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David Adams

July 10, 2024

Dog Trainers

Jennen Herbst

Dog trainer in

#10 in United States, #1 in Missouri

United States

    https://www.lizziandroccos.com/our-services/dog-training/

    Service areas:

    Boone County - Columbia, Ashland, Hallsville

    I am a trainer in Columbia, MO. I do offer training for different types of things. I have started to expand more into reactive training which is the reason I originally wanted to go into training. I do like working with younger dogs as well to try to avoid these types of issues as they get older.
    In college, I was actually pre-med. After I graduated with my bachelor's degree in "Medicinal Chemistry", I got a job in the healthcare field when I ended up working for about 8 years. However, around the time I started that job, I also adopted my first dog. I had no intention of adopting her and actually said I would foster her, get her adopted, and then get a black lab like I had wanted. Instead, this completely white pit bull mix and I just celebrated her 10th Gotcha Day and she is my best friend and 4 legged assistant. She was a handful in her younger years so the basic manners and skills program is named after her. Training her and the dog I adopted a little less than a year later made me realize this is the path I actually wanted to take.
    The second dog I adopted was not the happy go lucky dog like my first girl Margot. I quickly realized she had some behavior issues. I originally thought she was aggressive but soon learned a lot of her behaviors came out of reacting more in a situation due to her being anxious. I had no idea what to do so went to work with some trainers. They used different methods that I do not use now because they made me feel uncomfortable with the training process. I then started to research alternative methods which is when I found the information on positive based/force free training. From there, using those methods, my Meia and I build a very strong bond and she became an amazing dogs. She never had a lot of friends but she could go out in public to a lot of places with me.
    From there, I decided to dabble in training and got into it even more. Meia passed on Halloween of 2019. When this happened, I made the decision to go into training full time and let her legacy live on. The pet store I was working at part time was actually building a new location with a training room in which made it seems like the stars had aligned. She had a program named after her to help reactive dogs (Managing Exciting Interactions Appropriately).
    I then adopted a dog almost 2 years ago who came to me nervous of life. This helped me work some of the training methods into a confidence building program which has made me learn even more and I am really enjoying it.
    I also graduated with a Masters in Public Health (animal focused) last year. In that program, I designed multiple education program that I hope to find ways to incorporate in areas around me. The one I am most proud of is a program for kids to help them learn how to interact with dogs to avoid bites.

    Certifications:

    CPDT - KA, Fear Free, AKC

    Dog training services include

    • Aggressive dog training
    • Deaf dog training
    • Reactive dog training
    • In home training
    • Off leash training
    • Puppy training

    More info about Jennen Herbst's dog training:

    Manners and skills; group classes; one-on-one lessons, puppy "problems"; distraction training; confidence building

    Behavioral issue focus:

    Mostly reactive (both dog and human) but also a lot of nervous dogs

    Dog training methods:

    I am a fear free trainer. For behavior/reactive issue dogs, I like to start with an initial consultation in order to personalize a training plan that I feel will help the dog out in the most effective way. I try to work with the owner to best fit their lifestyle. I also avoid pushing the dogs past their threshold. To do this, I tend to do shorter lessons since sometimes dogs can only focus for so long or get too stressed with longer sessions. Once they get to a place where both the owner and I are comfortable then we work into more group/real world situations. For general manners and skills, we set up a personalized training plan for them as well, working on the specific behaviors/skills they want to work on. For confidence building, we spend a lot of time on exposures, cooperative care, and helping them get comfortable in as many situations as possible. Each of the training programs for these is named after one of my dogs as each of them has been challenging in these areas.

    Why I became a dog trainer:

    What I learned from my first two dogs on how to train dogs, made me want to share that knowledge with others. I concentrate a lot on building a bond and making sure there is mutual trust so that it is easier for both the dog and owner to navigate different situations. Having used multiple types of training methods, I wanted to expand the use of positive/fear free methods more.

    My favorite part of being a dog trainer:

    Watching the dogs grow and developing relationships with both the dogs and owners that I work with. While I knew I would be helping dogs, I did not realize the strong relationships I would also build with the owners.

    My #1 dog training tip:

    Keep training as positive as possible and avoid pushing a dog too far, too soon which can break the bond and trust they have in the owner.


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    David Adams

    July 10, 2024

    Dog Trainers

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