Meet Professor Cherie Beattie. Professor Beattie is a certified professional dog trainer with over 18 years of experience. Before venturing into the dog training world, she studied animal behavior as an undergraduate and graduate student working as a research tech in ab Evolutionary and Behavioral Ecology lab. After grad school, she was also an Environmental Education Intern with HawkWatch International in Salt Lake City, UT where she educated organizations and schools on the importance of raptors and their key role in the environment. She taught a variety of biology college courses such as Animal Behavior, Intro to Biology, Human Biology, Life Systems and Environmental Biology over a 15 year span after graduate school. She started her dog training career by volunteering with the local humane society, which quickly transitioned into Behavior Manager where she managed the volunteer trainers for their group classes as well as training shelter staff on temperament testing. While there, she started a shelter dog training program helping to make the “problem dogs” more adoptable. She also conducted private lessons and answered calls on their behavior helpline. After 2 years there, she ventured into business for herself and has been doing so for the past 16 years. She believes that the training process is a bonding experience and wants to help people learn how to effectively communicate with their dogs using L.I.M.A. (Least Intrusive Minimally Aversive) methods. She works with everything from basic puppy issues to aggression and is referred to by several local veterinarians. Cherie believes that no dog trainer can ever know everything about dogs, which is why she continues to attend seminars and conferences both virtually and in person. She has worked with a variety of species such as wolves, coyotes, foxes, bison, fish, birds, insects and other small animals. She believes that working with a variety of animals helps one hone their training skills.

She has also been an evaluator for the local pet therapy organization, WAGS (Wonderful Animals Giving Support) and has recently joined Pets for Vets as a trainer to help match veterans with either companion or service animals. Cherie has been a certified professional dog trainer through CCPDT since 2006. She is a premium professional member of APDT (Association of Professional Dog Trainers) and Thrive (a group coaching business program for dog trainers). She continues to love educating people on how to live harmoniously with their dogs through sound, science-based training methods.