Rhonda D Hamerslough

Rhonda has a long background in education, psychology, and behavior. She is an expert in communicating with her clients and their dogs. She is certified through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KA) and is recognized as a Fear Free Certified Professional by completing the Fear Free Animal Trainer Certification Program. She is a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator through the AKC and is a member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, The Association of Professional Dog Trainers, and The American Kennel Club. She believes that learning should never stop. She is currently a student at the prestigious Karen Pryor Academy. Rhonda has a passion for helping those who can't help themselves through volunteer deployment with the ASPCA and HSUS.

Training Philosophy

Rhonda believes in utilizing scientific training methods, fear-free, & reward-based training. She understands that there is not a one size fits all approach to training. She is a strong proponent of tailoring training goals to your dog's unique temperament, personality, and energy level. She will treat your dog like her own; with respect, kindness, & patience. Her dedication to their success and well-being is a top priority.

Services

• Homeschool Training (AKA Day Training): This program is ideal for puppies and adolescent dogs who are over-aroused or reactive. Rhonda will train your dog for you, allowing you to reach your training goals faster and enjoy a more harmonious relationship with your dog.
• Consultations: Rhonda offers personalized consultations to help you understand your dog's specific needs and create a customized training plan.
• Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Training: Rhonda is a certified CGC Evaluator and can help you prepare your dog for the CGC test, which demonstrates that your dog has the correct temperament and training to be a safe member of your community.
• Separation Anxiety Training: Rhonda offers a variety of programs to help dogs with separation anxiety, including a Home Alone Separation Anxiety Program, a DIY Separation Anxiety Program, and a Maintenance Program.
• Fear & Anxiety Training: Rhonda offers a variety of programs to help dogs with fear and anxiety, including a Fear & Anxiety Homeschool Program, a Fear & Anxiety One-On-One Coaching Program, and a Maintenance Program.
• Reactivity & Aggression Training: Rhonda offers a variety of programs to help dogs with reactivity and aggression, including a Reactive Rover Homeschool Program, a Reactive Rover One-On-One Coaching Program, and a Maintenance Program.
• Basic & Advanced Manners Training: Rhonda offers a Good Dog Homeschool Program and a Good Dog One-On-One Coaching Program to help your dog master positive and practical skills that make good behaviors a breeze.
• Pawsitive Puppy Homeschool Program: This program is ideal for beginning puppies 8-24 weeks of age. Rhonda will train your puppy for you, allowing you to reach your training goals faster and enjoy a more harmonious relationship with your puppy.
• Pawsitive Puppy One-On-One Coaching Program: This program is ideal for beginning puppies 8-24 weeks of age. Rhonda will coach you on how to train your puppy at home and out in the real world.
• Chaos to Calm Homeschool Program: This program is ideal for dogs who are over-aroused or reactive. Rhonda will train your dog for you, allowing you to reach your training goals faster and enjoy a more harmonious relationship with your dog.
• Chaos to Calm One-On-One Coaching Program: This program is ideal for dogs who are over-aroused or reactive. Rhonda will coach you on how to train your dog at home and out in the real world.

Certifications

Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), Fear Free Certified Professional, Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, Karen Pryor Academy - Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP)

Specializations

Puppies, adolescent over-arousal/reactivity behaviors, fearful dogs, separation anxiety, fear and anxiety, reactivity and aggression, basic and advanced manners

Training Methods

Rhonda uses positive reinforcement methods, fear-free training, and a constructionist approach. She avoids focusing on your pet's mistakes and punishing them for their wrong choices.

Customer Reviews

Sarah & Tom: Our dog Jack was having separation anxiety due to COVID because we were always with him and had some training issues. After we called Rhonda she gave us some great tools to help Jack. He is no longer worried when we leave, he is getting SO much better with his recall and general behavior. Even our friends have noticed a great improvement in his behavior. We would recommend her to anyone! Thank you so much!

UPDATE - I wanted to let you know Jack is doing GREAT! We are at our cabin and he's been off-leash the whole time. He's coming when he's called, not taking off and not jumping on people! It's so awesome! Our friends are commenting on what good boy he's becoming. Thank you so much for helping us!

[Name withheld]: Rhonda was highly recommended to me as someone who could help with my dog's impulse control and isolation anxiety issues. About 10 months ago, my younger dog Lena (age 5) started struggling with impulse control issues and extreme stress/anxiety from outdoor stimuli. With her training techniques, Rhonda has helped our family redirect our dog's behavior to more positive outlets and we've been able to form a bond with our dog in a way that we didn't realize could happen. Though our training continues as we now work through isolation anxiety issues, the impulse control training has made our daily lives much less stressful and our dog is living a much more balanced life. We only wish we had called her sooner!

[Name withheld]: We came to Rhonda because I had the world's sweetest mellowest dog who was a totally different dog out of the house. I could tell that the outside world was making her nervous and I was worried about being able to take her out on adventures, and to work, and just sad that she couldn't relax on outings. Do It For You Training was the perfect solution for us. Rhonda was able to understand Sif's limits, what was triggering, and we were able to move forward bit by bit to help Sif be less reactive. The transfer and follow up sessions were awesome because I was able to see my dog's progress, learn how to move forward, and both Sif and myself felt much more confident. We still have work to do, but now when I bring my dog to work, or out for a hike, I can see her core personality shine through, and she's not worried about the world and feeling the need to react. I would definitely recommend Rhonda, and will call her first if we need help with either of our pups.

[Name withheld]: We reached out to Rhonda after we adopted Pepper to try and help with her reactivity. Before we started training, Pepper was having strong negative reactions towards other dogs, people, and bikes/ skateboards. It was to a point where we could not go on a walk without Pepper reacting multiple times and we had to limit people coming over to our house. We are very happy with Rhonda's Fear Free training methods and since starting training Pepper has learned to disengage from triggers through positive reinforcement and her temperament has greatly improved. Now when we go on walks Pepper very rarely reacts to triggers and when she does it is much less severe. We have also been able to have more people over with Pepper's improved behaviors from the methods Rhonda has taught us. We were also provided with lots of extra support besides the direct training like reading materials on the different methods we were working on each week and Rhonda was always available for questions between lessons. Not only were our lessons alongside Rhonda great and productive, but she taught us the skills we needed to continue training Pepper beyond our lessons. We highly recommend Think Pawsitively training to anyone looking for training for their dog.

[Name withheld]: Rhonda is a fantastic dog trainer! She is very patient and attentive and provided me with thorough explanations as to why Zeppelin was acting in certain ways with reactivity and fear. This allowed me to make real progress in our training and strengthen our bond. I highly recommend her to train a dog of any age or breed.

[Name withheld]: Rhonda was so amazing to work with! I am a first time dog owner and have a six year old Akita named Yogi who's dog selective. It made for very anxious scenarios meeting new dogs, for both me and yogi. Rhonda worked so well with not only yogi but myself as well. I felt more confident knowing what signs to look for when my dog was getting anxious, the tools to redirect him, and how to introduce him to new dogs. Yogi responded extremely well to her style of teaching and listens to commands better than ever! He really enjoyed when she came to do her training. She was very helpful and answered all my questions and concerns. I think doing this training together has really strengthened our bond. I will definitely continue training with her and would recommend Rhonda to all my friends and family!

[Name withheld]: Rhonda has been amazing. We were at a loss about how to integrate Vinny into our family. He came to us as a one year old rescue with a seemingly complicated past. Rhonda provided us with tools to help him feel safe and confident in this new setting. Personal visits to our home, plus “assignments” and communication between visits made the experience unique to our situation and really special in developing our relationship with Vinny. We also know that we can reach out with follow up questions anytime. We highly recommend the specialized skills and care that Rhonda brings to a canine human relationship.

[Name withheld]: Rhonda was just what we needed! She helped us understand why our rescue dog Lexi was reactive and taught us how to help her to be more balanced. Lexi was very anxious and fearful of her past life experiences. Rhonda helped us learn how to read her body language and taught us when & how to redirect her before she gets elevated, using methods that are fun & engaging for both Lexi & us. We are pleased with the positive results that we are getting already and looking forward to accomplishing more. Rhonda is quick to answer our questions and gives us good feedback as well as boosting our confidence. Lexi is much more relaxed, she loves her training sessions & working with Rhonda. We highly recommend