Civilizing the City Dog: A Guide to Rehabilitating Aggressive Dogs in an Urban Environment
Pam's work with aggressive dogs started when she adopted a one-year-old BorderCollie named Shadow. Unbeknownst to her, she had a human-aggressive dog on herhands. It was through her work with Shadow that she was able to gain the observational and training skills necessary to work with aggression. In a mere eighteen months, Pam took Shadow from being a human-aggressive dog to one able to earn his Canine Good Citizen certificate and subsequent Rally Championship title (ARCH), RL3, CD, NA, NAJ, TSW.Pam has been training dogs since 1992 and started her own business, PositiveMotivation Dog Training, in 1997. She teaches puppy kindergarten, beginners, Canine Good Citizen, musical Freestyle, Rally and competition classes at her facility in Belvidere, New Jersey. She works with every breed, from Dachshunds to Great Danes to every size in between, on a myriad of behavioral issues. Pam holds behavior modification classes for aggressive and reactive dogs based on her work with Shadow, as well as seminars and camps (Camp R.E.W.A.R.D.).Pam started competing in 1996 and qualified and competed in the Eastern UnitedStates Dog Obedience Championships in 1997. After switching to positive trainingmethods from traditional, punishment-based ones, she started her own school in 1997. At present she lives with three rescued dogs, all Border Collies. Her dogs have earned many titles to date, spanning Competition obedience, Rally obedience, and agility. Pam continues to compete for more titles in these sports, as well as training for sheepherding, tracking, carting and water sports. To date, her students have earned a multitude of titles and certificates in obedience, Rally, tracking, sheepherding and Canine Good Citizen andTherapy Dog programs.Pam is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training (AlphaBooks), Bringing Light to Shadow: A Dog Trainer's Diary (Dogwise Publishing), How to Right a Dog Gone Wrong: A Roadmap for Rehabilitating Aggressive Dogs (Alpine Publications) and Click Your Way to Rally Obedience (Alpine Publications). Pam also has two videos available, Camp R.E.WA.R.D. for Aggressive Dogs and Positive Solutions for Standard Behavioral Problems (both from Barkleigh Productions). Pam is a member of the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers), the NADOI (National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors), and the DWAA (Dog Writers Association of America). She is also a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant with the IAABC (International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants). Pam has published articles in the Blairstown Press, The Clicker Journal, various BowTie publications, Chronicle of the Dog (APDT newsletter), and Dog Sport Magazine, and is the training writer for the New England Border Collie Rescue newsletter, Have You Herd? She has been a regular presenter at various venues, speaking on a variety of topics relating to positive training and aggression. Pam also has worked closely with Sussex County Friends of Animals and Pet Adoption League and developed a retraining program for shelter dogs.