Holden has spent the last twelve years dedicated to the science of animal behavior. He grew up with gun-dogs, later adopting and fostering terriers, shepherds and many mixed breed dogs. He now shares his life with his sled dog ZZ. He particularly loves working- and primitive-breeds. In his free time he is an amateur canicross runner, and a sailor (he spent seven years living aboard with dogs!)
Training Philosophy
Holden is a positive-reinforcement based trainer and utilizes only humane methods to create powerful and long-lasting behavior change, as recommended by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior. He never recommends measures that cause pain, discomfort, or fear.
Services
- Complex behavior cases
- Fear, anxiety & phobias
- Resource guarding
- Handling sensitivity, veterinary fear and cooperative care
- Dog-dog reactivity and aggression, multi-dog households
- Separation anxiety
- Shelter & rescue
- Shelter, rescue & adoption counseling for individuals
- Playgroups consulting for organizations
- Behavior evaluations
- Foster home support and training
- Shelter staff education
- Life skills training
- Rocket recall & off-leash training
- Service Dog evaluations and training
- Cat-dog relationships
- Puppy socialization
- Manners and basic obedience
Certifications
- Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT)
Specializations
Holden specializes in fear and aggression cases, separation anxiety, and puppy training.
Training Methods
Holden uses positive reinforcement methods and never recommends measures that cause pain, discomfort, or fear.
Customer Reviews
Kea’s human:
All this work we’ve done we’re really seeing the results. I almost couldn’t believe it would work, but it really is…giving her all this structure of how to work through scary/stressful things is just giving her (and the humans) a really great life together.
