Pia's accomplishments

 

• Member of the American Humane Association Task Force for Humane Dog Training

 

• Business Practice chairperson of the Delta Guidelines for Humane Dog Training

 

• Charter member and past V.P. of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers 

 

• Restructured the training curriculum for over 500 PETsMART stores in North America

 

• Implemented a six-week training curriculum for the PETsMART Area Trainers and conducted the educational program, spear headed by Dr. Suzanne Hetts.  Team members consisted of Drs. Mary Lee Nitschke, Pamela Reid and Terry Ryan and Trish King.

 

• Senior Staff instructor for the Dogs of Course Instructor Training courses (www.dogsofcourse.com)

 

• Telecourse instructor for Animal Behavior Associates (www.animalbehaviorassociates.com)

 

• Past Board Advisor to the National Association of Professional Pet Sitter

 

• Subject Matter Expert in the development of the first national certification program for dog trainers. “Until the creation of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers in 2001, there was no nationally available 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.' These tests are not monitored, nor are the testing processes standardized.” (Quoted from www.ccpdt.com)

 

• Past V.P. of the National Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers and charter member

 

• Advisory Committee member of the Animal Rescue League of Boston

 

• Radio host of Teacher’s Pet on www.petliferadio.com

 

• Instructor for Petfinder’s national Adoption Option outreach program, sponsored by Petco Foundation

 

• Nominated for 2008 Annual Writing Competition by The Dog Writers Association of America for excellence in the category of Magazine Series for the work “Canine Play”, APDT Chronicle of the Dog

 

• Nominated for 2009 Annual Writing Competition by The Dog Writers Association of America for excellence in the category of Magazine: feature on training and/or behavior for the work “Reinforcing Fear:  Why the Debate?”, APDt Chronicle of the Dog

 

• Bark Magazine, February/March 2010, Issue #58 – Chosen as one of Bark's 100 picks of the best and brightest people that changed the world of dogs

 

• Advisory Committee member for Premier Pet Products and Radio Systems Corporation

 

• Charter member and past Secretary of the Board of Trustees for the APDT Foundation 

 

• Member of American Humane Association’s Independent Review Board (IRB) for the Animal Behavior Resources Institute website, ABRIonline.

 

• Consultant for the ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Team.  Senior evaluator for all dogs as well as overseeing treatment plans and coaching staff.  Deployments to various dog fighting raids for purposes of evaluating dogs

 

• First Certified Professional Dog Trainer in the State of New Jersey

 

• Instructor for the CATCH University for Dog Trainers one-week and six-week course

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• Served as Director of Behavioral Rehabilitation at the groundbreaking ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center in Weaverville, NC, where 450 dogs went through the rehab program over a six year period.