Today we’d like to introduce you to Helen Verte Schwarzmann, CTC, CPDT-KA, CTDI.
Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like.
I opened Love Wags A Tail in 2013 after I’d begun the rigorous coursework at Jean Donaldson’s Academy For Dog Trainers. I thought I knew a lot from 30 years of hands-on dog training, but going through Jean’s course taught me how to be a more efficient and effective dog trainer. Knowing how to and when to use appropriate behavioral science principles from such great minds as Ivan Pavlov, B.F. Skinner, and David Premack is the core of humane animal training. So are reliable and well-proven training plans which Jean’s students must prove capability of executing. I graduated with honors in 2014 from Jean’s Academy.
After exploring training options, I narrowed my niche to board-and-train. I love the pace I can set taking an untrained or barely trained dog, or a behaviorally challenged dog, towards the owner’s goals in a three to four week period. I get to know the dog, and I find out first-hand what it’s like to live with that dog as a pet. My clients’ dogs get an intensive course on being a house pet. I return the dog well trained with tips on the management of day-to-day behavior, and ways to expend the dog’s daily supply of energy, which includes a list of toys and games specific to the dog’s personality. My clients and I have a hands-on lesson at drop-off where they take the lead and give the cues. Plus each dog gets a graduation video and I’m available for follow-up questions any time after the board-and-train for on-topic email questions.
What makes me stand apart?
A few things. First, my 2-year formal education from The Academy For Dog Trainers. My mentor, Jean Donaldson, calls the dog training profession the wild wild west of professions where anything goes, and she’s right. There is absolutely no education, testing, experience, or minimum qualifications required to be a dog trainer, which lends itself to so much misinformation, pop culture advice, and even abusive techniques that do more harm to the dog than good. Dog owners who hire professionals to train their beloved pets and invest their hard-earned money for professional advice and solutions deserve at the very least minimum requirements met in education and experience.
I, on the other hand, have invested in the best education available to dog trainers, so when I answer questions my clients pose, they get answers based on university level behavioral science and my experience applying those principles. The second thing is because I want my clients to have a seamless experience, I am the one who they communicate with, who does the training, and who knows and cares for their dog. I take photos and videos of their dogs, and am the responsible party for the entire process, which brings up the third reason I stand apart.
I limit the number of dogs or puppies in my board-and-train program to a maximum of two families at a time. The dogs are comfortable and enjoy their visit while learning what their owners hire me to teach them. The last differentiation I’ll mention is that I am the only dog trainer in the state of Florida who created a webinar, Housetraining 123, for dog owners, dog trainers, and veterinarians. If dog trainers are certified, they can earn a unit of continuing education viewing the Housetraining 123 webinar. The veterinarian version of the webinar was approved for one unit of general education through the Board of Veterinary Medicine, State of Florida.
Two questions people generally ask me is will my dog listen to me even though you trained him? The answer is, of course! Think of service dogs. They are trained by professional trainers who then teach the new owner how to maintain the training.
On that note, I trained a Podenco who once roamed the streets of Spain, but was selected and flown into Miami International where I picked her up and began an 8-week board-and-train. She was destined to assist a woman with ALS. I asked for a list of behaviors the family wanted trained, and then got to work. There was a bit of adjusting on the transfer because the family was new to her, but she soon fit in nicely and responded to all the cues I had taught her. I am not a service dog trainer. But if you tell me what you want a dog to learn, I’ll respond with the time frame and cost for training. Board-and-train is an investment, but the training is for life and so is my support. I am always available to answer email questions and coach my clients on-topic after their dogs’ board-and-train completion.
Another common question from potential clients is will my dog think I abandoned her? The answer is no. Dogs live in the moment, and unlike us, don’t worry about the whys of life. When dogs come into my board-and-train program, they adjust into the new environment and training program because they have much to occupy their time, including learning how to chill out. Remember, I am a humane trainer, which means I use food reinforcement to encourage behaviors the client wants from their dogs and to discourage behaviors the client objects to. All training in my program empowers a dog about the choices she makes, so there is never any fear involved. But good food, humane treatment and training goes a long way to earn a dog’s trust.
I want to emphasize that I use nutritious food to train dogs and that includes while training leash reactive dogs, house training, pet obedience behaviors, specialized tricks, AKC sports such as agility or competitive obedience routines, stranger issues, skateboarding, retrieving, you name it. Nutritional food paired with incremental training plans is the standard for humane animal training. I bake a wide variety of training food, so it’s the right consistency for the training task and appealing to the dog’s taste and smell for optimal motivation.
My clients are from a wide geographical area. I’ve had board-and-trains from as far south as Key West, a pair of pooches enrolled in a board-and-train on their way into south Florida from Rhode Island, and the furthest miles traveled was the Podenco from Spain. My home base is in Lee county, and due to the nature of board-and-train, my location isn’t an obstacle. My clients are more mindful about the humane training methods I use, and the homey environment their dogs and pups will live and learn in. Plus I drive to most clients’ homes for pick-up and return, up to a 4-hour round trip. Otherwise, we meet at a convenient location or clients come to me.
The best thing about my job is it doesn’t feel like a job at all. I love training dogs using their brains and appealing motivation. Presenting a dog with choice so he learns to make the right decision is an impressive, entertaining process. And the dog’s age is irrelevant. The youngest canine client I had was an 8-week-old and the oldest was 11 years old. There is no credence to the saying an old dog can’t learn new tricks. Of course he can!
I’m proud to be a part of the humane, empathetic, science-based direction dog training is taking. Dogs are intelligent, sensitive companions who deserve respect, patience, and kindness while learning to be good pet dogs and throughout their lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.lovewagsatail.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovewagsatail
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