• Home
  • What is a CDBC
  • Aggression Issues
  • Slow Thinking
  • Games-Based Training
  • About Laura
  • Client Testimonials
  • Dog Training Articles
  • Contact Us
  • More
    • Home
    • What is a CDBC
    • Aggression Issues
    • Slow Thinking
    • Games-Based Training
    • About Laura
    • Client Testimonials
    • Dog Training Articles
    • Contact Us
  • Home
  • What is a CDBC
  • Aggression Issues
  • Slow Thinking
  • Games-Based Training
  • About Laura
  • Client Testimonials
  • Dog Training Articles
  • Contact Us

Four Paws, Four Directions Dog Training & Behavior Consulting

Four Paws, Four Directions Dog Training & Behavior ConsultingFour Paws, Four Directions Dog Training & Behavior ConsultingFour Paws, Four Directions Dog Training & Behavior Consulting

Laura Donaldson, PhD, CDBC, KPA CTP

Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, IAABC 

Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner 

Book an Appointment

Four Paws, Four Directions Dog Training & Behavior Consulting

Four Paws, Four Directions Dog Training & Behavior ConsultingFour Paws, Four Directions Dog Training & Behavior ConsultingFour Paws, Four Directions Dog Training & Behavior Consulting

Laura Donaldson, PhD, CDBC, KPA CTP

Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, IAABC 

Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner 

Book an Appointment

GREAT TRAINING ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!

Book An Online Consultation Today!

Online behavior consulting sessions offer unprecedented flexibility in terms of getting help for your dog’s behavior issues. This has been important during the era of the coronavirus and it will continue to be important as our lives resume their busier than ever, back to normal quality. There are many advantages to doing online sessions, including ease of scheduling in terms of time and distance. I have worked with clients in such diverse locations as the Yukon to Hawaii and the United Kingdom. In an online session, we do almost everything that is possible during an in-home session, including live exercises and real time coaching. A special advantage of online sessions for dogs who worry about their environment or struggle with aggressive behavior is that an unknown person entering their space often creates yet another layer of stress. This makes eliminating such stress a big positive. Because of this, training in online sessions is often much more productive than in home training for these dogs . If you've never tried online sessions, contact me now to open up a whole new realm of possibilities for you and and your canine family member(s).

(Photo Credit: Shutterstock)

Contact Laura

"You really are a gift to us and all the other interspecies families you help." A current client . .

Happy Online Behavior Consulting Client!

                                                                              Outstanding results from online dog training

Veterinary Behaviorist and Veterinarian Recommended!

 “Training  is a lifelong process of befriending the dog — a process of mutual  understanding and care that is most fully and satisfyingly through  gentle and considerate means.” (Stephen R. Lindsay) 

 For millennia, people have believed that the Four Sacred Directions balance the world and signify completion and wholeness. Four Paws, Four Directions Dog Training & Behavior Consulting, LLC  emulates this belief by using a positive dog training philosophy to  facilitate the social and spiritual relationship between canines and  their human companions. Four Paws, Four Directions Dog Training & Behavior Consulting emphasizes positive, force-free dog training that  gives dogs confidence and makes them eager participants in the learning process. This approach to training helps owners and their dogs work together harmoniously.  Dogs learn life skills and good manners— everything  that a canine good citizen should have—and humans learn more effective  ways of communicating with their canine partners.  For a  glimpse  of what this training can mean for you and your dog, please view the  video of River ignoring the herd of deer under the "Testimonials"  column below. I  worked with this team over a period of a few months and am delighted  that they have achieved such spectacular success with non-reactive and calm leash behavior!   

  

I am both a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC; https://iaabc.org) AND a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP; https://karenpryoracademy.com). I graduated with distinction in 2009 from the Karen Pryor Academy for Dog Training and Behavior, a demanding program requiring both knowledge and skills assessment as well as work with multiple species of animals -- in my case parrots, chickens, llamas and cats. In March 2019, I was featured on the KPA website as the international Karen Pryor CTP of the month. I am also very proud to be the only Certified Dog Behavior Consultant in the Finger Lakes region! Many dog training "certifications" are little more than certificates of completion issued by the same organizations that a trainer paid to gain their education. In contrast, the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants is a completely independent organization whose goals are to standardize and support the practice of companion animal behavior consulting through rigorous peer review and continuing education. Please see the "What is a CDBC?" page for more information on why this certification is so important. IAABC certification means that my credentials have been carefully vetted by an independent board; that I have accumulated hundreds of hours (and now approaching several thousand) worth of hands-on experience; and that I have been deemed professionally and ethically qualified to consult with owners about all their dog's behavior issues.  


I have created an innovative program called SLOW THINKING IS LIFESAVING IN DOGS™ that uses cutting edge research on canine cognition to help dogs struggling with aggressive behavior as well as other issues. This program works on the premise that changing a dog's thinking will change the dog's behavior. I particularly emphasize teaching dogs how to change their processing of information from the environment through a mechanism called cognitive reappraisal. The Slow Thinking is Lifesaving in Dogs program uses interactive games that teach self-interruption, problem solving and cognitive reappraisal techniques to help dogs transform their responses to Scary Stimuli in the environment. Dogs become independent problem solvers who, when faced with distractions they find worrisome, are able to stay calm and focused. My special focus is on dogs struggling with aggression and trauma. Please click on the SLOW THINKING page to find out more about this very exciting development.


My PhD is in the humanities and because of that, I bring a wealth of knowledge about the psychology of teaching and learning to my work with dogs and their humans. I have completed master’s level coursework in the fields of applied behavior analysis, animal behavior, ethology, and companion animal psychopharmacology and actively participate in many continuing education opportunities. While in the past, I have competed in sheep-herding trials with my dogs (and still have my own flock of Navajo Churro sheep), I currently focus on my behavior-consulting practice full-time. I am also an official mentor to prospective dog trainers completing the program at CATCH Canine Trainers Academy (https://catchdogtrainers.com).   

Award Winning Writer on Dog Behavior

Maxwell Medallion Front

  I am delighted to say that my article, "The Cognitive Revolution and Everyday Dog Training: the Case of Look at That" has been awarded the 2018 Maxwell Medallion for best magazine article on dog behavior and training! This is like winning a Grammy for dog writing and is awarded annually by the Dog Writers Association of America, an organization devoted to promoting excellence in journalism about dogs. You can find this article, along with several other that I have published, on the "Dog Training Articles" page.  The "Behavior Matters!" article was also selected as a finalist for the 2018 Maxwell Medallion award.  




Find out more

Testimonials from Happy Clients

"Thanks  to some wonderful training we did with Laura . . . River  loves to show off her ability to ignore everything now!

More Unsolicited Testimonials

From a Student

From a Professional Colleague

From a Current Client

" You are such a gorgeous teacher Laura Donaldson. So supportive, experienced, incredibly observant, insightful, thoughtful, give amazing feedback & so kind"  

From a Current Client

From a Professional Colleague

From a Current Client

"You have won our hearts with all your miracles. Our gratitude is boundless. Tonight, for the first time, Coby got on the raised bed himself and just relaxed. He was dressed to go out for his evening walk, but Wegman's software was giving me problems. While he waited for me, he simply hopped on the bed!"

From a Professional Colleague

From a Professional Colleague

From a Professional Colleague

 I have a client I am working with right now that I have encouraged to take your Slow Thinking course this Fall. I have been using some of your teachings on her with her dogs and she has reported to her therapist that since her dog trainer has been working with her, she has managed to get better sleep at night. She is an army veteran who has major PTSD and has been on 15 deployments. She has two dogs with high levels of anxiety-thus the protocol. She loves the methods and has seen huge improvements with her dogs........ and herself LOL 

Another great client endorsement!

This client's dog often found life overwhelming. We helped the dog learn to relax and think before she acted with great results. Awesome work by both the dog and her human!

Read more testimonials!

Copyright © 2023 Four Paws, Four Directions Dog Training & Behavior Consulting, LLC - All Rights Reserved.

Powered by GoDaddy

Cookie Policy

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.

DeclineAccept & Close