Ashleah Chiacchiero
Owner, Founder, Head Trainer, Creator of the Smart Dog Behavior Program
It all started when I was having trouble controlling my 2 dogs while I was in college. Sure they knew tricks and basic commands while inside the house, but when it came to the walk, I lost all control. It was like they were walking in their own world and I was just there to pick up the poop. How enjoyable is that?
I came across a TV show that changed my life. The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan inspired me to find a new way of being with my dogs. I learned the importance of pack leadership and how my own energy effects the behaviors of my dogs. I put this information to the test every day by practicing Cesars' technique of exercise, discipline, and then affection. Soon I began to notice drastic improvements in our lives.
To gain more hands on experience with different types of dogs, I volunteered at the SPCA in Orlando. It was an enormous opportunity for me to learn how to handle many types of dogs with different temperaments.
After I graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BA in Hospitality Management, I landed a job as a kennel tech at Southeastern Guide Dogs in Palmetto, FL. Here, I worked with service dogs in training for people with disabilities, like blindness and PTSD. There could be up to 100 dogs in the kennels at one time. It was my job to make sure the dogs were well exercised and cared for in between training sessions.
I continued to expand my knowledge by attending the Real World Obedience seminar with Blake Rodriguez, owner of Dream Come True K9 in New York. I learned to teach a dog that their choices matter and how to influence positive outcomes.
With experience in dog psychology and obedience training, I also wanted to learn from a trainer that focused on the benefits of pack walks. I reached out to Rachel Allen, owner of The Healing Pack in Los Angeles and she invited me to shadow her for a few days. I learned the ins and outs of pack walking and how it greatly improves the behaviors of the dogs that are continuously involved with the walks.
My quest for more dog training knowledge continues. I attended the Jeff Gellman Dog Training Seminar with Solid K9 Training and learned that a structured lifestyle and applying proper consequences is extremely effective for stopping unwanted behaviors in our dogs.
As my confidence and experience grew, I developed my own training style with a combination of leadership training, obedience, and pack walks, but there's one thing that I learned collectively from all my experiences with other trainers.. No matter the training technique, the key to successfully training a dog is to teach the owners.
I moved back to my home town in Lantana, FL to pursue a job at The Cesar Millan Dog Psychology Center in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I had the amazing experience of working for the Training Cesars Way Fundamentals workshop assisting Cesar and his top trainers.
Although I could have thrived in a career as a Cesar Trainer, I still felt like I had to find my own way. I decided to leave the Dog Psychology Center, and establish my own company, Smart Dogs Walk LLC. It began as a dog walking service that included leash training during the walks. The owners would see how well behaved their dogs were for me and they would ask me how to get their dog to listen to them as well as they did for me. I found myself giving out endless amounts of information to the owners during pick ups and drop offs. Eventually I added full training sessions.
But training sessions didn't work the same way as it appears on an episode of the Dog Whisperer. During one session I could make huge progress with the dogs and owners, but the results were short lived. If the owners weren't consistent after I left, their dogs would fall right back into their old ways. I needed to figure out a way to train the dogs, teach the owners, and keep the training interactive enough so owners would continue to do what they learn. It had to become a lifestyle, not just a quick fix.
That's when I developed the Smart Dog Behavior Program to be the most comprehensive in-home training program ever created. I used my college experience as a template for formatting the program because it's designed like a typical college course with agendas, homework, workbooks, reading assignments, electives, midterms, final exams, and even graduation!
Since the program was launched, we have seen unimaginable transformations in troubled dogs and stressed out owners. The knowledge the program offers to owners is unattainable from other trainers and the experience of training your dog is said to be invaluable compared to board and train programs. My mission now is to bring the Smart Dog Behavior Program into as many dog homes as possible and share a new way of owning dogs!
It all started when I was having trouble controlling my 2 dogs while I was in college. Sure they knew tricks and basic commands while inside the house, but when it came to the walk, I lost all control. It was like they were walking in their own world and I was just there to pick up the poop. How enjoyable is that?
I came across a TV show that changed my life. The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan inspired me to find a new way of being with my dogs. I learned the importance of pack leadership and how my own energy effects the behaviors of my dogs. I put this information to the test every day by practicing Cesars' technique of exercise, discipline, and then affection. Soon I began to notice drastic improvements in our lives.
To gain more hands on experience with different types of dogs, I volunteered at the SPCA in Orlando. It was an enormous opportunity for me to learn how to handle many types of dogs with different temperaments.
After I graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BA in Hospitality Management, I landed a job as a kennel tech at Southeastern Guide Dogs in Palmetto, FL. Here, I worked with service dogs in training for people with disabilities, like blindness and PTSD. There could be up to 100 dogs in the kennels at one time. It was my job to make sure the dogs were well exercised and cared for in between training sessions.
I continued to expand my knowledge by attending the Real World Obedience seminar with Blake Rodriguez, owner of Dream Come True K9 in New York. I learned to teach a dog that their choices matter and how to influence positive outcomes.
With experience in dog psychology and obedience training, I also wanted to learn from a trainer that focused on the benefits of pack walks. I reached out to Rachel Allen, owner of The Healing Pack in Los Angeles and she invited me to shadow her for a few days. I learned the ins and outs of pack walking and how it greatly improves the behaviors of the dogs that are continuously involved with the walks.
My quest for more dog training knowledge continues. I attended the Jeff Gellman Dog Training Seminar with Solid K9 Training and learned that a structured lifestyle and applying proper consequences is extremely effective for stopping unwanted behaviors in our dogs.
As my confidence and experience grew, I developed my own training style with a combination of leadership training, obedience, and pack walks, but there's one thing that I learned collectively from all my experiences with other trainers.. No matter the training technique, the key to successfully training a dog is to teach the owners.
I moved back to my home town in Lantana, FL to pursue a job at The Cesar Millan Dog Psychology Center in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I had the amazing experience of working for the Training Cesars Way Fundamentals workshop assisting Cesar and his top trainers.
Although I could have thrived in a career as a Cesar Trainer, I still felt like I had to find my own way. I decided to leave the Dog Psychology Center, and establish my own company, Smart Dogs Walk LLC. It began as a dog walking service that included leash training during the walks. The owners would see how well behaved their dogs were for me and they would ask me how to get their dog to listen to them as well as they did for me. I found myself giving out endless amounts of information to the owners during pick ups and drop offs. Eventually I added full training sessions.
But training sessions didn't work the same way as it appears on an episode of the Dog Whisperer. During one session I could make huge progress with the dogs and owners, but the results were short lived. If the owners weren't consistent after I left, their dogs would fall right back into their old ways. I needed to figure out a way to train the dogs, teach the owners, and keep the training interactive enough so owners would continue to do what they learn. It had to become a lifestyle, not just a quick fix.
That's when I developed the Smart Dog Behavior Program to be the most comprehensive in-home training program ever created. I used my college experience as a template for formatting the program because it's designed like a typical college course with agendas, homework, workbooks, reading assignments, electives, midterms, final exams, and even graduation!
Since the program was launched, we have seen unimaginable transformations in troubled dogs and stressed out owners. The knowledge the program offers to owners is unattainable from other trainers and the experience of training your dog is said to be invaluable compared to board and train programs. My mission now is to bring the Smart Dog Behavior Program into as many dog homes as possible and share a new way of owning dogs!
- 7 Years ownership and head trainer of Smart Dogs Walk
- 12 Years pack walk training experience
- 2 Years volunteer at SPCA Orlando, FL
- 1 Year employment at South Eastern Guide Dogs in Palmetto, FL
- 1 Year employment at Cesar Millan Dog Psychology Center Ft. Lauderdale, FL
- Training Cesars' Way Fundamentals Workshop volunteer
- The Healing Pack Shadow Program with Rachel Allen in Los Angeles, CA
- Real World Obedience seminar attendee with Blake Rodriguez Dream Come True K9 in NY
- Jeff Gellman Solid K9 Training in RI seminar attendee