Name: Amanda C. Self

History:
Amanda Self is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed through the CCPDT, which adheres to a strict code of ethics and requires continuing education for certification renewal every 3 years. She has been training dogs since 2008. Specializing in working with problem behaviors: Aggression, Resource Guarding, Fear & Anxiety. She focuses her continuing education in these fields and has had great success over the years.
In Atlanta Ga. Amanda owned and ran a successful Board and Train Business for ten years. She also had Daily Daycare programs and Boarded Dogs. She trained Kim Zolciak of Atlanta Housewives two dogs Coco and Chanel in the Board and Train Program. She has worked with Jackson Hurst of 'Drop Dead Diva' dogs while he filmed in Atlanta. She worked with Ginny Milner Foundation in Atlanta helping Rescue dogs with Behavioral Issues to help find and keep their forever homes.
She has worked with deaf dogs and trained her first dog for a Hallmark television movie 'The Lost Valentine' which first aired in January 2011.

Training Philosophy:
Amanda’s certification is through CCPDT and requires continuing education hours to re certify every 3 years to hold this prestigious title and must adhere to a strict code of ethics.
Training since 2008 she has become a Behavior Specialist through her years of working with Aggressive, Fearful, Reactive, and Anxious dogs. She is adept at reading Dog Body Language, Assessing and Creating Protocol, Management, Behavior Modification, Counter Conditioning and helping rehabilitate these problem behaviors. Her continuing education is focused in these areas. Amanda loves training people to train their dogs. Combined with excellent people skills, Amanda is compassionate, honest, patient and loving. She uses only Positive Reinforcement methods .

Services:
Services Offered
In home training lessons: Dogs of all ages.
Puppies – crucial socialization period is 6 – 16 weeks.
Pet Sitting / Training
In Home Lessons
Serving Atlanta, Georgia & the Birmingham, Alabama Area
Basic Obedience Training Group Classes
One hour classes
each week for 6 weeks
Puppy Socialization Classes
One hour class each week
for four (4) weeks
Pet Sitting / Dog Training

Certifications:
Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed through the CCPDT

Specializations:
Specializing in working with problem behaviors: Aggression, Resource Guarding, Fear & Anxiety.

Training Methods:
Positive Reinforcement Training Only

Customer Reviews:

• I am emailing to recommend Amanda Self, owner of A Well Behaved Dog. We called Amanda to help us with potty issues when we first adopted Maggie. Amanda is smart and knowledgeable and has a wonderful manner both with dogs and with their humans. She taught us how to address certain dynamics that exist among our three dogs and how modifying everyone’s behavior can help Maggie adjust. Amanda has a keen insight into dogs’ thought processes and is very good at communicating with dogs and their owners.
  Thank you so much!!! It was a pleasure having you work with our boy. You are amazing at what you do and we appreciate everything you did! You are literally one of the nicest people I have ever met. I will get a picture and send it to you!
  Heather
• Amanda is an awesome dog trainer. She has an obvious love for animals and is very knowledgeable in dog behavior. I learned so much from her and was pleased to see that all her training techniques are based on positive reinforcement. She helped me transform my little ball of energy. Alice, into a well mannered toy poodle who is so much fun to be with. I highly recommend her.
  Ruth Sarris
• We love Amanda! Opie (and his mom and dad) have learned so much and we would recommend her to anyone!
  Lauren Jennings
• “I wanted to send this letter to express my Happiness for all the help I’ve received from Amanda. Nina went from an untrained, vicious dog to a loving dog. She now listens to commands. Nina still has a lot more training to do but the improvement since the training with Amanda has been wonderful. Amanda is a great trainer and a good teacher. I would recommend Amanda to all of my friends”.
  Paula C.
• Amanda,
  Thanks again for taking such great care of Snickers-you will always be “Aunt Amanda” to her.
  All the best
  Bridget B.
• Hi Amanda,
  I just wanted to write to thank you. Our puppy obviously had a wonderful time with you – she was clearly happy and much more at ease with being away from home.
  I can’t thank you enough – we have really had to scratch our head and think about where to take her since she seemed so scared before – and yet when we picked her up today it was like she was another dog.
  So, thank you for giving her such a wonderful time, thank you for encouraging her to play with her little friend and thank you for taking such special care of her.
  You know – I think she misses being with you- I would never be able to say that about anywhere else she has been and I thank you so much.
  I hope you will be happy to have her again.
  Thanks from all of us-but especially our puppy who I think misses you just a little bit!
  Joanna W.
• Amanda,
  I wanted to thank you for taking great care of Shilo while I was away. I know you keep her on a regular basis but this time you went out of your way to be flexible with your schedule. Since you are located on my way to the airport, it always works best for me to drop her off close to my departure time and pick her up soon after my return. My trip to San Francisco was very last minute and I was gone for a week. Your flexibility helped a stressful situation be a little less stressful. I don’t tell you enough but Shilo loves staying with you. Whenever I tell her she is going to see Amanda, Kelly and the gang she walks over to me wanting to go straight to the car. Thank you for making your home a happy place for Shilo to visit.
  Kimberly B.
• “Amanda, thank you so much for the wonderful care you took of Behr. You do such a wonderful job. Amazing how much he learned while he was with you. That pales compared to the time, attention and love you obviously gave him in our absence- which means the world to us. Thanks for spending the extra time with me picking him up yesterday. He’s doing great and I’m not traveling the next couple of weeks so I’m doing my best on reinforcement.
  I know that you probably don’t but if you ever need a positive reference please do not hesitate to contact myself or Andy. We could not be more pleased.
  Thanks again!
  John, Andy & Behr
• Amanda, We hope you are doing well.
  “This email is coming from Chris and Jamie ( Santino’s parents). You had Santino from 2/19 until 3/5.
  We just wanted to check in with you and let you know how pleased we are. Santino has come home as Lassie. She is so well behaved, calm and happier. We could not be more pleased. It is a joy to come home to her everyday.
  We have given two of our friends your information and verbally have told several neighbors of our success story. We owe it all to you!!!!
  Amanda, you’re the best. Please feel free to use this email as a testimony of our gratitude and appreciation for your efforts and extraordinary training techniques. We will be contacting you in the near future for the next stage in Santino’s developement”.
  Warmest Regards,
  Chris, Jamie, Santino & Tyson
• Hi Amanda,
  “First of all, I want to thank you for doing such a great job with Phoebe. She is listening so much better. She is excellent on wait and sit. Doing well with her place. Steve and I could not be happier with the results.
  Thanks
  Beth W.
• Amanda,
  “I just wanted to send you a quick note and tell you how wonderful you were working with our dog “Dallas” last month (April). He is a goldendoodle puppy who needed training so we decided to send him for obedience training. Amanda took him in her home for two weeks and worked on all the areas we were having problems with. When we picked him up after his two week session, he was like a new dog. We continue to work on the training techniques Amanda had accomplished with him and he is truly a loving dog who needs a lot of exercise.
  Thanks again Amanda for everything!”
  Charles & Kellie T.
• Good Morning Amanda,
  “I hope this email finds you well and you had a nice Thanksgiving. Harley is doing well. He is a different dog. Its amazing! His temperament is much calmer. Thank you so much for all of your help.”
  Thanks
  Nicole S.
• Miracle Worker !
  “We absolutely loved our experience. We took our 9 month old lab to Amanda, a certified trainer, for the 2 week board and train session for basic obedience. She was incredible! After just two short weeks, we have come home to a completely new dog. He now sits, lies, stays, waits all on command. He doesn’t pull when we walk or jump up on you when you come in the door. In essence, he actually listens now! It really is amazing what Amanda did with our dog in just two weeks. She was very accessible and is willing to help anytime, even after the dog completed the program. Totally worth the money and what a great foundation for the future! You definitely can’t argue with the results.”
  Jennie & Mark
• “We just wanted to say thank you for all you did with Linsey. She is like a different dog! She is so pleasant and calm, and those are not two words that we would ever put in a sentence with Linsey’s name. We did our three training sessions today and ran with her every chance we got (the rain didn’t help but we will keep up the routine because we love this little dog). Thank you for giving us a chance to have a great life with a wonderful dog. Linsey is truly a wonderful , sweet dog, and (I say this as I just caught both of them destroying a roll of toilet paper – oh well you win some, you lose some), we are blessed to have an opportunity to work with her and show her that she doesn’t have to be in charge anymore. Don and I are now the pack leaders (we are still learning of course), and she can enjoy her life as just a well loved dog.
  Thanks again, and you truly have a gift working with animals.”
  Becky, Donnie, Linsey, and Oliver S.
• “I tried housebreaking my schnauzer for a year and worked with two trainers without any luck. I finally met Amanda! Now my schnauzer notifies me when she needs to go outside. No more worrying about rugs, stepping in messes or constantly watching for cues. Amanda Self is an intuitive dog trainer. She observes a dog’s behavior and adjusts her training to meet their needs. Thank you Amanda !!”
  Kimberly B.
• Thanks Amanda !
  “Amanda just spent two weeks with our little dog and did a fantastic job! I was concerned Cedar would only listen to Amanda, but she listens to all of us. Amanda did a great job of spending time with all four of us she “trained” us as much as she trained Cedar! I highly recommend Amanda !”
  David G.
• Thanks Amanda!
  “Two weeks with our young lab made all the difference! We still have things to work on at home, his demeanor is completely different and he receives direction much better! The first night back at home he stayed on his new bed (his place) during our entire evening meal without hovering around hoping someone dropped something! That alone was worth the investment of time and money! Thanks again!”
  Sara M.
• Hi Amanda,
  “My wife and I are certainly pleased with the results with Roxy and Raoul.”
  Art B.
• “I’ve always had a pet peeve (no pun intended) of my friends’ unruly dogs jumping on me when visiting. It’s a weird spot to be in. And guess what? It’s not ok to kick them.
  So I was amazed last week when Bella, my buddy’s bulldog, politely greeted me at the door and then went back to lounging in his bed. Apparently he was kept for two weeks by a trainer named Amanda who was down to earth. This dog was nuts before, believe me, so five stars!
  Donny W.
• Hi Amanda,
  “Robert, Jigsaw and I hope that you’ve been well. We enjoyed your Beginner class earlier this year and Jigsaw has really done pretty well.
  Jigsaw’s training with you was right on time. We’ve tried to keep up with some of the lessons. There are some things we still need to practice more.
  With the cooler Fall weather coming we are interested in some additional training for Jigsaw. We’re thinking an Intermediate class is probably the next best choice. If you know of a class scheduled to begin in the near future we’d probably have an interest in it. Our class was at Ansley Animal Clinic. Also if you have suggestions on a different class we’ll consider that too.”
  Thanks again!
  Dave S.
• Hi Amanda,
  I wanted to let you know how good of an instructor you were for the beginner class me and my husband enrolled our puppy in. Amelia is a very rambunctious 6-month old German Short Haired Pointer. We benefited from your guidance especially when you took time to address issues or concerns specific to Amelia. We’re hoping to enroll in the Intermediate class at Ansley Animal Clinic starting mid-January. Amelia needs more work with her leash training and we’re excited for the next class. I’ll send the registration form in soon.
  Thanks again,
  Caitlin and Anthony F.
• I want to tell you how much we have enjoyed our puppy classes with Amanda and how much we have learned. Daisy is a different dog and it is because Amanda has done such a great job with teaching me how to train her. I have been to puppy training classes before, but none of the trainers were anything close to as effective as Amanda. I have referred several people because of my experience in Amanda’s class and I have emphasized to them how different classes are to what is usually available. Amanda is wonderful.
  Sally B.
• Our rescue dog, Chipper, enrolled in basic obedience group training that was taught at Ansley Animal Clinic by Piedmont Park. Amanda was a great trainer. Chipper loved her and enjoyed the training. The key to success is to practice repeatedly at home. The owner must be active with practice.
  Mark & Phillip
• Amanda demonstrated a master’s level of knowledge while training my dog Stella. She recognized Stella’s unique personality and needs, then addressed those individually while maintaining a group class. I plan to hire Amanda in the future for my dogs’ training needs.
  Adam M.
• We just wanted to send you a quick “thank you”. We just completed Basic dog Obedience with Amanda as our trainer, and she was wonderful! We learned so much, and our pups Peyton and Darby had a great time too.
  Again, many thanks!
  Cathy and Jane, Peyton & Darby
• Hey Amanda,
  Thank you again for being a wonderful teacher! Sawyer is really making progress. I do think he becomes more stubborn in the heat. Have a good day!
  Heather B.
• “A Well Behaved Dog” has been a great experience for me, my partner, and our Pomeranian puppy. Amanda’s specialty with toy breeds made her class the perfect fit for our pup, teaching everything from basic tricks to not pulling on the leash. Equally helpful, the class is as much about training the owners as it is the dogs. We became more adept at reading dogs’ body language to make sure he was learning, gaining confidence, and staying safe around other dogs. Amanda gave the proper guidance in how to train our dog at home, optimize every learning opportunity, insure he grows into a socialized, loving, and yes, well behaved dog. We owe a lot to Amanda for this great course!
  Patrick & Carter

Is Bigger Team:

Social Media Links:

Media Appearances:
She has worked with deaf dogs and trained her first dog for a Hallmark television movie 'The Lost Valentine' which first aired in January 2011.