Meet Jenn Gavin | CPDT-KA, FPPE, Owner, Head Trainer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jenn Gavin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jenn, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
This is a tricky one because we work in an unregulated industry, so there’s a lot of widely accepted advice out there that is unfortunately just not true. If I had to pick TWO favorites from that list, they would be that dogs are pack animals trying to control you, and that punishment will resolve most if not all behavior issues. Both of these pieces of advice are not only untrue, following advice based on them can actively cause harm to your dog. For instance, if you correct your dog for growling at you, you may force them to increase the intensity of their behavior to a bite!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We really are the leader in our state for evidence based training for dogs and cats. We hold our employees to the highest standards in education and certification, and it shows in our everyday group classes, sport classes, stay and train programs, and private training and behavior consultations.

But we are more than just a great school for group classes and private lessons. We also develop new training protocols through evidence based research. We publish our research findings, present our work and continuing education to other trainers and veterinarians, and now we are publishing our instruction in book form as well. We consistently are asked to speak before bodies like the West Michigan Veterinary Medical Association, the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, and the Science of Animal Behavior Conference, just to name a few.

We are one of just a handful of training organizations in our country that partners with a board certified veterinary behaviorist for those tough behavior issues that are beyond just group class training. We set the standard for good, evidence based approaches to managing and treating tough behavior problems like aggression and separation anxiety. We work closely with your veterinarian, groomer, and other providers to help your dog or cat consent to and be successful in everything they do, from their social interactions to veterinary care and grooming. We are the place to call when safety is an issue and you need help like yesterday.

I really am just so proud of our work.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Fun! Well, assuming that my best friend brought their Pleasant Dog, we’d go for a hike at Huff Park, just across the way from us. it really is a little natural gem in our city. We’d then go shopping for new outdoor gear at Woosah Outfitters, some fun decor and trinkets from Rebel, and top it off with some books from Books and Mortar. All of these businesses allow dogs. We’d then hit up Lost & Found – Treasures of Old and New for some antiquing, finish up with ice cream for dinner (both for humans and their dogs) at Furniture City Creamery.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to give a Shoutout to Dr. Jill Sackman DACVB, DACVS of Animal Behavior Consultants of Michigan (www.animalbehaviormi.com). Dr. Sackman really helped us grow as a team to be the leader in the animal training industry that we have become by fostering our love of peer reviewed research, development of new training protocols, and partnerships with the veterinary community to tackle training and behavioral health for our animal friends from a more wholistic, “it takes a village” approach.

Website: https://www.apleasantdog.com/

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Image Credits
Photo Credits: Amy Carroll Photo