Maggie Hunter
Maggie is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and the only one teaching in Ashe County. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a Bachelor’s in Biology and English and completed the coursework for a Master’s in Education at Appalachian State University.
Training Philosophy
Maggie believes in positive reinforcement training and is a strong advocate for the Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive (LIMA) approach. She emphasizes the importance of understanding how dogs learn and using humane methods to modify their behavior.
Services
Maggie offers a variety of training programs for puppies, adolescents, adults, and senior dogs. She provides both in-person and remote training. Her services include:
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Private Training:
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Getting Started:
2-hour session covering how dogs learn, behavior modification, canine body language, and child-dog safety. ($200)
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Intro to Training:
4-session package (5 total hours) including foundation skills like sit, stay, down, come, impulse control, and leash walking. ($475)
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Beyond the Basics:
6-session package (7 total hours) building on foundation skills with more distractions and advanced behaviors. ($659)
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Advancing Your Skills:
8-session package (9 total hours) focusing on advanced skills, distractions, and public training. ($810)
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Unleashed Potential:
11-session package (12 total hours) for comprehensive training, including generalization of skills to various environments. ($1020)
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Behavior Modification:
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Getting Started:
6-session package (7 hours) for addressing common behavioral problems like aggression, fear, reactivity, guarding, and separation anxiety. ($770)
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Intermediate Behavior Training:
8-session package (9 hours) for dogs who are comfortable working with the trainer, focusing on impulse control and owner focus. ($975)
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Intensive Training:
14-session package (15 hours) for dogs with bite history, debilitating fears, or anxiety, often in collaboration with a veterinarian. ($1520)
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Puppy Socialization:
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Puppy Socialization: The Book:
A comprehensive guide to puppy socialization, featuring photographs and videos. (Price not listed)
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All multi-session training packages include access to the client area of the website, which features over 50 instructional videos.
Certifications
Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA)
Specializations
Behavior modification for fearful and aggressive dogs, puppy socialization, adolescent dog training, impulse control, leash walking, come when called, door manners, training in dog-friendly public locations
Training Methods
Positive reinforcement, Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive (LIMA), clicker training, biofeedback techniques (TAB and RP)
Customer Reviews
‘Wow and wow again! We’ve had the best, most stress-less day we’ve had in a very long while. Thank you so much for giving us the tools to help Wally relax. We’ve practiced several times during the day. He is a quick learner…We can not thank you enough for your guidance and expertise and we look forward to our next session. On a side note, as I type this, Wally is sound asleep on the couch – not begging for my attention as he used to do.’
Social Media Links
Media Appearances
