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Who I am and how I train

I'm Veronica, owner and head trainer. I first became motivated to become a good trainer when I got an extremely high-drive Treeing Walker Coonhound puppy named Lewey who comes from hunting lines. Getting frustrated by his incredibly strong-willed nature and his inquisitive nose was futile, and eventually gave way to a more cooperative style of training. After struggling with leash walking, off-leash recall, whining and howling, crate training, and the constant (losing) battle between me and my dog’s nose, I began to get a better sense of how to work with my dog’s incredibly strong instincts, instead of against them.

Fast forward to now; I still have an incredibly strong-willed and high-drive dog. But I also have a dog who spends his days running off-leash, who gets to sniff and explore, and who has the skills to settle down when he needs to.

Our favorite things to do together are nose work and mountain biking. We've traveled all over the country to hike, mountain bike, and backpack. We're also working on completing the 48 4000 footers in New Hampshire.

We dabble in rally, bikejoring, and shed hunt as well.

Training has transformed from hobby to career over time. After doing off-leash pack hikes with dogs for a few seasons, the opportunity to provide in-home training opened up to me. I quickly realized how much I loved the puzzle that is figuring out how to help a dog exist in this crazy world. I’ve been working with clients' dogs since 2021.

I am certified by the American Kennel Club to train dogs for, and administer, the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Test as well as the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test.

My training philosophy

I believe in the power of willful cooperation for both humans and dogs. I work to make training fun and inherently motivating in a variety of ways; I use play whenever possible, and I tailor each individual training plan to each individual dog (and human) so that we can use the intrinsic motivators dogs are born with, such as hunting, herding, sniffing, pulling, and running to have a happy, well-adjusted dog. Quite often, training will not involve stopping behaviors, but simply channeling them in a way that can be more easily integrated into one's lifestyle.

I am open to using a variety of tools in training. I believe there are scenarios that require the (proper) use of things like e-collars, slip leads, and prong collars. I believe in utilizing all four quadrants of operant conditioning in training, and that this is by no means antithetical to a cooperative approach to working with dogs.

My approach is holistic in that I don’t attempt to solve problems through training that are caused by lack of exercise, poor diet, inadequate room for expression of instincts, or unfit environments. I will not give medical or dietary advice, but I will not circumnavigate these problems with training.