Jeff holds certifications from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, and is a member of The Association for Professional Dog Trainers (APDT) and The Pet Professional Guild (PPG). He serves as the lead behavioral therapy trainer and program manager for the not-for-profit shelter program at A Sound Beginning Program.
Jeff aids thousands of dogs and cats annually in shelters across the country. He offers community support through virtual, phone, or in-home behavioral consultations to assist pet parents in keeping their animals at home. Additionally, he mentors new and existing dog trainers in the Florida area.
Jeff believes that teaching and training are both a science and an art. Understanding the science behind training is important, but the timing and application of it are crucial to the overall process. Everything begins with forming a relationship, which then develops into understanding and learning for both humans and canines.
Jeff follows simple guiding principles and a teaching philosophy based on four pillars of relationship bonding: Mutual Motivation, Mutual Communication, Mutual Trust, and Mutual Respect. The experience between the human and canine working and learning together will create, strengthen, and maintain a bond for a lifetime.
As a lifelong learner, Jeff enjoys reading books on training, canine language, animal behavior, and psychology, as well as watching DVDs, taking online classes, and attending seminars on the same subject matter. His real-world learning is based on numerous years of volunteering for various shelters, rescues, humane societies, and animal control.
Mentoring and collaborating with colleagues are invaluable resources to his canine training education. Joining the A Sound Beginning Program team reinforces Jeff’s desire to continue learning, sharing, and growing, as well as becoming a more significant partner in the complete training process for both ends of the leash.
Jeff has been living in Florida for the past six years and has been married to his soulmate for over 40 years. He is also a proud grandparent. Jeff shares his life with his canine companions and dog mentors, Missy and Lilly, who continue to teach him the value of the human-canine bond.
