Lorraine Martinez
About me
- First name
- Lorraine
- Last name
- Martinez
- Summary
Lorraine Martinez, PhD, earned her doctoral degree in psychology and found a natural niche in the dog training world. There she can combine her interest in animal welfare with her understanding of behavior. Lorraine most recently oversaw a large-scale training program offered by the Humane Society of Missouri. The program was unique in the Saint Louis area, offering family dog classes, behavior evaluations, private lessons, and specialty classes for dogs showing fearful or reactive behavior.
- Bio
As a child, Lorraine always wanted to be a veterinarian. When she was in college, though, she became enthralled with the science of psychology and pursued this degree that allowed her to study behavior motivation and change.
Although she always loved and shared her home with dogs and other pets, Lorraine did not start her career with animals until 2000. At that time, she started working with a local rescue group in the Oakland, CA, area while completing post-graduate studies in psychology. After a neighbor died in a tragic car accident and left five dogs without a home, Lorraine contacted the area rescue group. Because several of the dogs who were left homeless had behavior issues, finding homes for them proved difficult. Lorraine began researching the training and behavior modification services available for dogs in this predicament. Through this research she discovered the convergence of the psychology, behavior analysis, and ethology disciplines, and their impact on dog training and behavior modification.
Lorraine’s special interest in working with dogs showing fearful, threatening, or aggressive behavior was fueled when she adopted a beautiful shepherd mix named Grace in 2002. Lorraine began a search for scientifically supported, evidence-based treatment options to treat the aggressive behavior Grace demonstrated when she saw unfamiliar dogs. This search proved to be a distressingly confusing task, since the misinformation about treating behavior issues available to the public was vast. Lorraine is now passionate about educating people and helping them wade through the tremendous amount of behavior modification information.
In her recent work at the Humane Society of Missouri, first as a volunteer and then as the Supervisor of the Behavior and Training Department, Lorraine worked with the Greater St. Louis Training Club to develop a special set of classes for dogs displaying fearful, threatening, or aggressive behavior. Lorraine developed a five-hour class that teaches owners how to read their dog’s body postures, how to manage their dog’s behavior to ensure safety, and how to use positive, reinforcement-based training to provide their dog with new skills and to change their dog’s reaction to unfamiliar objects, noises, people, or dogs.
Qualifications
Lorraine earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Washington-Seattle. She joined the Greater St. Louis Training Club in 2004 and began volunteering as a trainer after completing the training course offered by the Certified Pet Dog Trainers of the club. Lorraine worked at the Humane Society of Missouri as the Supervisor of the Behavior and Training Department until 2010.- Services offered
Lorraine offers private in-home behavior consultations and training, including consultation for aggressive behavior.
Contact information
- City
- Saint Louis
- State/Province
- MO
- Country
- USA
- Phone number
- 314-283-5013
- Website
Facility & Location Information
- Directions
- Veterinarians Nearby
History
- Member for
- 1 year 41 weeks