About Fran

My guiding philosophy

At it’s core, successful dog training is all about successful communication—between trainer and client, and between client and dog. I seek to create a fun, open, relaxed training environment where good communication can flow. That’s my secret to your dog training success!

Other dog related things I do

Since the early 1990’s I have volunteered with my registered therapy dogs to make visits to hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, schools, and libraries. I love this way of serving my community with my dogs, and it gives me great pleasure to share this fulfilling activity with others by training therapy dog handling teams.

My professional training credentials

I am a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT). I believe deeply in professional certification and ongoing professional development in order to best serve my clients. I regularly attend dog training conferences, seminars, and workshops to keep up on the latest science and developments relating to dog behavior and training.

In my 30+ years of professional training I have attained several AKC competition obedience titles on several different dogs, as well as handling my show dogs to championships. I love helping my clients achieve the thrill of success through positive training, whether in the show ring or at home.

I am an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator, an AKC and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Cub-USA Trick Dog Evaluator, and AKC Virtual Home Manners evaluator for Puppies and Adult dogs. I am also a long time member of the Port Chester Obedience Training Club, where I teach breed handling classes.

My training methods

I am a positive reinforcement trainer. That means I use only force-free, science-based training methods. This approach to training is becoming increasingly common in the pet dog training world, and is heavily endorsed and encouraged by all of our leading professional organizations, such as the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), the Pet Professional Guild (PPG), the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB), and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

Positive training for the show ring is catching on as more people see the kind of top level success that can be achieved, as well as how much more enjoyable the road to that success is for both dogs and owners.