trainers will still be licensed. In fact, all trainers who are already certified through the most reputable certifying bodies will be automatically eligible for licensure. So the pool and variety of available trainers in MA should still be large and diverse.

In terms of cost, we don’t yet know what it will cost for trainers to get a license, but for a trainer who is working full-time, the increased cost should be negligible in the grand scheme. For example, I already pay $2,000 to $4,000 per year to maintain professional memberships, certifications, insurance, and corporate status with the Commonwealth of Mass. The fee for licensure probably won’t make a substantial enough difference to affect my fees. (Once licensure is required, I might let some of my other certifications lapse.)

Will this law mean that only really good trainers will be licensed?

Sadly, no. I’m reminded of that old joke:

Q: What do you call the person who graduates last in their class at medical school?

A: Doctor

Just as not every physician is the right doctor for you, nor even necessarily a particularly good doctor, it is critically important that any practicing physician have a medical degree and a license to practice medicine. I would rather go to the doctor who graduated at the bottom of their class than one who couldn’t graduate at all!

Likewise with Mass. dog trainers. There are trainers I’m sure will get licensed whom I would not recommend to clients, but there will be many who will be weeded out. I think the most likely to drop by the wayside if licensure becomes law include…

  • Pet store “trainers” — essentially sales associates who are dabbling in or trying to learn dog training
  • Training franchise owners and employees — people who currently can simply buy a franchise location without necessarily having a training or behavior background
  • Hobby trainers
  • Experienced trainers who have been avoiding, for decades, educating themselves in the science of animal behavior and training that would be assessed by the licensure exam

Would the trainers I’ve referenced in this article — the ear biter, the shock-for-seeing-horses trainer, the puppy traumatizer, and the big box trainer — likely become licensed? It’s possible, I doubt it. Some are hobby trainers and dabblers. Others are in the “willful ignorance” camp.

I’m certain there will still be some trainers whose methods are inhumane or whose skill level is subpar even after licensure. What licensure will mean is that the person to whom you are handing over your dog or trusting for critical training information has at least invested substantial time and some money into learning essential information on dog training and practicing it. They will be indicating that they are professionals who take this work seriously. I think this is the bare minimum we owe to our dogs and ourselves – don’t you?

She deserves the best!

Contacting your legislator is quick and easy. It will let them know you care about your dog and about protection for dog owners in Mass.

3 Easy Steps to Help Dogs in MA

  1. First and most important! Contact your Mass. senator and representative and ask them to support S. 118 “An Act relative to the licensure of dog trainers.” These is easy and only takes a minute. It’s best if you call them, but emailing them is also great! (Find your senator’s and representative’s contact info here.) Tell them that you support S. 118 “An Act relative to the licensure of dog trainers.” Tell them about your dog (just a little bit — not your dog’s entire life story!) and any experience you have with dog training that makes you feel strongly about protecting dogs and their owners in the Commonwealth. If they seem interested, ask them to cosponsor the bill. Even if this version of the bill doesn’t pass this time around, if our lawmakers know that we care about this issue, it will be more likely to pass eventually (and sooner rather than later).
  2. Share this post. I give permission for anyone to repost this blog post in its entirety with an attribution to Sharon Wachsler, At Your Service Dog Training LLC. I also give permission for anyone to link to this post. I also give permission for anyone to excerpt a section of the post as long as it includes a link back to the complete post. Here is the link for this post: http://atyourservicedogtraining.com/2019/07/21/ma-trainer-licensure/
  3. Ask your friends, family members, dog care professionals, and others to contact their senator and representative to support Senate Bill 118 — “An Act relative to the licensure of dog trainers.” People who don’t have dogs should also care about this bill. This is about consumer protection for your dog-owning friends and family members, and for their community that shares space with their dogs.

Have you had an experience with a dog trainer — good or bad — that makes you in favor of licensure? Share in the comments!

Filed Under: Choosing a Dog Trainer

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