Jessica L. Robichaud

Jessica Robichaud has been a CPDT-KA, Knowledge Assessed Certified Professional Dog Trainer for 15 years. She is also an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. Ms. Robichaud holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism/Communications from the University of Hartford.
After holding various positions in corporate America, she decided to pursue her passion for working with dogs. Upon completing her training at a national retail chain, she began teaching puppy and beginner training classes in New Jersey. Ultimately, she became the senior trainer, teaching up to 12 group classes per week and conducting private lessons for owners of dogs with specific behavioral needs. Jessica worked as an assistant volunteer trainer at one the of most influential schools in the country, St. Hubert's Dog Training School in Madison, New Jersey.
With more than 10 years of teaching humans to train dogs, Jessica's strength lies in her gentle force-free approach. One of her favorite quotes is "Train with no ego" by Suzanne Clothier. Jessica finds that the most essential building block to creating life long trust in your canine companion is developing a relationship that is built on mutual respect. Committed to the use of positive reinforcement and behavior modification, Jessica has provided practical solutions to help owners better communicate with their dogs.
Jessica is a professional member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and attends numerous seminars each year. She enjoys volunteering for Lucky Pup Rescue and Pittie Posse. Mrs. Robichaud resides in York County with her husband, her daughter and two dogs, Lilly a deaf French Bulldog and Lucas, a Shetland Sheepdog.

Training Philosophy

Jessica believes that training should be enjoyable for both dog and owner. She feels that reward based training not only enables dog owners to effectively change behavior but also strengthens the bond they share with their canine companions.

Services

The Capable Canine offers a variety of dog training services, including:

• Puppy Training Classes: $160 for 5 classes, includes a puppy training packet, homework packet, and a clicker. Dogs from 8 to 18 weeks of age. Covers basics like sit, down, come, loose leash walking, potty training, socialization, handling, chewing, and biting.
• Beginner Training Class: $190 for 6 classes, includes a general training packet, homework packet, and a clicker. All dogs over 18 weeks of age welcome. Covers basic behaviors such as sit, down, wait, come, stay, leave it, go to your bed/mat, loose leash walking, and more.
• Intermediate 1 Training Class: $160 for 5 classes, includes homework sheets. Prerequisite: Beginner, Fast Track, Semi-Private, or Private Training. Refines skills learned in Beginner, focusing on emergency cues, adding distance and duration to behaviors, loose leash walking, recalls, and more.
• Intermediate 2 Training Class: $160 for 5 classes, includes homework sheets. Prerequisite: Beginner/Fast Track and Intermediate Level 1. Focuses on advanced loose-leash walking skills and heel work, off-leash reliability, increasing duration and distractions with stay, wait, leave it, go to bed/mate, and come/here. Works toward Canine Good Citizen certification. Includes a field trip on week 3 or 4.
• Advanced Dog Training: $160 for 5 classes. Brings dog's training to a higher level, working on emergency cues with greater distance, duration, and distractions. Adds distances of up to 12 feet on all cues. Expands attention and heel work, introduces off-leash work using long lines. Includes inside and outside training, with the option of field trips to practice skills in different settings.
• Canine Good Citizen/Therapy Dog Preparation: $135 for 6 classes, includes a general training packet, homework packet, and a clicker. Prerequisite: Beginner class, Int. 1, Int. 2, and possibly Advanced training. Prepares students for the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test. Week 5 is the test. Also ideal for those interested in therapy work with their dog.
• Community Canine – Advanced Canine Good Citizen: $160 for 5 classes, week 5 is the test. Only open to dogs that have already completed the Canine Good Citizen Test. Includes 4 weeks of preparation and practice for the Advanced Canine Good Citizen Class (Community Canine). Includes 1 field trip session.
• Rocket Recall: $90 for 3 classes. Prerequisite: at least a beginner class. Covers recall training using a variety of distractions, setups, and games.
• Field Trip Class (Out and About): $95 for 3 classes. Prerequisite: Basic obedience, non-reactive. Helps dogs learn to be polite furry friends in public settings. Visits various locations with distractions.
• Sniff Around: $95 for 3 classes. Prerequisite: a minimum of a puppy class, beginner class, semi private, or adequate private lessons. Includes sniffing fun and enrichment, challenging dogs with new things to engage their sniffer. Includes obstacle work.
• Private Dog Training: $100/hr at The Capable Canine, $140/hr in-home. Offers private training packages for 4 or 6 weeks. Provides this service on a VERY limited basis. Not taking any aggression cases at this time.

Certifications

Jessica Robichaud is a CPDT-KA (Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed) and an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator.

Specializations

Puppy training, beginner training, intermediate training, advanced training, Canine Good Citizen preparation, therapy dog preparation, recall training, field trip training, sniffing enrichment, private training.

Training Methods

The Capable Canine uses reward-based training, also known as positive reinforcement or clicker training. They are 100% force-free and do not use aversive tools such as shock collars or prong collars.

The Animal Welfare Society Inc. is where the Certified Professional Dog Trainer is currently instructing obedience classes for dogs of all levels. The trainer specializes in Rescue Dog training and holds certifications for their expertise. Their training philosophy is based on explaining things from the dog's point of view. They focus on helping owners understand their dogs through their body language and aim to build a strong relationship from that understanding. The trainer serves locations in Southern Maine.