All Wag'N'Train classes are taught by Stacy Braslau-Schneck

Stacy Braslau-Schneck, Certified Professional Dog Trainer Behavior Specialist, Class Instructor and Owner Stacy pursued her lifelong interest in animal behavior through a Master's degree at a research laboratory, Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Lab (KBMML, now called The Dolphin Institute) in Hawaii, studying dolphin cognition and intelligence. At the lab, she learned to train dolphins for research and exercise, using the same modern techniques that are now used with pet dogs. She designed and ran a research project (investigating how creative dolphins could be and how they coordinate their movements with each other). As a staff member at the lab, one of her duties was to teach dolphin training to new volunteers and students. When she returned to her native California she began transferring her animal-training and student-teaching skills to teaching pet owners how to train their dogs. She was asked to help develop and teach the first clicker training classes at the San Francisco SPCA, before moving to San Jose. She is a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), an organization that encourages the exchange of ideas and continuing education of pet dog trainers. In 2001, she was awarded Member of the Year, and in 2002 she earned a Level 1 Certification through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), the first national certification for dog trainers in history. Over the years she has attended the Marin Humane Society Dog Trainers Academy and Dogs Of Course's Advanced Instructor Training Course. In January 2005, Stacy achieved Kay Lawrence's Competency Assessment Programme (CAP) test at the second level "with distinction". CAP tests the trainer, not the dog. The trainer must demonstrate her decision-making prowess, and her ability to communicate with the dog, use a target, shape, fade lures and targets, use hand signals or verbal commands, capture and shape new behaviors. Stacy was among the first in the USA to attain CAP certification. In 2006 Stacy was asked to become a member of the Board of Directors as well as a presenter for KADIE (Kids and Dogs Interactive Education), to help develop and promote an educational program to reduce dog bites to children. Stacy's writing on dog training and animal behavior has appeared in several publications, from the Association of Pet Dog Trainer's Chronicle of the Dog and The Clicker Journal, to local club newsletters like the Prairielands Bloodhound Club "Puppy Issue", the Arizona Pointing Dog Club, and the Los Vast, Nederlandse Vereniging voor Insturcteurs in Honden (the Dutch Dog Training Club). References to her writing are found in several books, including Peggy Tillman's Clicking With Your Dog, and she has a chapter in The Dog Trainer's Resource published in 2006. She is an instructor for several Telecourses (telephone conference-call seminars) for Raising Canine, an international resource for dog-training and teaching seminars. Stacy has worked closely with the Humane Society Silicon Valley, socializing dogs awaiting adoption, teaching staff and volunteer socializers, and fostering puppies and "issue-challenged" dogs. She has lived with Shelties and an "All-American" (mutt), as well as rats, hamsters, and numerous fish, and of course she worked with four great bottlenosed dolphins. She currently lives with Flipper, a Border Collie mix adopted from the Humane Society in September 1999 (you can see Flip's page here), along with her husband and a daughter born in 2003, giving her a better understanding of the issues faced by families with young children! "Stacy has a gift for teaching and for communicating with other species" — from a class evaluation (anonymous)   Contact Stacy at stacy@wagntrain.com.

More about Stacy

As a firm believer in the importance of continuing education, I have attended these seminars:

	Gary Wilkes's "Click And Treat" seminar
	Pam Reid's "Excel-erated Learning" seminar
	The "Dog Training Academy" at the Marin Humane Society
	The Davis Dog Medicine Club's "Dog Behavior" seminar
	The International Marine Animal Trainer's Association (IMATA) annual conference (Tacoma, WA).
	"From Zero To Clicker in Two Days" workshop by Shirley Chong
	Sue Sternberg's temperament evaluation seminar
	"Clicker Magic" seminar by Karen Pryor
	John Rogerson's dog behavior and aggression seminar
	"Advanced Canine Behavior" seminar with Patricia McConnell, Ph.D.
	Pet Tech Doggy First Aid class (two times and counting!)
	The annual APDT conference (in San Diego, CA; Memphis, TN; Portland, OR; Denver, CO; San Jose, CA and Portland, OR again in 2007!)
	Dog Training and Instructor's Conference with Gail Fisher, Corally Burmaster, and Susan Garrett
	Advanced Instructor Training Course with Sue Sternberg, Donna Duford, and Pia Silvani
	Advanced Clicker Training and Competency Assessment, with Kay Laurence (2004)
	Bob Bailey Chicken Clicker Camp (Feb. 2002)
	Legacy Training Camp with Terry Ryan, Morgan Spector, and Bob Bailey (2000)
	ClickerExpo (2004, 2007)

Stacy and Flipper joined a team to compete in the Clicker Challenge at the ClickerExpo in Berkeley, January 2004. With Flip jumping through a hula hoop as it was rolling between two teammates, "Team Extreme" won the first round on Friday, and on Sunday went on to compete against Saturday's winner. We won that one, too! Thanks to our teammates, especially Cerena and Mariah!

Many of these were hosted by PuppyWorks. Contact them to find out about seminars near you, and click here to find out about dog and training events in the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area.

I subscribe to the Don't Shoot The Dog News, the APDT newsletter (which I have edited a column in), Whole Dog Journal, The Clicker Journal (which I've also contributed to), The Bark, and American Animal Trainer. In addition to reading every book on dogs, dog training, and dog behavior (good and bad!) that I can get a-hold of, I participate in some of the exchanges among dog trainers that the Internet affords. I can often be found participating on ClickerSolutions, ClickTrain, Click-L, and the APDT e-mail discussion lists. I am the author of the award-winning website, An Animal Trainer's Guide to Operant Conditioning. I founded the Bay Area Clicker Club (BACC), an informal group of people in the San Francisco Bay Area who are interested in clicker training, and I'm a member of Bay Area Trainers, South Bay Trainers, and JavaDawgs, as well as SocietyDog (as a "Pre-furred Merchant"). I volunteer at the Humane Society Silicon Valley, training and socializing dogs who are awaiting adoption, and teaching other volunteers in humane training methods.

Stacy Braslau-Schneck of San Jose, California has earned Level 1 Certification through the Certification Council for Pet Dog Trainers (CCPDT), the first national certification for dog trainers in history.

Up until the creation of the Certification Council for Pet Dog Trainers in 2001, there was no true certification process for dog trainers. Many schools teach dog trainers and offer certification for their specific programs. These certificates, therefore, reflect the teachings and quality of a specific school. Other organizations offer take-home tests for “certification.” The trainers are not monitored to make sure they are completing the test without any assistance or collaboration, nor is the testing process standardized.

The Certification Council for Pet Dog Trainers is a true certification entity pursuing accreditation from NOCA, the National Organization for Competency Assurance. The Council administered its first test September 28 during the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) Annual Educational Conference in Ellenville, NY. The test site was professionally secured and moderated by Professional Testing Corporation of New York.

This unprecedented process was originally implemented by the APDT, the largest association of dog trainers in the world, founded by noted veterinarian, behaviorist and author Dr. Ian Dunbar. Early on, the APDT recognized the need for certification for its profession. Pet dog trainers needed a credible means of measuring their knowledge and skills and the dog owning public needed a credible barometer for choosing a trainer. A task force of approximately 20 nationally known dog training professionals and behaviorists worked for three years to research and develop the comprehensive written examination. The APDT also hired Professional Testing Corporation to ensure the process met professional testing standards. It then created a separate, independent council – the Certification Council for Pet Dog Trainers – to manage the accreditation and pursue future development.

Candidates who pass the exam will earn the title Certified Pet Dog Trainer and may use the designation, “CPDT,” after their names. As creators of the examination, the task force members have also earned the use of the CPDT designation. All certified trainers must earn continuing education credits to keep their designations, or take the examination again in three years. With the inception of this certification, there are now 236 Certified Pet Dog Trainers in the United States and Canada.

Please read some of the things that others have said about me and my classes here.