Certified Professional Dog Trainer

Hi. I’m Liz, founder of Hospitable Hounds.  I have always been an animal lover and grew up with tons of family pets.  Naturally, when I started my own family, pets were definitely in the equation and when my kids started asking for a dog it was an easy "Yes!". 

I was fortunate that Maggie, our sweet German Shepherd mixed breed, was friendly and easy going (we’ll forget about the holes she dug in the yard and shoes she chewed up as a puppy!).  She was great with kids and was a welcoming pet who always enjoyed visitors.  So a few years later when my youngest daughter started asking for a second dog, I didn’t put up much of a fight.  I knew it would be a lot of work, but lots of people have more than one dog so how hard could it be?  

Well, once we adopted Cooper, life as I knew it changed dramatically.  Nothing about this dog was easy, and I was in for a big challenge!  Despite all the time, effort and yes, often tears shed raising Cooper, I believe he came into my life for a reason. Due to a rare health condition that emerged just days after we adopted him, significant food allergies and ultimately some behavioral issues, I threw myself into researching how to help this dog that we all loved from the moment we brought him home.  This pursuit ultimately led me to find my true passion of becoming a professional dog trainer.

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I graduated with distinction from the Master Class at CATCH Canine Trainers Academy, where I received my certification as a professional dog trainer.  CATCH is a state licensed program that combines hands-on training with mentoring from recognized experts in the field of dog training. I gained further experience volunteering at the Humane Society of Westchester in its “train to adopt” program, which allowed me the opportunity to work with a wide variety of breeds, temperaments and learning styles.  Several years ago, I learned about a newer method of dog training called Concept Training, and found it to be so powerful that I became a certified Concept Dog Trainer.

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I believe in force-free, reward based training and use the least intrusive, minimally aversive (LIMA) strategies to get results.  I am a professional member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), an organization of individual trainers who are committed to becoming better trainers through education. I regularly attend conferences and workshops to update my knowledge and skills.