Utah Pet Dog Trainer Annie Phenix’sTraining Credentials
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Credentials are important to me as a certified pro dog trainer because they represent knowledge.
I am always learning new things about dogs and I bring my vast knowledge and experience to every dog owner I work with. I also bring compassion for both dogs and the humans. I spend thousands of dollars every year to stay current with the modern science and recent findings about dogs.
I work with over-anxious, stressed and troubled dogs, putting to use the up-to-date information I have learned from the industry’s leading professionals. I seek to understand the “why” of canine behavior and then set out to find a win-win solution that reduces or eliminates the stress for the dog and the owner.
After being heavily involved for more than 20 years in rescuing and retraining hundreds of dogs from every Central Texas animal shelter, I’ve seen just about every behavior that a dog can offer. I owe my deep understanding of canine body language and canine communication to those 400-plus dogs I have fostered and trained, as well as to the thousands of client dogs I have worked with. I’ve achieved a high level of training with my once semi-feral Border Collie siblings, Radar (CGC, CGCA, B.A. and Canine Masters with Honors, Birch, Anise and Clove ORT) and Echo (CGC, CGCA, B.A.,Canine Masters with Honors and a Certified Therapy Dog).
I am a graduate of an intensive, Schutzhund-based canine training academy where I was taught how to use the shock collar in punishment-based canine training (telling the dog what he is doing wrong). After learning the ins and outs of a shock collar and after witnessing all kinds of dogs endure this kind of training, I never again put a shock collar on a dog. I choose to be a positive reinforcement trainer (telling the dog what he is doing correctly/using a rewards-based system) because it is not only humane training, I see no need to harm or scare a dog when I am able to get a high level of obedience and understanding from dogs.
Annie’s Certifications Include:
√ Certified Canine Behaviourist through INTODogs
√ Certified Family Dog Mediator (FDM) Applied Ethology Professional Course®
√ Fear Free Certified Trainer as one of the first trainers in the country to obtain this certification through Dr. Marty Becker’s Fear Free Program.
√ Pet Professional Guild Member – the Gold Standard professional organization for force free trainers.
√ I was certified through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KA) but I decided in 2020 to not renew with that organization.
√ Retired AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. I achieved the advanced American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen CGC Titles for my own dogs and countless client dogs — including with formerly reactive dogs.
√ Former Trainer in Residence for the world’s largest on-line dog community, Dogster.com, as well as the author of a training column called SPEAK! in the nationally syndicated Dogster Magazine (replaced Dog Fancy).
√ B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Austin and have been a professional publicist and a working journalist.
√ Best-selling author of The Midnight Dog Walkers: Positive Training and Practical Advice for Living with a Reactive or Aggressive Dog (Lumina Media). The book sold out on Amazon from early pre-orders and was named the #1 best book in its category on Amazon. The book was nominated as a national finalist from the Dog Writers Association of America.
√ Best selling author of Positive Training for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs: Proven Techniques to Help Your Dog Overcome Fear and Anxiety (CompanionHouse Books, 2023) – an international best-seller.
√ Graduate of two Train the Trainer Courses one of the world’s top nose work trainers. I competed in nose work with my own dogs as well as trained clients who are competitors or enthusiasts of nose work. I retired as member of the National Association of Canine Scent Work. I competed in the sport.
√ I created the non-profit Phenix Advocacy Center for R+ Canine Professionals – a peer-to-peer support group that focuses on mental health education for dog professionals.
