Jean Donaldson is the founder and principle instructor of The Academy for Dog Trainers. The Academy celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019 and is a steadfast supporter of the Pet Professional Guild. She is a four-time winner of The Dog Writers' Association of America's Maxwell Award; her books include The Culture Clash, Dogs Are From Neptune and Train Your Dog Like a Pro. In 2017, she was recruited to create and deliver Dog Training 101 for The Great Courses, which walks dog guardians through the basics of behavior and how dog training works, as well as step-by-step training of commonly desired behaviors.
Born in Montreal, Canada, she founded the Montreal Flyball Association and Renaissance Dog Training, the first positive reinforcement-based school and counseling service in the province. Her own dogs and dogs she has trained have earned numerous titles and wins in a variety of dog sports, including OTCh, TDX, HIT and FDCh. While an undergraduate, she worked as an adoption counselor at the Montreal SPCA and later served on its board of directors. Before founding The Academy, she did exclusively referral aggression cases for six years. She now lives in California, with her dog, Brian, adopted in 2015. Prior to Brian, Jean rescued and fostered numerous Chows, including Buffy in 2002, who ended up staying.
Sessions
Remote Chows