Owning a pet can be a lot of responsibility and be quite frustrating when they don’t seem to be listening to anything you say. Negative reinforcement never helps the situation, it only seems to make things worse. So what are you left to do? Some people try to train their pets on their own, but others turn to behavioral specialists for animals.
Taking your pets to an animal trainer may seem like a far-fetched method, but it is actually extremely beneficial for you and your pet. John Kelly, a sophomore majoring in psychology at the University of Kansas, knows all about the right obedience training with the help of his aunt, Wendy Kelly. John’s aunt is the founder and president of The Pawsitive Life Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization created to rescue and train dogs for early cancer detection, and she also owns Pet Peeves Training Inc., a positive pet training and behavior modification company that she created in Florida.
After John graduated from Leonardtown High School in Maryland, he decided to go to Florida and work for his aunt’s company, Pet Peeves Training. Starting off, John was doing small tasks such as cleaning out the kennels and walking dogs, but after a while his aunt decided to show John the ropes of the animal training business.
John was able to start training dogs under his aunt’s supervision, and it was obvious John’s aunt was wanting him to have a lot of experience, “She was an extremely great teacher, and at times very, very hard on me. Perhaps more than others because she wanted me to be the best and know what I was doing.”
After two and half years of supervised training, John was promoted to the Director of the Train Away Program. This was a program where the client’s dogs would come stay at Pet Peeves Training for seven days, and during their stay they would be taught eight different commands. After the training is over, these commands are then taught to their owners to use back at home.
Though a week may seem like a long time to be away from your pet, customers can guarantee their furry friend is in great hands. All of the training is learned only by positive methods, Pet Peeves does not believe in harsh punishment or trying to control pets through physical force or intimidation, such as yelling, or using choke chains, pinch collars, etc.
John helped teach many things while working for Pet Peeves, such as basic obedience training, correcting aggression and behavioral problems, human service training (Service Dogs, K-9’s, Therapy Dogs), and many more. Even though he is not currently working with Pet Peeves during the school year, John Kelly brought back a little bit of Pet Peeves with him. Look out for him on campus and he may be able to help you out with issues you may be having with your pets. He can guarantee that the “training is enjoyed on both ends of the leash.”