Dog Training

Exciting things are happening at South Meadow Animal Clinic!
We would like to introduce our new dog trainer Dr. Mark Elvington, owner of K9-Sense,LLC.

About Dr. Elvington

My first career was in chemistry.  After recieving a Ph. D. I worked for the U. S. Department of Energy for many years.  My love for dogs, however, drew me to volunteer at animal shelters where I gained volumes of hands on training experience.  For 10 years this continued, until I realized that my passion was working with dogs. I made the decision to change careers.  I pursued formal education in dog training and I am now certified by the Animal Behavior College, a professional dog training school. I am also a graduate of Randy Hare’s Professional Trainers Course at Alpha K9, a full time course that encompasses canine obedience training, explosives and narcotics detection, police handler protection training, tracking, and kennel management.  I am also an active member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.  I most recently worked as a canine trainer and handler with wildlife scent detection dogs for a cougar population study.  I feel that my scientific background meshes well with modern training methods like reward based behavior modification, methods which are based in the science of learning.

K9-Sense, LLC, offers a board and train program designed for the family dog.  Your dog will board at South Meadow Animal Clinic for four weeks and receive training in the foundation behaviors – sit, down, stay, heel, and come.  He or she will learn to respond to voice commands and hand signals and to work through distractions.  You are invited to visit your dog seven to ten days into the program to watch a training session and observe his or her progress.  During the last week your participation is necessary.  We will schedule several training sessions so that you and your dog can learn to work together as a team.  The cost of the program is $1400 with half due at the beginning and half due at the end.