Welcome to the home page of It’s PAWSible! Dog Training Center and Day Camp. We are a special business that has been in operation since 1994!

Our first efforts were our beautiful Dog Training Center that we built on this property in Westhampton, Massachusetts in 1996.   We have been specializing in teaching the pet dog owner in our dog training classes how to have a well-behaved, fun, and social dog.  Since 1996, It’s PAWSible! Dog Training Center has offered the best in puppy training classes, adult dog training classes, advanced dog obedience classes including competition dog agility classes, and we are the producers of the It’s PAWSibe! Dog Training DVD titled It’s PAWSible! Five Week Pet Dog Obedience Training Course on DVD.

We also offer an excellent behavioral consultation service for people with new dogs, dogs with problem behaviors and especially newly adopted dogs.  I feel like the one-on-one service I offer is unique as I tailor each session to, not only help the dog, but to help the human!  So much of working with dogs is about working with the humans that have them. 

My education and experience:    I graduated from Connecticut K-9 in Newington, CT in 1994.  This was an intensive 16 week school.  There was plenty of hands-on training as well as theory taught at this school.  Though the methods I originally learned were somewhat compulsive (physical corrections), I no longer use those particular methods now.   However, I beilieve it was very beneficial to learn that technique first as it taught me good instincts and helped me improve my dog training skills and timing.  After school, I quickly changed my methods and started using the lure/reward method.

Since then and currently, there have been many dog trainers and apprentices that have joined me at It’s PAWSible! Dog Training Center.  Read more about the current trainers here. 

The methods used at It’s PAWSible! are positive, no force methods.  Our method is called lure-reward training.  It’s similar to the training conducted by Dr. Ian Dunbar, DVM one of the founding fathers of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.

Do we use clickers at It’s PAWSible! Dog Training Center?  The answer is:  if you want to.   I love clickers, but we don’t use them in our group classes as I find that the lure/reward method is very effective and many beginners don’t want that extra tool to think about (the clicker).  If you want to learn how to use a clicker, we have classes to teach people how to use them or I can teach you how to use one in a private session.  

My most important dog training school actually followed Connecticut K9:  I adopted Makana my beautiful rescued Doberman Pinscher.   Makana lived to be 13.5 and he passed away in January of 2009.   Makana was only 1 year old when I adopted him and he was so much work!  But that work was excellent schooling for me.   I learned so much from working with him as he had lots of issues like fear aggression, over stimulation issues and basically, he just didn't care at all about pleasing humans.   I had no idea when I got him what I was signing up for!    But he turned into the most incredible dog and companion.  We both learned so much from each other.   You can read more about Makana here. 

In 1999 we added our premier Dog Day Camp.  Back then, no one in this area had anything like this.  Wayne (my husband and business partner) and I traveled all over the east coast looking at what was then a unique dog service.  Since then, dog day cares have opened all over the country and even locally.  I feel It’s PAWSible! still offers the best, safest, cleanest, and most organized dog day care in the area!  We are fully staffed with caring people and our clients' dogs' safety is our number one concern.

In 2002, I started competing in competition agility with Makana.  Soon, I also had Treasure and Phlip and I still enjoy competing in agility, which became a real hobby many weekends a year.  My dogs have all earned many titles in AKC, NADAC, and CPE.  Earning titles is great, but just competing with them is so much fun.  I just love it.

Agility also led to Rally O and Competition Obedience.  I enjoy those dog sports as well.

In 2005, the It’s PAWSible! Five Week Pet Dog Obedience Training Course on  DVD was added to the list of available services.  This is a huge accomplishment as this Dog Training DVD is sold all over the world on our website and also Amazon.com, Ebay, and many other private stores.   We have added many products since then so our shopping cart has lots to offer the pet dog enthusiast.  It’s also nice to add our Dog Training DVD to our local training classes as it's just one more tool for the people who need help training their dogs! 

In 2009, we added a limited boarding service in our home!  This service is limited only to dogs who attend or classes or daycamp.  This service has been appreciated by many of our clients and we continue to get busier and busier with our boarding.

From 1994 to now I’ve also had many wonderful dogs join my busy life.  My current dogs are Phlip, an 8 year old awesome Australian Shepherd and Shumai, a creative minded, gorgeous and proud, 4 year old Doberman.

They are: 

Paradox Phlip the Switch,

AKC, Canine Good Citizen, CGC, Companion Dog, CD Rally Excellent, RE, Master Excellent Agility, MX, Master Excellent Jumpers MXJ, and CPE Agility Trial Champion X2 , CATCH-2

Bell Lavoros Dolce Shumai

AKC, Canine Good Citizen, CGC, Rally Advanced, RA, Open Agility, OA, Novice Jumpers, NAJ, Almost CPE Agility Trial Champion (a couple more trials yet!)

My own dogs as well as my clients’ dogs have taught me almost everything that I can now share with you and your dog.  I've had great experiences, and also many tough ones.  I've had dogs live to be 13.5 and 14 and I've also lost dogs at a young age--Treasure died at age 6.  I've had to re-home dogs due to their needing more happiness and to be one-on-one dogs and I've had to lose dogs to aggression towards other dogs.  I've also experienced very tough health issues in my dogs and learned so much about health, nutrition and how important it is to be your dog's true guardian and make sure that you understand everything that is being done to him.  . . .  All of these experiences, great and horrible, help me help you.  I'm very humble and willing to share my experiences with my clients.  I don't believe that happens a lot . . .

Fast Forward to present:  Just recently, March 2011, I took the Certification Exam through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers.  I  passed!  I am now a Certified Professional Dog Trainer—Knowledge Assessed, CPDT-KA.  So I have two certifications to back my education and experience.   To date, I have worked with thousands of dog owners both in classes and privately. 

So, come learn all about dog training and have fun! Our one-of-a-kind dog training center is state of the art, clean and spacious. Our dog training methods are gentle and effective to help you build a positive relationship with your dog or puppy!  We REALLY want you to succeed in your goals--whatever they are!

We offer so many kinds of dog training and dog training options, so we can keep you and your dog busy for a long time!