Animal Training Academy

Lisa, PhD, CBCC-KA, is an Associate Professor at Coastal Carolina University in the Psycholgy Department and directors the laboratory for animal behaviour and welfare. Before beginning her graduate studies, she worked for nearly a decade with pets in animal shelters and with dogs and their owners. Lisa's research aims to better the lives of companion animals and their owners. Under the mentorship of Clive Wynne, Lisa earned her Masters in 2015 and her PhD in 2018 as a graduate student in the behavioural neuroscience and comparative psychology program at Arizona State University.  Prior to her graduate school, she worked as a behaviour consultant and trainer in San Francisco, where she taught group classes and consulted with owners experiencing issues of fear, anxiety, and aggression with their dogs. Her interest in canine behaviour began in 2002 as an animal shelter volunteer, training dogs in basic skills and assisting in shelter dog playgroups. That interest grew into a career where she managed the behaviou

Angelica Hesselius Bio Angelica Hesselius is an internationally renowned reward-based horse trainer with a background as an instructor in classical dressage and academic art of riding. She specializes in positive reinforcement training for balanced movement in groundwork and riding. Developing proprioception, movement and communication through systematic reward-based strategies.  Angelica has developed new strategies for creating high precision movements and low frustration from the get-go when working with food reinforcers and is passionate about sharing her knowledge. She trains horses, teaches students and coaches colleagues all over the world. Together with dutch horse trainer Do Groen, Angelica has founded the Reward Based Horse Academy with the aim to help horse people build a strong foundation using reward based training techniques. They are offering short courses and are currently working on their year-long educational program. Her current projects include Exploring Nuances with Eva Bertilsson, with l

Angelica Hesselius Bio Angelica Hesselius is an internationally renowned reward-based horse trainer with a background as an instructor in classical dressage and academic art of riding. She specializes in positive reinforcement training for balanced movement in groundwork and riding. Developing proprioception, movement and communication through systematic reward-based strategies.  Angelica has developed new strategies for creating high precision movements and low frustration from the get-go when working with food reinforcers and is passionate about sharing her knowledge. She trains horses, teaches students and coaches colleagues all over the world. Together with dutch horse trainer Do Groen, Angelica has founded the Reward Based Horse Academy with the aim to help horse people build a strong foundation using reward based training techniques. They are offering short courses and are currently working on their year-long educational program. Her current projects include Exploring Nuances with Eva Bertilsson, with l

Monty Gwynne, founder of Equispeak and a self-proclaimed training junkie, is passionate about sharing her decades of training experience.  This depth and breadth of her experiences with many different breeds and disciplines allows her to draw on them to better solve issues using R+.  Monty’s training passions are classical dressage and driving.  Because of her long involvement in the horse world she is often called upon to help take and rehab ponies and minis who have been in difficult situations. Using R+ has been the saving grace for many of these rescues.  Monty’s approach is based on shaping without frustration and is unique in the R+ horse community. The focus of Monty’s journey is on bringing positive, science-based horse training to the forefront and working with people interested in discovering this powerful tool. Having seen the joy that positive reinforcement training brings to both partners in the horse - human relationship over the past 30+ years, there is no going back. Through her business, The

Monty Gwynne, founder of Equispeak and a self-proclaimed training junkie, is passionate about sharing her decades of training experience.  This depth and breadth of her experiences with many different breeds and disciplines allows her to draw on them to better solve issues using R+.  Monty’s training passions are classical dressage and driving.  Because of her long involvement in the horse world she is often called upon to help take and rehab ponies and minis who have been in difficult situations. Using R+ has been the saving grace for many of these rescues.  Monty’s approach is based on shaping without frustration and is unique in the R+ horse community. The focus of Monty’s journey is on bringing positive, science-based horse training to the forefront and working with people interested in discovering this powerful tool. Having seen the joy that positive reinforcement training brings to both partners in the horse - human relationship over the past 30+ years, there is no going back. Through her business, The

MELISSA MILLETT - Professional Stunt and Movie Animal Trainer Melissa is the founder and head trainer of In Dogs We Trust, The Ultimutts, and Ontario Animal Actors.  Melissa has taught thousands of family pets, holds training workshops for professionals in the pet industry including Veterinary technicians, Rescue Organizations, Professional Dog Trainers and sessions for the staff and volunteers at the London Humane Society. After joining the world of cat training, Melissa has offered online lessons to cat owners around the world and is part of the faculty for  ClickerExpo,  Melissa's own cat team (Sashimi, Tonic and Kit Kat) have acquired a Guinness World Record, travelled to California to earn 4 yesses on the America's Got Talent stage and performed in Hollywood Blockbusters and commercials.  Most notably, Melissa was the key trainer for the cats for Stephen Kings 2019 Pet Sematary.  The dogs and cats represented by Ontario Animal Actors have been featured in Commercials for Tim Hortons, Duracell, a 2019 SUP

MELISSA MILLETT - Professional Stunt and Movie Animal Trainer Melissa is the founder and head trainer of In Dogs We Trust, The Ultimutts, and Ontario Animal Actors.  Melissa has taught thousands of family pets, holds training workshops for professionals in the pet industry including Veterinary technicians, Rescue Organizations, Professional Dog Trainers and sessions for the staff and volunteers at the London Humane Society. After joining the world of cat training, Melissa has offered online lessons to cat owners around the world and is part of the faculty for  ClickerExpo,  Melissa's own cat team (Sashimi, Tonic and Kit Kat) have acquired a Guinness World Record, travelled to California to earn 4 yesses on the America's Got Talent stage and performed in Hollywood Blockbusters and commercials.  Most notably, Melissa was the key trainer for the cats for Stephen Kings 2019 Pet Sematary.  The dogs and cats represented by Ontario Animal Actors have been featured in Commercials for Tim Hortons, Duracell, a 2019 SUP

Dante Camacho Bio Dante is the founder of DanteDogWorks, he focuses on teaching other dog trainers and dog owners around the world about how to successfully train and live with dogs using positive reinforcement based training. He started his dog training career in the late 90’s and was one of the first dog trainers to introduce clicker training in Brazil. Dante is an international presenter and a dog sports enthusiast,  having represented Brazil and Canada in multiple World agility competitions,  titled dogs in Rally obedience and Dock diving, taught and performed Dog Dancing for almost a decade in Canada and the US and in recent years developed an online dog training platform that offers multiple courses for his Brazilian audience. He’s a teacher for the “Animal Behavior and Welfare” post grad course at the UNIRP University. Since 2020  Dante has worked as a volunteer developing training programs and training staff at the Rio Preto Zoo. To check all the links visit here -  https://atamember.com/2022/06/07/da

Dante is the founder of DanteDogWorks, he focuses on teaching other dog trainers and dog owners around the world about how to successfully train and live with dogs using positive reinforcement based training. He started his dog training career in the late 90’s and was one of the first dog trainers to introduce clicker training in Brazil.Dante is an international presenter and a dog sports enthusiast,  having represented Brazil and Canada in multiple World agility competitions, titled dogs in Rally obedience and Dock diving, taught and performed Dog Dancing for almost a decade in Canada and the US and in recent years developed and online dog training platform that offers multiple courses for his Brazilian audience.He’s a teacher for the “Animal Behavior and Welfare” post grad course at the UNIRP University. Since 2020 Dante has worked as a volunteer developing training programs and training staff at the Rio Preto Zoo.

Jessica Hekman, DVM, PhD, is a veterinary genetics researcher who is fascinated by dog behavior. She works at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard as a computational biologist, studying the genetics of behavior in pet and working dogs through the Darwin's Ark project and the Working Dogs Project. She teaches behavioral biology at the Virginia Tech online Masters program for Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare. She also offers webinars online and consults with breeders about genetic testing and breeding choices. She is one of the founders of the Functional Dog Collaborative (functionalbreeding.org), a non-profit which seeks to change the conversation around dog breeding in the dog loving community. Jessica lives in Raymond, NH with her husband and three dogs.

Jessica Hekman, DVM, PhD, is a veterinary genetics researcher who is fascinated by dog behavior. She works at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard as a computational biologist, studying the genetics of behavior in pet and working dogs through the Darwin's Ark project and the Working Dogs Project. She teaches behavioral biology at the Virginia Tech online Masters program for Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare. She also offers webinars online and consults with breeders about genetic testing and breeding choices. She is one of the founders of the Functional Dog Collaborative (functionalbreeding.org), a non-profit which seeks to change the conversation around dog breeding in the dog loving community. Jessica lives in Raymond, NH with her husband and three dogs.

Deborah Jones, Ph.D. is a retired psychology professor who now trains animals full-time.  She has been training for 25+ years and focuses on positive reinforcement based methods.  Deb has written 12 books on dog training and has helped develop several DVD series.  She has also trained and shown multiple breeds to high level titles in agility, rally, and obedience.  She is currently teaching online training classes and webinars at www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com.  Her newest project is the Cooperative Care Certificate program in partnership with Fenzi Dog Sports Academy.  You can learn more about this at www.cooperativecarecertificate.com.  Visit her website at www.k9infocus.com for her blog and more information.

Deborah Jones, Ph.D. is a retired psychology professor who now trains animals full-time.  She has been training for 25+ years and focuses on positive reinforcement based methods.  Deb has written 12 books on dog training and has helped develop several DVD series.  She has also trained and shown multiple breeds to high level titles in agility, rally, and obedience.  She is currently teaching online training classes and webinars at www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com.  Her newest project is the Cooperative Care Certificate program in partnership with Fenzi Dog Sports Academy.  You can learn more about this at www.cooperativecarecertificate.com.  Visit her website at www.k9infocus.com for her blog and more information. 

Terrie Hayward Bio Terrie Hayward has an M.Ed. and is a Faculty Member of the Karen Pryor Academy (KPA), a KPA Certified Training Partner (CTP), and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Council of Professional Dog Trainers. Additionally, she is also certified in Canine Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT) and is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). She is a member of the Pet Professional Guild, and has written articles on training for BARKS magazine, Pet Business, and Grooming Business magazine and is the author of three books: A Deaf Dog Joins the Family," co-author, “Grooming Without Stress: Safer, Quicker, Happier,” and “Your 10 Minute a Day Dog.” Terrie works with families and their animal companions, presents workshops, travels, and consults focusing on positive reinforcement interactions and modifying behavior through applications in behavior analysis.

About this episode! Episode 168 is part 2 of this special instalment. We welcome back two previous guests of the ATA podcast show to talk about what it's like to parent with some ABA [Applied Behaviour Analysis] & training knowledge on board. Firstly, Dr Susan Friedman, a retired psychology professor of Utah State University who pioneered the application of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) to captive and companion animals. And secondly, the excellent Rick Hester, the Curator of Behavioural Husbandry for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. There Rick oversees all the zoo's behavioural programs, including animal training for husbandry, medical, public show behaviours, enrichment, developing programs to improve problem behaviour situations, and the zoo's formal animal welfare assessments. And, since 2015, Rick has also worked for Dr Friedman's Behaviour Works as a consultant and course co-instructor Listen to part 1 here >>> https://atamember.com/main-ata-podcast-show/

In this episode host, Ryan Cartlidge talks with Dr Susan Friedman and Rick Hester about what it's like to parent with some ABA knowledge on board. 

Megan LaFollette Bio Dr. Megan LaFollette works with The North American 3Rs Collaborative to advance science, innovation, and research animal welfare. She has her PhD in Animal Behavior & Well-Being from Purdue University, where she also received a Master of Science in Animal Welfare. Her primary interests lie at the intersection of human-animal interaction and animal welfare, especially in practical refinements for laboratory and companion animals. These interests have led to her conducting projects focused on rat tickling, compassion fatigue in laboratory animal personnel, refinement for cats in confinement, positive reinforcement in training horses, the welfare of service dogs, and human behavior change for animal welfare.

Maasa Nishimuta Bio: Maasa Nishimuta studied under Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz and earned a master's degree in Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas. In her master's thesis, she studied the reinforcing effects of affection in the form of petting and gentle scratching with rescued equines. She modified Constructional Affection for use with equines and continues to apply Constructional Affection with animals in shelters where she volunteers. In 2021, Maasa co-founded a 501(c)3 non-profit organization Constructional Approach to Animal Welfare and Training (CAAWT), and serves as its chief operating officer. CAAWT provides free training to individuals and organizations in need of training and cannot afford it, with the goal of improving the lives of animals and their caretakers through applications of the Constructional Approach. To carry out CAAWT's mission, she co-hosts a monthly podcast, runs private sessions and group classes in-person and online, and hosts webinars and the Annual CAAWT Conference to

Maasa Nishimuta Bio: Maasa Nishimuta studied under Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz and earned a master's degree in Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas. In her master's thesis, she studied the reinforcing effects of affection in the form of petting and gentle scratching with rescued equines. She modified Constructional Affection for use with equines and continues to apply Constructional Affection with animals in shelters where she volunteers. In 2021, Maasa co-founded a 501(c)3 non-profit organization Constructional Approach to Animal Welfare and Training (CAAWT), and serves as its chief operating officer. CAAWT provides free training to individuals and organizations in need of training and cannot afford it, with the goal of improving the lives of animals and their caretakers through applications of the Constructional Approach. To carry out CAAWT's mission, she co-hosts a monthly podcast, runs private sessions and group classes in-person and online, and hosts webinars and the Annual CAAWT Conference to