I met Lori in my quest to learn more about TTouch. Lori is a certified Tellington TTouch® (TTouch) practitioner and professional animal trainer.  She is also a certified canine fitness trainer.

According to Linda Tellington-Jones, “An animal’s posture influences its behavior.” And “physical, mental, and emotional balance are inextricably linked.”

Lori is also the creator of the Balance Harness.

What was your route to positive reinforcement training?

I was never comfortable with any kind of force. I recall, many years ago, being in a puppy class and the instructor telling me to keep jerking on my pup’s leash. I just couldn’t do it, however, I did use a prong collar until I started Tellington TTouch Training. That is when I removed the prong collar for good and learned to use a harness with various leash configurations, including either one or two points of contact. Along with TTouch Training, I started taking classes that were using primarily R+. I was hooked after that.

Were you always interested in science or did behavioral science peak your interest at a later time & how?

I have a BS is in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics. I was one of two women in the Computer Science Department–this was in the late 70s and early 80s. So yes, I’ve always been interested in science.

I intended to study medicine but then decided to work a bit first. Also, a couple of years before I went to school in Computer Science, I was studying and working in Occupational Therapy and this is what sparked my interest in medicine and movement (I was working in a rehabilitation clinic with spinal cord injuries). As a side note, I grew up dancing and I was a member of the University dance company which is where I got my love of movement.

Instead of studying medicine, I continued to work in the IT field and I’m currently an IT Director, part-time at the University of Washington. I’ve been at UW for over 25 years.

I love Behavioral Science. Studying Behavioral Science has helped my animal practice and my IT Director work. I continue to audit Susan Friedman’s 8 week course just so I can stay fluent in her incredible work. Also, I’m on the Advisory Board for the University of Washington Applied Animal Behavior Certification. And I’m certified in the IAABC.

Are there specific skill sets from previous career paths which have aided you in your current role?

Dancing, working in Occupational Therapy, being an IT Director, coaching IT leaders, and IT consulting all require skills that are useful in the animal training profession.

I have been a professional in the roles of software engineer, manager, project manager, coach, and IT Director for many years–all of my experiences and previous skill development contribute to my work now.

What is one piece of advice from someone that you consider a “mentor” that you’d like to share?

“Treat others as you’d want to be treated.” This was from a PhD in Computer Science and someone I worked for and with, at the University, for many years. He also happens to be an animal lover 🙂

What is your favorite part of your day?

Hmmm, seeing my happy 11 yr old Cassie when I walk through the door and her happy face and enthusiasm when we wake up in the morning.

What do you find to be the most challenging in working with people & animals?

I have the best clients! It doesn’t happen very often but no-shows are tough ones..these are usually new clients.

With animals, the most challenging are the ones that you just know something is not right physically and there isn’t a diagnosis yet. These cases, of course, I refer to veterinary specialists.

What are some key skills required for animal training?

Understanding Behavioral Science and how to apply it, using both operant and classical are key skills.

Setting the animal up for success and breaking things down so that people can see what is happening–explaining how to get different behaviors is an important part of the repertoire.

Other important pieces are being able to read the body language of animals, having good timing, understanding reinforcers, placement, and timing of reinforcers, and having good teaching skills in order to help people learn are key components.

Knowing when to stop and finally, when to refer to someone else are also important skills.

What a pleasure it was to get to know Lori better! Thank you for sharing! If you would like to learn more about Lori you can connect with her at: SeattleTTouch.com or via lori@seattlettouch.com.

Note: For anyone out there who is looking to become a certified, professional, positive trainer, come and join me in Miami! Applications being accepted now: https://www.karenpryoracademy.com/dog-trainer-professional/national/miami-fl

Jill Breitner is the inventor of the Dog Decoder app! According to Jill, “Canine body language can be confusing, but with the help of Dog Decoder, you’ll understand any dog’s signals like a pro.”

To learn more about a pro like Jill keep reading!

What was your route to positive reinforcement training?

My route to positive reinforcement was ironically via Cesar Millan. When I started hearing about his show 10-15 yrs ago, I had to talk about the dominance theory in a way I never had to do before. While I was grateful for the new conversation because it made people pause and start to think, it also brought me to a deeper level of my own training which became more about learning to read dogs.

Were you always interested in science or did behavioral science peak your interest at a later time & how?

I studied psychology in college and then studied animal science, later becoming a vet tech. After a year as a vet tech and while seeing that during school and in the hospital few people really new how to understand dogs, I realized that this was going to be my path. That was almost 40 years ago.

I became interested in animals when I read about Jane Goodall observing chimps when I was around 10 years old and starting watching dogs and horses like she watched chimps. Learning how they communicated was fascinating to me and I didn’t understand why others weren’t as excited about this as I was.

Are there specific skill sets from previous career paths which have aided you in your current role?

The gift of observation that I got from Jane Goodall is the best skill set I’ve ever learned and have subsequently gotten really good at. I can read any animal and it’s a skill which can never be turned off once you learn it. It becomes part of you.

What is one piece of advice from someone that you consider a “mentor” that you’d like to share?

Advice: Jane Goodall. Observation and to have hope. These two pieces of advice that keep me going, today.

What is your favorite part of your day?

My favorite part of the day is seeing dogs play and getting to just be dogs. Actually, there’s really no favorite part of a day because being with dogs is all a joy and honor to witness. I love watching their play, their processing, their learning new things, their overcoming fears, their sheer joie de vie.

What do you find to be the most challenging in working with people and animals?

It’s not really challenging for me to work with animals. It just takes patience. I have that with them. The most challenging thing ins working with people and their pets is working with the people. People tend to want a magic pill. But, once they realize that there isn’t one, they come around and when they do, they see the shift in their relationship and bond with their dogs and this makes my heart sing.

What are some key skills required for animal training?

Number one in my book is speaking the language of the animal you’re working with. If you can’t read them, you can’t communicate. Period.

Other important skills include having patience, having the right timing, and the gift of communication to be able to educate the humans.

Thank you to Jill for sharing! If you would like to learn more about Jill you can connect with her at: www.dogdecoder.com or via: www.facebook.com/dogdecoder .

Note: For anyone out there who is looking to become a certified, professional, positive trainer, come and join me in Miami! Applications being accepted now: https://www.karenpryoracademy.com/dog-trainer-professional/national/miami-fl

According to Victoria Stillwell, “Positive-reinforcement teaching techniques use non confrontational methods to work a dog’s brain – rewarding positive behavior, establishing rituals and training actions that are incompatible with negative behavior, and lessening a dog’s anger and frustration – all while enabling the dog to feel good inside.”

I wanted to spotlight a series of colleagues and friends who use science based, positive reinforcement training.

My next featured trainer is Nancy Tucker of Canada!

What was your route to positive reinforcement training?

Although I’ve never used anything other than R+ professionally, I was a user of choke collars and punitive methods with my own dogs for many years prior. It wasn’t until I adopted a dog who needed special attention that I looked into a better way to train him, and literally stumbled onto R+ information online while searching for ideas. I KNEW there had to be a better way! (I HATED “correcting” my dogs, as prescribed by all the training gurus of the 80s).

Were you always interested in science or did behavioral science peak your interest at a later time & how?

Once I learned about training using R+ (in the mid-2000s), it morphed into digging deeper and deeper into the science of learning, which of course has become an endless thirst for all things behaviour!

Are there specific skill sets from previous career paths which have aided you in your current role?

Oh my, yes! I had years of experience in the service industry (how to deal with paying customers), and several years of experience as a freelance journalist (how to ask the right questions to get to the heart of the matter), followed by several years working in Marketing & Public Relations (how to market myself as a small business owner).

What is one piece of advice from someone that you consider a “mentor” that you’d like to share?

My most favourite thing ever is a phrase I heard Dr. Chris Pachel (vet behaviourist) say at a conference once. It floored me when I heard it, because at that very moment, I had been teetering on the edge of burnout, of compassion fatigue, and what he said changed how I approached my work, and has since literally changed my life for the better (personally and professionally). He said, “I will work as hard as my client.” So simple, and so absolutely crucial to keep in mind. In this business, we pour our heart and souls into making life better for the dogs, and by extension, for our clients. If the client doesn’t put as much effort into our plan as we’d hope, it can be exhausting, worrisome, frustrating, and emotionally taxing. But in the end, you can’t worry yourself sick over things you can’t control. You have to let go, and look out for you.

What is your favorite part of your day?

Mornings. I love mornings. The earlier, the better.

What do you find to be the most challenging in working with people and animals?

I find it can be incredibly challenging at times to ensure that everyone’s needs are met, because inevitably, the needs of our human client and the needs of the dog are often very different, sometimes even at odds. It’s important to try to find the common denominator so we can nail our starting point, and work from there to make sure everyone’s happier after we’ve done our work as the hired help.

What are some key skills required for animal training?

Besides the obvious mechanical skills, I’d say: Patience. And yes, patience is a skill. It can be learned, practiced, and honed. Patience with people, and patience with dogs. Empathy, too! Lots and lots of empathy. And then some more patience. And a sense of humour!

A big, “thank you” to Nancy for taking the time to share! If you would like to learn more about Nancy you can connect with her at: www.nancytucker.ca or via www.facebook.com/NancyTuckerDogs

Note: For anyone out there who is looking to become a certified, professional, positive trainer, come and join me in Miami! Applications being accepted now: https://www.karenpryoracademy.com/dog-trainer-professional/national/miami-fl