Stefanie London Dog Training Experience

I began training dogs when I was 5 years old. I couldn’t figure a way to make my hula-hoop work, so I taught my dog to jump through it. That began my love of training dogs. When I was twelve I attended my first “real” obedience class with my Great Dane. Since that time, I have been in many classes with many dogs.

I began assisting a class in 1988 with my Standard Poodle, Max. My goal at that time was the obedience ring. I was a Steward in the novice ring. When I decided to teach my dog to retrieve the wooden dumbbell, I was surprised and disappointed at the way it was taught. I changed direction and decided that my goal would be nursing home visits with my TDI (Therapy Dog Inc.) partner. Max and I visited many facilities over the years and made many friends. I worked as a dog groomer, a pet sitter and dog walker.

In 1997, I began my career as a professional dog trainer. I taught lure and reward to begin with, and in 1998, began clicker training. After attending a clicker seminar taught by Corally Burmeister and Gail Fisher, all my classes were converted to the clicker. I was able to reach many dogs with this method and had many successes. I found that it didn’t work for every dog. In addition to my students constantly losing their clickers and sheepishly reporting that they were unable to practice, I found that the dogs that were already trained were more inhibited than the young puppies that had not been taught any other way. This included my own dog. He was willing; he just wasn’t going to throw new behavior at me because he had been taught not to.

In 1999, while attending a training seminar sponsored by my brilliant and determined sister Debra, I was introduced to Bridge and Target training. The trainer was Kayce Cover who coined the term Intermediate Bridge. Kayce was and is an accomplished animal trainer. She has worked with a variety of animals and developed this wonderful method. I called this method the missing information. It is a very precise way of letting your animal know exactly when he is right as well as letting him know he is not quite finished. It supports your animal during the times he is not sure if he should keep going. It eliminates the frustration and accompanying shut down that often follows. The Bridge lets your animal know when he is right; the Target indicates where you want him to be. The need to correct the wrong behavior is eliminated.

After learning this method, I returned to work and again converted all my classes, this time to Bridge and Target. It is the method I use today and am happy to report that it works for all the dogs I have ever had in class. I taught 8 classes a week in addition to being the Director of Training at K-9 Friend Behavioral Counseling in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. I developed an intern program with the behavioral science department at the University of Milwaukee, WI. We were designated as the satellite training facility for W.A.G.S., which is a service dog organization in Madison, WI. My associate, John Fairweather and I spoke to many veterinarians, breed rescue groups and a progressive animal shelter about this revolutionary method. The animal shelter subcontracted us to do all of their training. We were able to reach and rehabilitate dogs that had been labeled aggressive and sent to death row, including the very difficult Rhodesian Ridgeback, Buddy.

At the annual conference of the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) in 2000, I had the opportunity to show Dr. Patricia McConnall this method. I was completely elated and gratified when she also called it the missing information. It was at this conference that I began working on my certification and license to be a Delta Society Evaluator. During this time I was exposed to the work of Turid Ruggas. She has identified the signals that dogs use to communicate with each other. I recognized this information as the “magic” that always drew dogs to me and many other “naturals”.

At the end of 2001, I moved from Wisconsin to Doylestown, Pennsylvania. I started my own small business that I am building today. The classes I offer are 1 hour long for 5 weeks. The puppy classes have off leash play sessions as well as basic manners. My graduates go on to advanced classes where we continue off leash work. I am happy to report that my students usually want to continue and the classes are fun. Dogs with aggression problems are evaluated for suitability before they are permitted in class. I am a licensed Delta Evaluator and incorporate Turid’s calming signals into all of my work. As well as teaching groups, I also do private behavioral consulting and training.

My current canine companions include a Standard Poodle, a Chocolate Labrador, a Miniature Schnauzer and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I like to say that my life has gone to the dogs and I couldn’t be happier. I am forever grateful to the dogs and the wonderful people that bring them to me.

Stefanie London, August, 2002
APDT #5566
Delta Evaluator #37919

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