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At Thank Dog! Training,
We Are About:
COMPASSION for our clients – our dog clients and our human clients.
INTEGRITY in our words, our actions, and our process.
VALUE in the education and insight that we share.
And RESULTS from the solutions we provide.
Noelle Blessey is the embodiment of Thank Dog! Training’s core values. An animal lover and advocate with a strong desire to help others, she found her true calling in working with dogs and their people. She specializes in helping owners deal with undesired behaviors, especially the most serious kind. Her training programs are commitment-based, meaning she will see you through to meeting your objectives and more. Best of all, the skills she teaches her human clients are sensible, logical and humane, and will leave you with the ability to understand and effectively communicate with all future pet dogs in your life.
If you’re lucky, you and your dog will get to know the characters that make up Noelle’s own pack. Krinkles, the elder stateswoman, is fond of structure and boundaries, and is not afraid to enforce either. She’s very discerning about who makes it into her inner circle. In contrast, Rooney, the young ball of energy, is known for pushing Krinkles’ buttons and has never met a dog that he doesn’t want to make his friend. Marley perfectly represents everything in between. He is soft spoken and treads lightly. He is the first friend to dogs who have never had dog friends before.
Noelle has honed her craft over nearly a decade. She first apprenticed under Jill Bowers, the founder of Thank Dog! Training, in Los Angeles, California. Jill made her a business partner and co-owner in 2010. Noelle completed her formal trainer’s education at John VanOlden’s Canine Trade Group Academy, which included an intense course of study of the scientific principles of canine learning theory and dog training, as well as an in-residence, hands-on dog training component. After six years of running Thank Dog! Training and it’s sister company Thank Dog! Bootcamp in L.A., Noelle and the Thank Dog! headquarters relocated to Nashville, TN.
A Professional-level member of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP), she continues to learn from leaders in the industry such as Tyler Muto, Heather Beck and Mark McCabe.
“The day you stop learning is the day you stop living...” ― Tetsuyama-san
"A life well-lived with dogs has the potential to teach humans much about truly living."
Noelle Blessey
Our Philosophy
Thank Dog! was founded on the philosophy that for dog training to be truly effective, training should focus at least as much on the dog’s human family as it does on the dog itself. Ultimately, training your dog is about learning to communicate effectively in order to maximize all the good in the relationship. We can teach you how to speak dog.
Truly effective training requires support. Thank Dog! is committed to providing reliable and thorough customer service to our clients. We are prompt and professional and we treat dogs and their people with respect. We understanding that you are all learning a new way of being. Some of our most important communication with clients takes place in between lessons. You will not be alone in this process.
So to be official about it:
The mission of Thank Dog! Training is to foster a strong bond between dogs and the people who love them. We believe that dogs offer a unique companionship that adds value and richness to human lives. Through personalized solutions and proven training methods we help dogs and people realize the fullest potential of their relationship.
Our Method
While shopping for a dog trainer, you will notice that the methods used in training programs can vary greatly.
The Thank Dog method is based on a combination of the best of current positive-reinforcement philosophies and methodologies with a healthy dose of our own strong convictions and experience added. At the heart of our program is the need to create and maintain motivation and communication.
Motivation
In a perfect world, you are your dog’s number one motivation. If your dog sees YOU as her greatest reward, then 70% of the training process is resolved. If your dog cherishes being with you and pleasing you more than anything else in the world, then you have established a very strong motivation. It is easy to assume that dogs naturally want to please humans and to forget that they are animals, ruled by their own self-serving instincts. The truth is that this connection between you and your dog must be learned and maintained. Strong relationships don’t just happen, they take some work.
Communication
The remaining 30% of the process involves your learning a new language. A language that your dog can easily understand. If your dog is confused about what you want, there's no way either of you can succeed. We work with you to establish simple, consistent signals and cues that your dog will respond to. No gimmicks. No snake oil. No leap of faith required. Just some good ole common sense and logic. The truth is most people are over-communicating with their dogs. Dog training should always follow the KISS principle.
Speaking of “no”, some philosophies claim that the word "no" should be eliminated from dog training vocabulary. We believe that, in all fairness to your dog, he should know the meaning of the word "no". Clear and effective communication must include words that reflect both satisfactory and unsatisfactory behavior.
Thank Dog is committed to treating animals with respect through the use of behavior modification that does not inflict injury or pain.
We love dogs, that’s why we're here!
