Rain Jordan, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP.  Certified Behavior Modification & Training.

Northwest Oregon, Southwest Washington, & by phone or Skype elsewhere.  

Anti-Aversives, Bonded, & Insured                Info@ExpertCanine.com

​

No one wants to live in frustration over their dog’s behavior.  Expert Canine guides dogs & their humans  on a simple path to help new puppies grow up stable and behaviorally challenged dogs learn alternatives, so you may discover peace of mind, relief, and the good dog you’d hoped for.

Set an Appointment now

Need Help with a Fearful or Feral Dog? Click here.

My Promise to You

​

I will never need or want to hurt or scare your dog in order to train your dog or to change negative associations to positive ones.

I will never use tools designed to poke, pinch, choke, shock, or otherwise hurt your beloved companion.

I will always endeavor to guide you in training and handling habits that result not only in better behavior, but in a stronger bond between you and your dog, benefiting both of you in all areas of your life together.

​

***

I am proud to be a positive reinforcement/anti-aversives professional, a feral, traumatized, anxious, & fearful dogs specialist, a Certified Canine Behavior Consultant (CBCC-KA), a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), a Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP), and the only one in the Columbia Pacific region that holds these certifications, which are earned through rigorous education, hundreds of hours of teaching experience, and independent, thorough, and objective, carefully proctored testing via the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT).  More details on my qualifications can be found throughout this website.

"The training we received from Expert Canine exceeded our expectations. We have a 10-year-old dog who came to us from the shelter 8 years ago with lots of behavioral issues. Rain Jordan provided methods we were able to practice and implement easily on our own. We saw immediate improvement. As we continued to work with Rain, we saw more the issues abate. We are thrilled with Rain's positivity, kindness, clarity, and dedication to animal welfare."

--A. & L. Ayers

“Freddy, a rescued greyhound, is dog reactive and we needed support to help both dog and human to be more confident when meeting other dogs. We found Rain through an article she had written about Learned Helplessness in greyhounds and worked with her via video conference. Rain was very accessible, easy to talk to, and explained concepts/strategies in such a way that we could immediately put them into practice. We also appreciated that Rain communicated with us in between consultations. Freddy made a lot of progress, including his humans, and we can keep working with Freddy without a feeling of panic. We highly recommend Rain.”

--Freddy, Claudia, and Laurens

To arrange an appointment, please proceed as follows:

​

1. Fill out the initial form here: EC Intake Form .  Once we've reviewed this form and confirm we can meet with you, we'll send you our client agreement.

2. After we receive your completed forms, we will confirm with you the type of consult you need, then email you a PayPal invoice.  Booking is done upon receipt of payment. (You do not need a PayPal account to pay via PayPal, and PayPal accepts most major credit cards.)

3. Call or email us to request your preferred first appointment time, or we can exchange a list of available dates/times.  Mobile/text/vm: 831 . 239 . 9417  Email:  

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

As a member of the Pet Professional Guild and in support of anti-aversive training and handling, Expert Canine offers a discount on the first training or coaching package when you surrender these items to us:

     Choke Collars, Prong Collars, Shock Collars, Bark Collars, Scat Mats: 10%                                                                  Electric Fencing: 15%

​

Thereafter, you become an Expert Canine V.I.P. with special benefits, when you commit to not using aversives again.

​

​

A CBCC, which means Certified Behavior Consultant, Canine, is a vetted professional who can help  you with canine behavior and emotional difficulties  such as aggression, reactivity, anxiety, resource guarding, fears and phobias, unusual house-soiling,  and other upsetting issues.  Though a  Certified Canine Behavior Consultant  is usually a dog trainer as well, s/he  is different than a dog trainer in that dog trainers, even Certified Professional Dog Trainers  (CPDTs), are not always qualified to deal with concerns such as  aggression, reactivity, fears, phobias, or anxiety.  Teaching a dog skills like sitting on cue, not jumping on people, and coming when called are highly desirable abilities, but these skills alone will not resolve issues such as fear, anxiety, reactivity, and aggression because such problems originate at the level of a  dog's emotions--the subconscious--whereas obedience training operates generally at the conscious level.

​

A CBCC-KA's experience, knowledge, and ethics have been professionally assessed by the independent, international certifying organization, The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT). As of December 2018 there are only 232 CBCC-KAs worldwide, and currently there are only 7 in the entire state of Oregon. In order to be awarded the CBCC certification, an applicant must first have several hundred working hours of canine behavior experience, and then must pass a rigorous, carefully proctored examination given by the CCPDT.  To be awarded the CBCC-KA, Certified Canine Behavior Consultants must demonstrate competence in applied behavior analysis, ethology, body language, & observational skills, consulting skills & best practices, health, development, & life stages, and anatomy & physiology. CBCCs also  stay abreast of and may even participate in new research in animal behavior, and  must keep their education and skills up to date. Following the guidelines of the CCPDT, CBCCs  must adopt Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive (LIMA) principles, incorporating the Humane Hierarchy as appropriate to assist their clients and become a resource for the public, and some CBCCs, myself included, take extra measures to adopt anti-aversive policies. CBCCs such as myself may also seek to assist companion animals and their humans by seeking to prevent and/or interrupt  interaction cycles that historically have tended to lead to euthanasia due to behavior problems.

. 

Because  there are no laws for regulating dog  training and behavior modification, some people unfortunately claim to be animal "behaviorists" without having the knowledge, experience, oversight, or professional education and testing needed to help people and their pets. Just as a person in need of heart surgery would start by seeking out a reputable board certified heart surgeon, those in need of behavior help for their dogs are wise to begin by seeking out a certified behavior consultant with nationally recognized credentials.

​

A Note About Professional Organizations (CCPDT versus APDT):

The CCPDT (Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers) offers independent certification to dog training and behavior professionals and is an organization of certificants. Certificants have taken and passed a rigorous examination, and must continue to recertify to retain the credential. APDT (Association of Professional Dog Trainers) is an organization of members. Members are individuals with an interest in the goals of the organization, who pay annual membership dues to participate. APDT members continue to be part of the organization as long as they continue to pay their annual dues, but there are no requirements for experience, examination, and continuing education for APDT members. CCPDT certificants must keep their knowledge updated via lifelong professional education (or retesting) and provide proof of that in order to maintain their certifications. As Susan Smith explains it, "In the dog training certification world, there is only one truly independent certifying body –  the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT). "  

I began clicker training Lagotto Romagnolo Quizzie when she was just 2.5 weeks old (at her breeder's home, of course). Sessions were very short--one or two a week, for just a few minutes at a time. By the time she was 4.5 weeks old, she had already learned Eye Contact, Sit, Come, Get Up on a Platform, behavior chain combinations of these, and the beginnings of Touch (basic targeting). This demo video was done when she was 5 weeks old.

Training young puppies with skills in addition to socializing them gives them a huge advantage in life. Early socialization (before 12-14 weeks of age) is absolutely crucial to safety and wellness, but adding R+ training as a very young puppy can mean avoiding or reducing much of the typical behavioral challenges that many dogs (and their owners) struggle with as they move into adulthood; that, too, increases safety and wellness.

For dogs who fear nail trimming, it is best not to restrain and force them--that only makes the fear worse and may provoke biting. There are a couple of better options:  1) Learn force free nail trimming, which, like most cooperative care and handling, is absolutely doable for most dogs and owners but does require a time commitment and patience; or 2) Teach the dog to file her nails, e.g., as shown below. The downside to option 2 is that dewclaws are not done this way, and on some paw shapes, outer claws may be missed as well. (Back feet take longer to train also.) The upside: Many dogs enjoy this! I make these boards and you can too if you're handy.

Without knowing this dog and her "before," it's impossible to appreciate what this video evidences. Her owners hired me to help modify leash aggression/reactivity that, to use one of their phrases, manifested in her "losing her mind" any time a trigger appeared. And her triggers were many: People, dogs, birds, cars, trucks, and all wheeled things,  etc.  This day, a group of girls was goofing around in the middle of one end of the street, while from the other end, cars would come and go.  Because we'd spent a good amount of time methodically working on changing negative associations to triggers, no mind losing occurred, no lunging, barking, & spinning in the air either, as were her previous reactions. While she's not completely zen-mind yet, the attention shows she's not just being treat "bribed" or "distracted"; on the contrary, she's changing both emotionally and cognitively, and as a result, behaviorally.

This little guy was about 7 months old when his mom called me for help, as he was doing a lot of jumping up and mouthing her and others -- no ill intent, just wanted to play. He'd been born a shelter pup and didn't know what was appropriate, and now he was in that adolescent phase.  But look how smart!  All dogs do have genius within them; we only need to unveil and encourage it via positive reinforcement, great associations, and a little fun whenever possible! 

Look at those eyes.  And... that calmness! 

Home

All contents Copyright (c) 2018,2019 Rain Jordan All Rights Reserved