History
Heather became a professional dog trainer after experiencing first hand the life-altering impact training can have – both for dog and person. She became deeply passionate about the study of dog behavior. This led her to complete an internship at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.
After which she earned her Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), which is maintained through numerous forms of continuing education including workshops, conferences and classes.
Heather enjoyed sharing her knowledge about dogs so much that she became a mentor trainer and has helped develop new programs.
Training Philosophy
Heather believes that continued learning is essential and that training should be fun and build trust. She finds great joy in helping dogs overcome their challenges and learn to thrive.
Services
- Personalized training sessions with you and your dog in the comfort of your home. ($135 an hour)
- Walk and trains may be the best fit for you. During a walk and train, I will take your dog for an hour long adventure where they will practice their skills. ($150 an hour)
- Need a little extra help? Ask about my “jump start” program. I do the training and establish a solid foundation on which you can build. This is a five session program in which I come and work with your dog for four 1 hour sessions. On the fifth session, you will learn what your dog has been taught and how to continue their success (via virtual or in person). ($850 per series)
Certifications
Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA)
Specializations
behavior issues, especially fearful dogs
Training Methods
positive reinforcement
Customer Reviews
Daniel Ross: I have worked with Heather for a number of years as she has trained our two dogs. Heather started working with Sjokelade when she was still a puppy. Heather worked with her to progress through Adult Training one and two and then reach the AKC Good Citizen Certification. We got our second dog, Truffle, as a five year old and he had absolutely no training at all, not even the basic commands of sit or down. Heather trained him to progress through and achieve AKC Good Citizen Certification.
What I like about Heather is that the dogs absolutely adore her and training was a positive and exciting experience for them. She is very experienced and able to correct behaviors in a dog so that they are a pleasure to be with. For example, the five year old Truffle really enjoys hiking in the mountains. The problem was that he would get so distracted chasing after small animals that he would basically get lost and be gone for half an hour or sometimes longer before we could find him. Using positive behavior recognition only, Heather guided Truffle very quickly to stay with us off-leash during the hike and not get distracted, even if a critter would run in front of him over the trail.
I recommend Heather as a trainer without any hesitation.
