Jill Haley Rose, CDBC, CTC, CPDT-KA, has the experience to help you and your dog grow better, together. Jill Haley Rose, Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, Certified Training Consultant, and Certified Professional Dog Trainer, has been working as a full time certified professional dog behavior consultant and trainer for the past seventeen years.
Family Paws Parent Education was founded in 2002 by Jennifer Shryock, a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant. As a Mother, a dog behavior consultant, and a teacher, she recognized the need for support and education for families with newborns and toddlers who are feeling overwhelmed with challenges that have arisen with the family dog. This led to her creation of 2 very specialized programs - Dogs & Storks - Preparing Families with Dogs for Life with Baby, and Dogs & Toddlers - Preparing Families with Dogs.
The goal of both the Dogs & Storks and Dogs & Toddlers programs is to increase safety and reduce stress in homes with young children and family dogs. Many of the common behavior problems that arise are completely preventable. Armed with the right information, families can make better decisions on how they handle these situations, and avoid surrendering their dog to a shelter. We want our parents to become the Dog Aware generation!
A case that comes to mind from last year involved a very sensitive Jack Russell Terrier mix. The owner was going to be adopting a baby in a few months and had concerns about her dog adjusting. The dog had displayed some stranger fear aggression as well as some food and possession aggression. We spent more time looking at how that dog’s sensitivities and behavior challenges could be an issue with the new baby, especially since this baby was already older and mobile. We went over my training and management recommendations and the owner decided to have me come back and assist with some hands-on training sessions. The dog made great progress and her owner really put in the time and effort to help her dog be successful. I checked in a few times after the baby arrived and everything has been going really well. Though the dog may sometimes still be nervous with some strangers, she is very comfortable with the new baby.
How soon before the baby's arrival should they contact you?
The sooner the better! In fact, even before they are expecting! Each dog and family is unique, so some dogs may require more training time than others. Don’t despair though, even if you are in your third trimester, there is still plenty you can learn and prepare your dog for the new family member. Physically, you are less comfortable in your third trimester, which is why we urge folks to contact us sooner if possible.
What if you have already welcomed a baby home and you are noticing behaviors that are concerning?
If the owners contact me about some concerns they have seen, many times I can give them advice by phone or Zoom consultation to help them through a bumpy spot. If it sounds of a more serious situation, then I usually want to see them in person so we can address the problem together and I can make sure they have the environment set up to maximize safety for a successful outcome.
What is happening in the near future at Paws For Nature?
My Dogs & Storks workshops are normally held at Sandy Meadow Farm here in Westfield. Due to Covid-19, we are not sure when we will be scheduling live in person group workshops. We have offered them as private small group webinars since the pandemic impacted our area in March. If folks are interested, we ask that they contact us and we can put them on our call list as we set the dates for either the webinars or in person group workshops. Our next one will be held in September. We are offering all our in-home services, primarily done outside so we can use safe social distancing. If we need to go inside the home because of weather or other reasons, we will wear a mask and continue with social distancing.
Personal experience- Jill Haley Rose is not the first dog trainer we have tried but she is certainly the best. She brought a combination of skills, knowledge, and attitude to helping us with our dog that was impressive and effective, to say the least. She assesses a family’s lifestyle and proceeds accordingly. She is exceptionally well-organized, taking notes and following each session with a report to confirm exercises, the course of action.
Meet The Irujos! Parents Rebecca and Brendan and their pup Leisl happily welcome Baby Abigail to their family.