Hi! My name is Debby Elliot, I’m a pet parent that became a certified dog trainer.

I grew up around dogs, whether it be the menagerie of pets around the home or traveling to dog show
at an early age. My first job as a child was walking show dogs to relax them before they went into the
ring, from there, I progressed into Jr. Showmanship showing my parents dogs in conformation classes.
As an adult I showed my own dogs in conformation classes but my love was for obedience not the
competition. I found I loved training the dogs more than competing.

I stepped away from the show industry to raise a family but I continued training dogs for my own
personal pleasure. Five years ago, I started helping out at my sister’s rescue. At the time she had more
rescue dogs that needed training than trainers. I drove two hours every Sunday to help out as much as I
could with socializing or obedience training. I did this for several months and even adopted a puppy to
practice skills she was teaching me.

When Covid hit and everyone was told to stay home, it became vital that I go up there to help out. I
learned so much in that time following my sister’s guidance and becoming a better trainer not only for
my new puppy but for other dogs.

In 2022 after prodding from my sister and everyone at the rescue I went back to school and got certified
as a dog trainer through the Animal Behavior College. I specialized in obedience but have sense
diversified into training other areas.

I’ve been asked what method of training do I use, my answer is I am a Positive reinforcement trainer. I
use the Operant condition method, meaning I will work with the dog and owner to determine what
works best for them to achieve their behavior goals while using the least intrusive method available to . I
believe more than anything else, the dog and the owner must be having fun and enjoying themselves or
I’m not doing it right!

So, what do I teach, my first love is obedience but as I said I have diversified into other skills such as
agility, Rally-O, Treibball, Scent Work and will be offering Service dog training as well. I love teaching one
on one as well as group classes. Let me help you have a happy well-mannered dog. My motto is a well-
mannered dog is a happy dog!

This year I was awarded the title of Sniffspot Top Trainer! You can read about it here.

Debby E.