Shel Graves, CTC, UW-AAB, has seven years of shelter and rescue experience working with traumatized animals and working to strengthen the human-animal bond. She is a trainer, behaviorist, and animal chaplain.

Training Philosophy
Shel Graves Animal Consulting uses positive reinforcement training to help animals (dogs, cat, humans, and all) be relaxed, confident, playful, and safe together. We provide day training and coaching services to help families resolve troublesome behaviors. We have a heart for shelter and rescue animals as well as senior dogs and cats. When animals have experienced the worst humans can be, we show them the best -- and watch them blossom! We are there for difficult transitions and conversations including end of life and grief counseling.

Services
Shel Graves Animal Consulting offers a variety of services, including:

• Training for Happiness: This service is designed to help dogs and cats live their best lives. It includes a customized happiness assessment, enrichment recommendations, treat ladder evaluation, and a management plan.
• Behavior Consulting: This service helps owners manage and resolve troubling behaviors in their dogs and cats. It includes an initial consultation, a customized training plan, email support, and access to office hours.
• Animal Chaplaincy: This service provides compassionate listening and practical advice to help owners cope with animal loss and end-of-life care. It includes an initial consultation, follow-up sessions, and a customized list of activities and suggested practices.
• Dog Day Training: This service provides in-home day training for dogs. It includes a consultation, a customized training plan, twelve sessions with an expert trainer, and three private coaching lessons.
• Shelter and Rescue Consults: This service provides behavioral support for shelters and rescues. It includes assistance with behavior plans, staff and volunteer training, and policies.
• New Adoption/Rescue Support: This service helps owners select a dog or cat that is right for their family and get them started on the right paw. It includes an initial consultation, a list of resources or training plan, and a follow-up session.
• Difficult Decisions Support: This service provides support for owners who are facing difficult decisions about their pet's behavior, such as behavioral euthanasia or rehoming. It includes an initial consultation, a list of resources or training plan, and a follow-up session.
• Trainer-to-trainer Support: This service provides behavior consults for trainers who are working with complex cases. It includes a 60-minute consultation with a credentialed expert.
• Guest Speaker or Trainer: This service provides presentations on dog or cat behavior to groups. It includes a 60-minute presentation and may include travel or customized presentation fees.

Certifications
CTC, UW-AAB

Specializations
Dog training, Cat consulting, Multi-species care, Animal chaplaincy, Behavior consulting, Shelter and rescue consults, New adoption/rescue support, Difficult decisions support, Trainer-to-trainer support, Guest speaker or trainer

Training Methods
Positive reinforcement training, Fear free techniques

Michelle Smith

Michelle Smith's journey to animal training began over 25 years ago as a Marine Mammal Trainer. She later specialized in human talent development and today combines both passions in her dog training business. She has a B.A. in Biology, an M.S. in Public Relations, and a Masters Certificate in Creativity and Change Leadership.

Training Philosophy

Michelle Smith is a certified professional dog trainer who uses positive reinforcement methods. She believes in humane training and does not use choke chains, pinch or shock collars. Her training is based on the Karen Pryor Academy methodology, which she also used in her work with marine mammals.

Services

• Puppy Training
• Basic Manners
• Fearfulness
• Day Training (available upon request)

Certifications

• Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CCPDT)
• Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP)
• Fear Free Certified
• AKC CGC Evaluator

Specializations

• Puppy Training
• Basic Manners
• Fearfulness
• Trick Training

Training Methods

• Positive Reinforcement
• Clicker Training
• Shaping
• Capturing

Customer Reviews

• Anita Kern: Michelle had a wonderful way with our puppy. Marty immediately responded to her. She is professional, flexible and responsive, willing to work with ours and Marty's needs. Clicks Dog Training is an effective positive reinforcement approach to changing your dog's behavior.
• Heather Smith: With contagious enthusiasm and a certainty of a successful outcome, Michelle cheerfully coaches you to train your dog or puppy. After each session, Michelle leaves me feeling like I am one amazing dog trainer who is doing a wonderful job. In the following few days I look forward to receiving a personalized, detailed report with, not only all the material from our training session, but scads more information, including links to articles of interest, available resources I can find to help with the specific challenges I am having with my puppy, as well as beneficial training videos. I can't recommend Michelle highly enough!
• Lucy Hodgson: I cannot thank you enough for connecting us to Michelle Smith. She has done such amazing work and on top of being an amazing trainer she also writes wonderful reports so you can track progress and learn. I would recommend her highly to anyone. Slowly, with Michelle's help, Bee is coming out of her shell and finding the confidence she needs.
• Jeanette Webster: I rescued a 7 year old dog that was afraid of people. I heard about Michelle through a friend and scheduled a training session. Michelle was amazing. She understands so much about my dog's issues. Maggie now walks around the condo units without barking and pulling on the leash. Maggie has come a long way. Michelle worked with us with a clicker. Maggie hears the click when she did good and turns around to get her treats. Very well satisfied with the method of training. Thank you, Michelle
• Barbara Stein: I contacted Michelle and Clicks Training for help with our new shelter dog, Penny. Penny was exhibiting anxiety and aggressive behavior toward our long-time pet sitter, a man Penny was afraid of as soon as she met him. With Michelle's first visit, Penny's demeanor with the pet sitter (who joined us for our first lesson) changed from suspicious and defensive to wary but accepting. She was literally eating out of his hand before the visit was over! We could hardly believe the change. I was then able to use the techniques Michelle taught us to help Penny become more accepting of other (scary) men in our family. Since that visit, Michelle has given us several more tools to teach Penny behaviors that help her self-confidence. We love working with Michelle, and Penny and our other dog, Cole, love her!
• Diane Monahan: Michelle has been working with my anxious beagle since he was several months old. She does a wonderful job and Joey absolutely loves her. We both look forward to her training visits!
• Norene Spoelker: LOVE LOVE LOVE Michelle and her training process. It was great to see Daisy progress over the weeks and continue to progress. I look forward to future check-in sessions with Michelle and highly recommend her and Clicks Dog Training.
• Ray & Sandy Burger: We liked the fact that the training was positive. Michelle is very knowledgeable and on time. Daisy liked that she had an endless amount of boiled chicken. There is a new dog in just six sessions. Would recommend Clicks Dog Training to anyone.
• Shannon Kahrs: Thanks Michelle for offering dog training at my convenience! Your expertise is much appreciated and my dogs LOVE you! We all know you are really training me but it makes me feel great when my dogs LOVE the stranger that comes over to help me! Because I do a lot of training myself I appreciate being able to call on you for reinforcement when necessary without buying a huge training package.

Social Media Links

• Instagram: @clicksdogtraining

Media Appearances

• Friendship Collar's Blog Interview

Keri is the owner and founder of DogKnows Service Dogs, a 501(c)3 organization that commenced its operations in April 2018. The organization specializes in mental health service dog training, with Shawna serving as the Head of Canine Education.

DogKnows Training offers in-your-home training sessions for dogs of all ages, employing positive training techniques tailored to each individual dog. The focus is on training Emotional Support Animals (ESAs), therapy dogs, and service dogs, with an emphasis on using CLASS for obedience and public access preparation.

Keri's training philosophy is rooted in the vision of establishing programs for companion, ESA, therapy, and service dogs. These programs aim to enable individuals to learn how to train their dogs using positive, humane, and sustainable training practices.

Keri holds an Associates in Arts and Sciences in Business Administration and is an active member of the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Located in Western Washington, DogKnows Training serves a wide range of clients in the region.

In her personal life, Keri resides in Everett with her husband Steve and their two dogs, Charlie (a Giant Schnoodle) and Bentley (a mixed hunting breed). In her leisure time, Keri enjoys gaming, tending to her garden, cross-stitching, and watching sci-fi shows such as Star Trek and Star Wars while spending time with her pets.

At Pet Coach to the Rescue, the team believes every dog deserves to live a healthy, happy life with caring and knowledgeable owners. The mission is to establish a strong partnership between dog and owner through education, nutrition, socialization, and training.

Shawna works with all breeds at various life stages, specializing in addressing different levels of aggression, whether involving other dogs or humans. She also enjoys working with energetic puppies and adolescent dogs, focusing on developing essential manners for public behavior and laying the groundwork for dog sports. Regardless of the challenges faced or the goals set, Shawna will develop a tailored training program to help achieve those goals.

Crawford Canine Connection, LLC is a dog training service established by a Northwest School of Canine Studies graduate in the summer of 2017. Holding a Certificate from the Canine Nutrition Academy of Natural Health Sciences and being a Certified Dog Walker by Dog Walking Academy, Crawford Canine Connection, LLC offers personalized in-home training for dogs.

The trainer uses flat collars, front clip harnesses, and positive reinforcement as part of their force-free training philosophy. Adhering to the least intrusive, minimally aversive (LIMA) training methods, they serve Snohomish and King County, Washington State.

The trainer, a retired physician of 30 years, began volunteering at a local animal shelter six years ago, focusing on behavior-challenged dogs. After formal education with NWSCS under Cristine Dahl, they interned with Ahimsa and the University of Canine Learning Academy in Seattle, and served as an assistant trainer with Canine Behavior Science. Additionally, they completed the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Training Foundations course in June 2018.