Stephanie Duca has over 30 years of experience in dog training. She started working with dogs professionally after years of training her own dogs, including breeds like pugs, boxers, Great Danes, Saint Bernards, English Bulldogs, Doberman Pinschers, Olde English Bulldogs, and even a wolf hybrid. She has also worked with many rescue dogs, helping them find their forever homes. She became an AKC certified tester in 2010 and started teaching classes at The Right Paw in Princeton. She has competed in dog sports with her own dog, Peggy, and earned several titles. She is certified for judging, testing, temperament testing, and certifying dogs for the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and all levels of tricks titles. She is a proud member of the APDT (Association of Professional Dog Trainers) and continues to further her education through seminars and clinics.
Training Philosophy
Stephanie Duca believes in being empathetic to her clients and their specific needs. She keeps an open mind to what approach or technique will bring the most success for each individual human/canine team. Her goal is to keep things ‘pawsitive’.
Services
Stephanie Duca offers a variety of dog training services, including:
-
Puppy Kindergarten:
A six-week class for puppies under 18 weeks old that focuses on socialization, confidence building, basic obedience, and potty training.
-
Grammar School:
A six-week class for dogs older than 16 weeks old that focuses on manners and dog behaviors, including focus, sit, down, come, leave it, and no pulling.
-
Junior High:
A five-week class for dogs that have graduated from Puppy Kindergarten that focuses on loose leash walking, door manners, sit wait, down wait, come, leave it, and meeting strangers and dogs.
-
High School:
A six-week class for dogs that have graduated from Grammar School that focuses on heeling, sit stay, down stay, focus, stand stay, direction changes, and learning each other’s language.
-
Canine Good Citizen (CGC):
A six-week class that prepares dogs and their handlers for the AKC CGC test. This class is for students that want to take their dog further.
-
Advanced Canine Good Citizen (CGCA):
A class to better a dog’s manners among people and other dogs. This class is for dogs that have already earned their CGC certificate.
-
AKC Urban CGC (CGCU):
A five-week class that is totally on the road at different public venues. This class is for dogs that have already earned their CGC certificate.
-
Advanced/Intro to Off Leash:
A drop-in class that focuses on communicating with dogs without relying on a leash. This class is great for fine-tuning a student’s specific ‘trouble area’.
-
Fido’s Field Trip:
A drop-in class that takes training from the classroom to the outside world. This class exposes dogs to real-life situations in public places.
-
Tricks Training:
A group class that teaches handlers how to train their dogs to perform specific tricks. This class can help dogs achieve an AKC Trick Title.
-
Rally Obedience:
A fun and exciting team sport where canine-human teams navigate courses with numbered cones performing an exercise at each cone.
-
Therapy Dog:
A six-week course that prepares dogs and their handlers for the Therapy test to become a certified therapy team. This class is for students that want to become a certified therapy team with their dog.
Certifications
Stephanie Duca is an AKC certified tester. She is also certified for judging, testing, temperament testing, and certifying dogs for the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and all levels of tricks titles. She is a proud member of the APDT (Association of Professional Dog Trainers).
Specializations
Stephanie Duca specializes in obedience training, puppy training, tricks training, rally obedience, and therapy dog training.
Training Methods
Stephanie Duca uses positive reinforcement training methods. She believes in being empathetic to her clients and their specific needs and keeps an open mind to what approach or technique will bring the most success for each individual human/canine team.
