september 2024 KPA CTP of the Month
In this interview, Keira shares insights from her journey, including the animals that have shaped her approach, the creative activities she enjoys with her own dog, and the inspiration she draws from the animal training community.
Tell us about the first animal you ever trained.
The first animal I ever trained was a cat named Meowstopher. My roommate at the time found him as a stray kitten living in a dumpster, brought him home, and tried to hide him from me (I was not a cat person). Meowstopher gave himself away with his loud meows from behind my roommate’s bedroom door. When she first brought him home, he was CRAZY about food and was constantly stealing and eating things, breaking into trash cans and cabinets. He was also aggressive. When I was feeding him his breakfast one day, I decided to work on his pesky behavior of "mobbing the bag" by waiting until he had four feet on the floor to put down some food. That effort quickly turned into me accidentally shaping a backward booty scoot away from the food bag—Meowstopher’s first trick! I promptly went from telling my roommate she needed to find the cat a new home to training together every day. Meowstopher learned all kinds of tricks, including his favorite—playing the piano and singing for us.
Was there a particular dog/animal in your life that was your most important teacher?
My current dog, Frida Pawlo (now a Trick Dog Grand Champion and certified animal actor), convinced me to take the leap from human behavior analysis to professional dog training. Frida is my first dog; she is a rescue from Tijuana that came to me as an adult with lots of fear and reactivity and very little trust in humans. She amazes me every day with the progress she has made and continues to make, despite a rough start in life. Frida has taught me how to slow down and take my time building trust and to have compassion with my learners (both human and animal). Frida challenges me every day to see things from her perspective and to be a better behavior analyst, constantly reminding me of Fred Keller's sage advice "the learner is always right!" Watching her grow and blossom into a happy, confident, and trusting dog has been the kick in the pants I needed to share my knowledge and experience with others.
Watching her grow and blossom into a happy, confident, and trusting dog has been the kick in the pants I needed to share my knowledge and experience with others.
What is your favorite activity or sport that you do with your own dog(s)?
Frida is happiest when she feels safe in familiar environments without a lot of dogs or chaos. Although I would love to compete in dog sports someday, we have opted to find fun outlets that are stress-free for both of us. Frida loves learning new tricks and showing off for her trusted friends and family. We recently submitted for the highest-level trick dog title: Grand Champion! Frida also enjoys nose work and can alert on all three NACSW odors with difficult outdoor hides, but she prefers to play nose work at home or in her favorite park. Our all-time favorite competition, though, is the Fridalympics, which happens every two years at the same time as the Olympic games. We make up silly events like "most tricks in one minute," "best zoomies," and "fastest carrot chomper." Frida competes virtually against other friends' dogs and sometimes against humans in "man vs. beast" competitions. In the 2022 winter Fridalympics, Frida made the podium in every event; we expect similar results this year. (Okay, the competitions may be a little bit rigged in her favor)! Check out Frida's Instagram (@frida_pawlo_does_tricks) to see how she does!
Is there any species that you would love to work with?
I've been lucky enough to get some experience clicker training cats, rabbits, mini horses, donkeys, and, most recently, foxes. My bunny, Rabbit D. Nero, 12 years old and now deaf, recently earned his Novice Trick title. Two foxes I work with, Sasha and Lena, also just earned their Novice Trick titles with me. Sasha and Lena are the only two foxes in North America to have trick titles! They have been a blast to work with (imagine cat-like dogs with a lot of attitude and mischief!). I've always dreamt of working in a zoo or sanctuary of some sort someday. I think my top-choice animals would be elephants, gorillas, or sea lions.
Who has been your inspiration in the animal training community?
I've been so grateful to connect with a lot of brilliant people in the animal training world. One of the first dog trainers I connected with was Sue Ailsby, author of the Training Levels books (aka my training bibles), who is not only a wonderfully skilled dog trainer and teacher but is incredibly generous with her time and knowledge. I've learned a lot of the basics from Sue. She not only graciously helped guide me through struggles with Frida, but she even helped me when I was struggling with one of my KPA assignments! I'm also a huge fan of Sarah Owings and of how compassionate, patient, and thoughtful she is with all of her learners (especially her cows!). Sarah is also meticulously detailed and scientific about her training and is a true behavior analyst to the core. A more recent addition to my inspiration list is Melissa Millett, who put on a wonderful workshop at ClickerExpo about working with her fearful chihuahua that has really stuck with me. Melissa's kind and compassionate approach to building trust was so inspiring and, of course, I always appreciate a good performer and trick trainer!
Outside of dog training/dog sports, do you have any hobbies?
I like to be busy (sometimes too busy) and am currently spending a lot of time building my dog training business while also working as a behavior analyst. I teach in an ABA master’s degree program and supervise individuals working toward their BCBA. I also run my own business consulting on sleep problems. When I'm not working, I enjoy hiking and traveling. My newest enterprise is stand-up comedy! I've recently retired from teaching and performing flying trapeze after spending several years traveling around the world working at different flying-trapeze rigs!
Learn more about Keira at Pet Project Dog Training, Instagram, YouTube, or [email protected].