Julie with Wishbone,
Hershey and Little Bit  

I moved to Greenville, South Carolina in 1995 after retiring from the U.S. Army and am originally from Nebraska. I opened Pawsitive Effects Dog Training, LLC in 2005 while attending the Animal Behavior College Obedience Instructor Training Program. The ABC program consists of a correspondence program to give the student a strong foundation of academic and theoretical knowledge about dogs which included principles of how animals learn, introduction to dog training tools and how to use them, how to teach basic obedience cues, and how to effectively treat the most common behavioral problems in dogs. Once that was completed, I spent the required 10 hours at the Anderson County Animal Shelter practicing my training techniques with the shelter dogs and continue to volunteer at the shelter 2 to 3 Saturdays a month working with the large adult dogs to make them more adoptable. Then I spent 6 months training hands-on with a local, experienced clicker dog trainer. I also attended a basic agility course with Wishbone, my Jack Russell mix. I will continue my education through seminars and research. I have also volunteered at the Hawaiian Humane Society for three years as an adoption counselor for the adult dogs and was the shelter manager at the Greenville Humane Society for 1 year.

I believe a lifetime of owning dogs has provided me with a solid foundation, for understanding canines and their behavior. I presently share my home with Wishbone, a 1 year old Jack Russell Terrier mix; Hershey, a 7 year old Sheltie mix; Little Bit, a 9 year old Chihuahua mix; and Bonnie, a cat. Both Hershey and Little Bit are shelter rescues. My love of animals, particularly dogs, eventually led me to a career in professional dog training and my goal is to show dog owners how to help their dogs become happy and obedient family members.

My training philosophy is based upon the principles of operant conditioning where your dog learns from the results of his or her actions. I will teach you clicker training, which uses gentle and positive training, and make clicker training easy and fun for both of you. Clicker training uses a distinct and consistent signal to mark a desired behavior in real time and then follows that signal with a motivating reward. Because animals understand precisely which action earned the click and their reward, they learn new behaviors quickly, easily, and enthusiastically. Clicker training focuses on building behavior, not stopping behavior. I will work with your individual preferences and your dog’s personality to find a program that suits both of you. I believe that a positive training technique creates a trusting partnership between an owner and their pet and builds a concrete relationship. Clicker training can be used with any breed, temperament, age or species. Please call, Home-864-277-3922; Cell 864-633-6570, or email me to find out more.