North Fork School for Dogs
positive methods with positive results
Meet Asha Gallacher
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What's a family dog trainer?
A trainer that understands that every household is different...you may not mind your dog on the sofa, but your best friend wouldn't dream of sharing that space with their pets. Either way, Asha can help you achieve your goals with your canine companion. She has a keen understanding of what makes dogs so special. She makes it her mission in helping you understand your dog through fun and informative obedience training that focuses on manners inside and outside the home.
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Asha is an ABC Certified Dog Trainer and a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, an organization dedicated to individual dog trainers who are committed to becoming better trainers through education.
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She is also a member of the Pet Professional Guild, "a membership organization representing pet industry professionals who are committed to results based, science based force-free training and pet care".
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Finally, Asha is a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals.
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Continuing education is a priority to Asha, and she attends lectures, seminars and hands-on clinics. She has attended dog aggression seminars with Chirag Patel, Trish King, Julie Shaw's Aggression Workshop, and Grisha Stewart's BAT Seminar. Other seminars included a 2 day seminar with Ken McCort, learning the difference between dog and wolf behavior, and four APDT Annual Conference and Trade Show 5 day seminars. in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. She attended the 2017 Clicker Expo in Stamford, CT and the 2016 Clicker Expo in Cincinnati where she attended lectures and learning labs taught by legends in the dog training world like Ken Ramirez, Susan Friedman, and Kathy Sdao.
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Asha Gallacher was training dogs before she even knew she was training them! As a child, when she wasn't riding horses and competing in horse show competitions, she played with her pet dogs and had them jump elaborate obstacle courses made of anything she could find; paving bricks, fallen branches, you name it. (aka, agility!)
Asha recognized that many dogs lose their homes and families not only to poor training, but also from unforeseen circumstances in the family's life like moving, divorce, etc. So, when Asha wanted to rescue a Corgi, she located a breeder on the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of America website who happened to have a very troubled female returned to her. The breeder (Paula O'Donnell of TellTail Cardigans) was impressed with Asha's calm mannerisms and innate understanding of what the Corgi needed, and trusted Asha to turn the Corgi's life around. With consistent, positive training techniques, Spoonie Luv, Asha's Corgi rescue, transformed into a completely different dog. Asha's success with Spoonie inspired her to help other dogs and their owners in need.
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As a result, she enrolled and graduated from Animal Behavior College and became and ABC Certified Dog Trainer and an AKC Evaluator. Asha welcomed another dog into her home in 2012 when she adopted Sophie the Mini Long Haired Dachshund from the North Fork Animal Welfare League in Southold. Turns out Sophie has developed quite an aptitude for agility - she qualified in her first agility trial with CPE (Canine Performance Events) in 2014. Not to be outdone, Caru Llewy, Asha's latest Cardigan from TellTail Cardigans, has also shown great promise for agility, Rally....and also mischief. She keeps Asha on her trainer toes!
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What is an ABC Certified Dog Trainer?
ABC Certified Dog Trainers understand the importance of teaching new behaviors through luring, shaping, capturing or molding and have mastered the behavioral principles of operant conditioning.
ABC Certified Dog Trainers have been taught to use positive motivation training techniques as their primary training tool which will allow your dog to learn the desired behaviors while keeping alive the unique spark that makes your dog so special to you.
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An ABC Certified Dog Trainer:
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Loves all dogs and their people too
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Believes that all new behaviors should be taught through luring, shaping, capturing or molding
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Does not subscribe to nor condemn other dog training professionals for their beliefs
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Has been educated in and understands the benefits of professional dog training with operant conditioning
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Has lots of tools in the toolbox and knows how to use them
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Knows there is always more to learn and attends seminars, workshops and conferences as often as possible
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Has a strong sense of ethics which is applied in their business practice
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Has patience and understands that anger and abuse have no place in dog training
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Is professional at all times
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Treats their students (both two and four legged) with respect, kindness, empathy, compassion, kinship and encouragement
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Is passionate about living and working with dogs
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Visit the Animal Behavior College website to learn more!
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