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| I have wanted to work with animals for as long as I can remember; unfortunately, I get nauseated by the site of blood; so it is safe to say a career in veterinary medicine was probably not going to happen. Fortunately when I moved to the Orlando, FL area I began working with Animal Behavior Systems, a company that trains guide & service dogs as well as obedience training for everyone. I spent several years training with them and logged countless volunteer hours before heading off to train on stage at Sea World, San Antonio. Joel Slavin’s Professional Animals’ is the company responsible for the “Pets On Stage” shows at Sea World theme parks across the country. (For those of you who haven’t seen this must-see show it is a domestic animal show featuring: cats, dogs, pigs, ducks, pigeons, exotic birds, skunks, and even a donkey all performing on stage.) This was ‘paws down’ the most fun I’ve ever had at work. The first time I stepped on stage was one of the proudest moments of my life, as it was the realization of a lifelong dream to be a trainer at Sea World. |
| When I returned to Orlando I went off on my own and started All Star Animal Training in 2001. Small group classes operated out of a local feed & pet store allowed me to grow as a trainer with my own unique style. Unlike most behaviorists who were trained in one methodology, my background allowed me to see the polar ends of animal behavior modification. Paul Brouchard of ABS guide dogs has a military background and this is reflected in his style of dog training, which could be compared to the Koehler method of dog training. Also, since he works with guide and service animals – treat training for basic obedience is a no-no. I agree with this belief, if a guide dog can work all day long for a pat on the head at the end of the day – I’m pretty sure your pet can sit nicely with out a food reward. As you may have suspected, this was not how things went at Sea World. So I took what I liked best from both worlds, plus my own studies and came up with my own unique approach to behavior modification. |
| Lights, Camera, Action! On Stage at Sea World, San Antonio |
| From shelter to spokes model - Anastasia's Story |
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| In this shot Ana wants to get in on the recess fun by standing pretty with a backpack on. |
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| And the winning picture is: |
| In this last shot Ana must follow Ariel in an off leash heel, with a back pack on to the bus stop. |
| I met Anastasia (who was called "Sky" because of the color of her eyes) while I was doing volunteer I met Anastasia (who was called "Sky" because of the color of her eyes) while I was doing volunteer work at The Animal Shelter in Winter Garden, FL. I was there training the “hard to adopt” dogs when she was brought in. She had been found wandering down a very busy central Florida roadway. I was shocked after a few days when no one came to claim such a beautiful animal. I decided to take Ana to one of my group classes so people could see what great dogs can be found in a shelter. When we first arrived I thought I’d made a HUGE mistake, Ana was pulling me all over the place and basically just going nuts. However towards the end of the class we played an obedience game similar to musical chairs (all the dogs walk in a circle and have to sit upon command, last dog to sit is out) and out of about 25 dogs we won! That was it, Ana came home with me and the rest is history. She is my every sunshine and I love her dearly. Below are pictures from her first couple of photo shoots. |
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