Steve Benjamin is the owner of Clicking With Canines located in Endicott, NY. Steve specializes in teaching clicker training to his clients, helping them teach their dogs to be socially acceptable, happy, and intelligent family pets as well as behavior modification assistance upon veterinary referral.
Steve instructs KPA Dog Trainer Professional program sessions in New York (spring/summer) and Florida (fall/winter).
Steve’s love for animals, and especially dogs, was forged at a young age growing up on a 600 acre farm in western New York State. He learned that the animal’s needs always came first and that it was far more effective to reward animals for desired behavior than to punish for undesired behavior. Always the one in the family to help the visiting vet and administer care to any sick animals, Steve’s early career goal was to become a vet.
That changed in college, however, when Steve developed an interest in law enforcement. Steve was appointed to become an FBI agent and graduated from the FBI Academy in October of 1980. Steve retired from the FBI in January 2004 to pursue his passion for working with dogs and their owners starting his training business in March, 2004.
Steve’s training philosophy is to have dogs do what is asked of them because the dog wants to, not because it has to. Steve’s common sense interpretation of “dog friendly” is simply: “Don’t do anything to your dog that you wouldn’t do to your best friend.” Steve lives outside Binghamton, New York with his two dogs: Rudy (black lab) and Tilly (Chow mix). Steve holds a BA in Mathematics from Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York and a MS in Computer Science from the American University, Washington, D.C.
Services Offered: Behavior consults; KPA classes