2123 Marina Blvd. San Leandro, Ca 94577 (510) 483-2631 braveheartdogs@sbcglobal.net |
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Owner, Vicki Ronchette, CPDT, CAP2 Vicki has lived with dogs her whole life.
certificate in Veterinary Assisting while still in high school. She began focusing on training dogs just a couple of years later.
Later, she offered classes through Heads or Tails Pet Grooming, the salon she owned and operated for 8 years.
Success (www.dogwise.com) and has written numerous dog training articles. Vicki is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, a national organization dedicated to training dogs using exclusively dog friendly methods. As dog training is evolving all the time, Vicki continues to take courses and attend seminars and workshops from well known trainers and authors to continue to grow as a trainer. She also meets regularly with other trainers to discuss cases, exchange ideas and sharpen her skills.
positive and clicker training for show dogs. She competes with her standard smooth and standard longhair dachshunds in obedience, conformation, earthdog and field trials. She has also been active in agility. She is an AKC licensed dachshund and basset hound Field Trial Judge and an AKC CGC Evaluator. She was the Founder of the Golden Gate Dachshund Club's Rescue Program. She evaluates, trains, fosters and rehomes rescue dogs and serves on the board of this club. In November 2006 she became a CPDT (Certified Pet Dog Trainer).
dog trainers committed to continued education and positive reinforcement techniques.
CAP program is one of the few that actually tests the trainers mechanical skills and ability and assesses them on that rather than on straight book knowledge. Vicki passed her CAP Level 1 and her CAP Level 2. Vicki has lived with and/or competed with many breeds including Rottweilers, Chow Chows, Maltese, Dachshunds, Australian Cattle Dogs, Poodles, Cocker Spaniels, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Havanese, Clumber Spaniels, Boxers, Pekingese, various terriers, Afghan Hounds, Shih Tzus, Pugs, Dobermans, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Pomeranians, Chihuahuas various mixed breeds and has worked with virtually all breeds with much success. She takes pride in being a versatile dog trainer, capable of successfully working with all breeds of dogs. Vicki has a special interest in using positive reinforcement training (including clicker training) to train show dogs. She will show you how to train your show dog or train it for you. Additionally, she also works with show dogs who have fears or anxieties in order to help them learn to enjoy the showing experience.
consulting in the future. Professional Affiliations APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) - Professional Member CCPDT (Certification Council for Pet Dog Trainers) - Certified Pet Dog Trainer IAABC (International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants) - Affiliate Member DogTec - Member Four Paws of San Leandro - Member Golden Gate Dachshund Club - Vice President National Miniature Dachshund Club - Member Dachshund Club of America - Member, 2007 Show Chair Golden Gate Dachshund Rescue - Founder JavaDawgs - Member East Bay Dog Trainers - Founder/Member Oakland Zoo - Volunteer Muttville - Volunteer/Foster Lion Hearted Small Dog Rescue - Founder Braveheart Dog Training is licensed and insured.
Dawn Bushong CAP 2, Rally/Competition Obedience Trainer Dawn trained her first obedience dog, the family basset hound at age 12.
taught our Tricks for Clicks class and co-teaches Wild Card with Vicki.
the clicker, she also uses the clicker to train her cats.
Currently, Dawn is training Pablo, a black lab mix she adopted from the pound and has trained him to the following titles CD, CDX, UD, RN, RA, RE, RAE, CGC. And, Penny, a German shepherd dog mix that already has her RN, RA, RE, CD, CDX and CGC titles. She is also training both of them in agility and tracking. Penny is working in utility towards her UD title. Colleen Pepper, Assistant Trainer Colleen assists Vicki in her Castro Valley Adult School Monday night classes. Colleen has been training her own dogs for competition obedience and agility for many years. Colleen works as a veterinary assistant and worked for many years as a groomer.
(a Catahoula Leopard Dog mix).
Kathy assists Vicki in her Castro Valley Adult School Saturday classes.
earned her RN (Rally Novice) title and has two qualifying scores towards her RA (Rally Advanced Title).
Yvonne assists Vicki in her San Lorenzo HARD classes and in her Castro Valley Adult School Saturday classes. Yvonne also supervises the Braveheart play groups.
where Rossi has already earned championship points and has earned her Canine Good Citizen award. Rossi is also working on becoming an Area Search and rescue dog with CARDA and they are also a volunteer companion dog patrol team with East Bay Regional Park District.
and runs a 4H dog program with her junior handler daughter Hannah. Our Methods At Braveheart, we believe that the best way to train a dog is to make it worth his while. If you make it fun, challenging and exciting your dog will be more inclined to want to work with you. Our training uses exclusively positive reinforcement methods. With positive reinforcement the dog is able to have fun and enjoy the training process rather than have to worry about being punished. Having trained for many years with a variety of trainers and methods, Vicki has found positive reinforcement training to be the most effective and enjoyable regardless of the age or breed of dog. Even children and people with less than perfect timing can succeed with positive training. Because we train without force and compulsion you will not be asked to jerk your dog's neck or use painful collars. We will teach you to train for results while still being able to maintain a positive relationship with your best friend. We have success with basic manners and obedience training, puppy training as well as helping owners of dogs with issues like aggression, shyness and destructive behavior. All of these are solved using positive, scientific, non-violent methods. Does positive training mean that there are never consequences or discipline involved? Absolutely not! We simply realize that pain and intimidation is not the way to build a healthy working relationship between you and your dog. We teach people to communicate with their dogs and train them in a fun, kind and humane way. We are committed to treating both the dogs and their humans with compassion and understanding. |
Dawn with "Penny"
| Copyright © 2007 Braveheart Dog Training The information on this page may not be reproduced, republished or mirrored on another webpage or website. |
| About Us |
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"My goal as a trainer is
to show people how to
effectively communicate
with their dogs, and
teach them to train in a
positive way that both
the owner and the dog
will enjoy."
~Vicki
to show people how to
effectively communicate
with their dogs, and
teach them to train in a
positive way that both
the owner and the dog
will enjoy."
~Vicki
| Braveheart Dog Training "Dog Training from the Heart" |
Kathy with "Josie"
Yvonne with "Rossi"
Colleen with "Sherman"
Photo by Mary Jones