"80% of class is teaching the owners and 20% is teaching the dog."

Michelle Blount-Jordan's Biography

Michelle Blount-Jordan has been a professional dog trainer for over 15 years. She has always been involved with animals but her serious behavior interest started at age 13 when she volunteered at an animal shelter. That experience taught her that most dogs are turned into animal shelters, and ultimately euthanized, due to behavior problems. So Michelle decided to dedicate her life to dog behavior in order to give these wonderful dogs a second chance. She continues to support rescue efforts on a consistent basis.

Over the last 15 years there have been great advances in our understanding of canine behavior and training. Michelle had kept up with such advances through seminars, video, dog training literature, and discussions with other trainers. She believes the key to a good dog trainer is not in how they correct but in how they teach. Leadership, motivation, firmness, fairness, kindness and consistency produce a happy, well adjusted dog that is eager to work.

Michelle owns a Belgian Tervuren and her husband, Randy, has a German Shepard rescue pup. She successfully shows in conformation and obedience trials as well as has a certified working SAR dog (now retired). She also has trained in schutzhund, agility, and herding.

Michelle's Philosophy

"I believe the emphasis in training for the handler should be on educating them on canine behavior. Without a solid understanding of how dogs think (and how they don't think), how do we expect to teach them anything? Most behavioral problems develop simply because the owner doesn't know dog behavior and therefore is incapable of setting proper leadership within the pack.

I believe the emphasis on dog training is teaching a behavior in a positive way and balancing that with proper structure and limits. Motivation is the key to getting a dog to learn. Structure is the key to getting a dog to perform. I find once you get basic respect issues in order and you teach effectively, then you don't have to correct frequently.

My goal is to create trustworthy and responsive companions for the entire family. I'm looking to produce dogs who can perform in real life situations and are a pleasant addition to the family."

Michelle can be reached at michelle@doghuman.com.

http://www.doghuman.com/