KATE JOHNSON, CPDT-KA, CFDM
positive reinforcement dog trainer & puppy specialist
RAIN OR SHINE CANINE
NOW LOCATED ON ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA
Taking New Clients
REACH OUT TODAY!
TRAIN WITH RAIN OR SHINE CANINE, LLC
Building trust and the bond between you and your dog!
Kate Johnson is a professional Dog Trainer with a very simple philosophy. Positive reinforcement, science based training and behavior solutions strengthen your relationship with your dog and develop a more confident, happy and well-behaved pup. We offer convenient, custom, in-home training. All animals involved in the process experience the benefits, including the humans! Put your best paw forward and let’s get started today.
ABOUT ME
Modern, positive reinforcement-based approach is safe, humane, and effective.
Kate’s Education
As a certified professional trainer, Kate prides herself in continually expanding her knowledge of dog behavior and training techniques through obtaining certifications, attending workshops and conferences, reading the latest literature and networking with colleagues to remain on the cutting edge of the science of dog behavior.
Kate is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) under the Certification Council of Pet Dog Trainers (CCPDT), a Certified Family Dog Mediator from Kim Brophey’s Applied Ethology L.E.G.S. program. Kate is a Whole Dog Academy Graduate of the Foundational Dog Trainer Certificate Program.
Kate has taken or attended a variety of continuing education courses and conferences on topics such as behavior, socialization, ethology, fear & anxiety, impulse control, obedience and building drive & motivation.
Kate also continues to work on her hands-on skills in training with her own dog, Powells, as this is a true passion of hers and because Powells loves training and it makes him a very happy boy.
Kate practices force-free, fear-free, positive training and is committed to and uses the most current, gentle, science-based, positive training and behavior modification techniques. Kate has always had a love for animals and the outdoors. After 18 years working in office administration, she decided to follow her love of animals and nature and start a career working with dogs. Kate has been serving as the Board Secretary of Whole Dog Academy, an education and research based nonprofit organization, since 2015.
Kate enjoys instructing in-home private training, off leash enrichment adventure groups and running puppy socials but has found a real passion for helping families welcome puppies into their homes during their puppy’s critical socialization period of development. Kate loves helping families with kids and other pets welcome a new puppy as smoothly and safely as possible into their homes. Kate excels in consulting with puppy families and then building a training and socialization plan specific to their unique needs and training goals.
Kate spends her downtime with her family which includes her husband and elementary aged daughter as well as a very good doodle, Powells, and a hilarious kitty, Poppy.
Professional Certifications and Memberships
Kate is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) under the Certification Council of Pet Dog Trainers (CCPDT).
CPDT-KA; Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed
This certification demonstrates a broad range of knowledge and skills in ethology, learning theory, technique, and instruction.
The CPDT is a rigorous testing process that requires trainers to prove mastery of humane, science-based dog training practices. After engaging in a minimum of 300 hands-on hours of training with a variety of different dogs/behavioral problems, the trainer takes a standardized test meant to assess their professional knowledge.
The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), established in 2001, is the leading independent certifying organization for the dog training profession. Thousands of dog training professionals worldwide maintain the CCPDT’s certifications as a mark of high professional distinction.
Because certification is a standardized measure of a professional’s grasp of the Body of Knowledge within a field, education is integral to the certification process—and continuing education is integral to the recertification process. In order to maintain this certification every certificate holder is required to attend regular educational seminars to obtain CEUs or their certification will expire.
Kate is a a Certified Family Dog Mediator from Kim Brophey’s Applied Ethology L.E.G.S. program.
A Family Dog Mediator (FDM) is an individual that has completed Kim Brophey’s Applied Ethology L.E.G.S. program. FDM’s assess each animal based on their L.E.G.S.—which includes each dog’s Learning, Environment, Genetics, and Self–as each plays a critical role in the animal’s behavior.
Family Dog Mediators evaluate the dog’s L.E.G.S and help mediate the places where there are conflicts between dogs and owners. We help you manage your expectations for your dog’s behavior, help translate what your dog needs from you, and help you meet those needs. We also help by giving you the tools to modify behavior so that you can live happily with your pet! It is our job to understand, to the greatest extent possible, the needs of all parties and to bring them together to create harmonious symbiosis in the family dog home.
PPG promotes the use of positive operant and respondent training methods, both personally and professionally, and holds that all training should be conducted in a manner that encourages pets to enjoy the process, which will, in turn, lead them to become more confident and well-adjusted pets. PPG members optimize the use of applied behavior analysis to systematically identify and resolve problem behaviors using the least aversive and intrusive methods, tools and equipment. Further, both PPG and its members actively recommend against the use of any training tools and equipment whose purpose and/or intent is to interrupt or redirect behavior using fear, force or pain.
One of PPG’s key missions is to build an international coalition of competent and ethical pet professional service providers that can create widespread industry transparency regarding the use and purpose of commercially available pet training and care tools and equipment.
Kate is an active member of this organization.
Kate is a Whole Dog Academy Graduate of the Foundational Dog Trainer Certificate Program where she studied: dog training & behavior, learning theory, ethology, canine body language, husbandry, safety along with other related courses. The rigorous program is 12 months in duration and consists of a combination of weekly 3-hour lecture meetings and assorted hands-on practicums. Students learn about canines as a species, learning theory and the history of canine training, as well as methods for integration with humans and how to facilitate communication. Kate served as the Board Secretary of Whole Dog Academy since 2015.
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Professional Certifications and Degrees
Bachelors of Arts in Psychology at Flagler College
Whole Dog Academy Graduate: Foundational Dog Trainer Certificate Program
Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA)
Certified Family Dog Mediator (CFDM)
Continuing Education
Karen Pryor Clicker Expo 2021
L.E.G.S Applied Ethology Family Dog Medication Seminar- Kim Brophy (2021)
The REALLY REAL RELAXATION Protocol Webinar. Presented by Suzanne Clothier
Nose Work Training with K9 Nose Work Instructor Rachel Davis, CPDT-KA, CNWI
DoveLewis Pet First Aid/CPR
Memberships
Association for Professional Dog Trainers (APDT)
Pet Professionals Guild (PPG)
Licensed, Bonded, and Insured through Business Insurers of the Carolinas
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"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."
Gilda Radner
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Owner & Trainer: Kate Johnson, CPDT-KA, CFDM
St. Simons Island, GA 31522
503-816-3511
