Laura's Dogs and Other Animals

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 I hold a Ph.D. in the Humanities and in 2009, graduated with distinction from the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior.  I am a Karen Pryor Certified Training Partner, which means that I have been assessed and certified as an excellent clicker training teacher as well as an accomplished dog trainer.  In July 2018, I was selected as the KPA CTP of the month. There are over 1400 Karen Pryor Training Partners worldwide, so to be featured in this way was truly an honor. To read the very nice write up, please visit:  https://karenpryoracademy.com/july-2018-kpa-ctp-of-the-month-laura-donaldson/.

I am also  a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC; https://iaabc.org).  This means that I have been assessed by a board of national experts in  the field of dog behavior and found qualified to become a consultant  (click on the "What is a CDBC?" page for more information on the  certification process).  I have completed graduate (master's level) academic courses in Animal Learning and Behavior Analysis, Companion Animal Nutrition, Psychopharmacology for Animal Scientists and the Exploration of Animal Behavior (all with high "A" grades!).  
 

Other aspects of my biograpphy are that I am passionate about keeping on the cutting edge of scientific knowledge about canine behavior. In order to keep my certifications current, I  have participated in many educational events, seminars and webinars.   Here is a partial list of my continuing education credits:

Aggression in Dogs workshop with Trish McMillan & Mike Shikashio (2 days) 

Canine Aggression Mentorship with Mike Shikashio (8 weeks), IAABC

Control Unleashed Mentorship with Leslie McDevitt (8 weeks), IAABC 

Puppy Start Right Instructors Course, Karen Pryor Academy
Expanding Your Force Free Toolkit, 3 part webinar series by Chirag Patel
Smart Reinforcement, instructed by Ken Ramirez, former head of animal
          training for Chicago's Shedd Aquarium (semester-long course)
 The Learned Dog, Harvard University (semester-long course in animal
          learning theory)
Canine Ethology, Raising Canine Webinar
Canine Aggression (3 day seminar with Brenda Aloff)
 Reactive Rover Camp (3 day seminar with Pat Miller)
 Clicker Expo (Providence, Rhode Island) 

I am currently the official behavior and training consultant for Cayuga  Dog Rescue, located in Ithaca, New York.  When I am not doing behavior consulting or working with CDR, I participate in sheep herding and tracking activities throughout the Northeast with my Border Collies and  my Golden Retriever., respectively.