Dog Wizardry
About Dog Training
My mission is to change the way people think of dog training. Saying: “I have a good dog, why would I need a trainer?” That’s similar to saying: “I have a good child, why would I teach him violin?”
Dog training is not about turning bad dogs into good dogs. There are no bad dogs, just imbalanced behaviors. Most people call trainers when something goes wrong. Dog training is not about stopping nuiscance behaviors. It’s about developing a language & teaching new behaviors. A dog’s education is imperative. Imagine if your education stopped in 3rd grade. That’s what basic obedience is. The hallmarks of basic obedience are things such as the use of release commands, ability to pass the CGC and other factors. After “3rd grade” we move onto intermediate & advanced obedience such as off leash recall. However, education is only a part of your relationship. Dog Sports such as Weight Pulling, Agility & K9 Scent Discrimination give your dog a sense of purpose and achievement!
SERVICES
BY Dog Wizardry
Service Dog Consultation
Obtaining a Service Dog is a big decision. Many people don’t understand the effort that goes into educating a service dog. Let’s talk about your goals & see if a service dog is the right decision for you.
Dog Sports
Specializing in weight pulling and agility. A physical & psychological challenge that will benefit your dog immensely. Dogs love to work. having a job gives them a sense of fulfillment & purpose!
Virtual Training
Many issues can be solved virtually. You’ll receive the same level of guidance as my in home clients.
Home Training
I come to your lovely home. We can work on any goals that you have for your dog.
Live in Trainer
Group Classes
Basic obedience is a prerequisite for the group classes. The class is designed to train intermediate / advanced obedience. Training in the presence of other dogs will deepen engagement between you & your dog. Group classes are forming, contact us to be on notified.
Podcast
First Time Combo + Assessment
The first time assessment gives me a bird’s eye view so I can see what is going on in the household. I’ll be evaluating things such as: Is there clear communication with the dog? Is there a clear pack structure for the dog? What are the owner’s goals?
what They’re Saying
Client Testimonials
Marc Black
Police Service Dog/Explosive Detection Dog Handler
I am a retired United States Air Force Master Sergeant (retired 1994), a retired Police Service Dog Handler (Narcotics Detection/Patrol), (retired 2014), and former contract Explosive Detection Dog Handler (2015 -2019). I was contracted to the United States Department of State under the World Wide Protective Services (WPSS II).
In September 2019, I spent one week observing Ivan as he performed his duties as a traveling service dog trainer. During the time I spent with Ivan we visited several separate families in New Jersey and Ohio with the goal of enhancing their ability to use and train their provided service dogs.
Ivan was extremely diligent and conscientious in providing training for each family. He made every effort to research their case and to determine a strategy to work with them. Ivan was very attentive and listened carefully during the initial interviews with the families and asked probing and insightful questions in an effort to fully understand each situation. Ivan also made every effort to ensure the families understood the principles of Classical and Instrumental Conditioning so once he departed, they could also effectively work with their service dogs.
In my estimation Ivan is a skilled trainer and an effective communicator to both humans and dogs. I highly recommend him as a Service Dog Trainer and Handler.
Cheryl Turk
HS Biology Teacher
rI recently rescued a GoldenDoodle who was exhibiting some (what I thought) were aggression issues. Thank goodness Ivan came to the rescue, as I have 2 young sons and another dog at home. We needed this new pup to fit into our family, not disrupt it.
Believe it or not, I knew Ivan in high school! We recently ran into each other after 20 years. In the process of catching up, he told me that he trains service dogs.
Turns out, I recently rescued a Golden Doodle named Kodi that was displaying dangerous behaviors towards my children, guests and my other dog!
Ivan thoughtfully assessed the situation and told me that he didn’t think it was an aggression issue.
He focused on what was causing the issues. He said that Kodi had a bad association with doors. My dog reacted every time somebody was coming in or out of the house, or when my kids were putting on their backpacks to leave the house, etc.
Before I rescued Kodi, the previous owner kept him locked behind doors for 18 hours a day.
Long story short, Ivan helped me solve the problem.
After that, I asked him if he could help me with some commands that service dogs do, to help my son with anxiety.
Ivan taught me some behaviors like nudging and kissing my son on command to stop him from meltdowns. The best part is…it works!
As a family, we are absolutely thrilled that Ivan has shared his dog training expertise with us! Kodi is now an asset instead of a liability!
Penelope N
Ivan has worked with our family and diabetic alert dog Dahl for over a year. We have learned many ways to develop Dahls skills in alerting to our daughters blood sugar highs and lows.
Also helped us get Dahl to come on the first call when she is out in the fields. His techniques are gentle and never negative which we love. He is also just a phone call away when I have questions or concerns. Highly recommend him as a trainer.