Modar Dog Training & Behavior Consulting

Mary Swinyer is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, AKC Temperament Test Evaluator, AKC CGC Evaluator and AKC Fetch Judge. The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers is the most widely recognized testing & certifying organization in the dog training world.  It is not simply a certificate of completion from a particular course of study, but certification of experience & understanding of learning theory, ethology, psychology, behavior, equipment, animal husbandry & all the components involved in working with canines.  Mary continues her education earning Continuing Education Units while attending seminars by training & behavior experts such as Malena DeMartini, Daniel Mills, Dr. Patricia McConnell, Sue Sternberg, Trish King, John Rogerson, Dr. Wayne Hunthausen, Dr. Ian Dunbar, Jean Donaldson, Pat Hastings, Roger Abrantes, Brenda Aloff, Pia Sylvani, Patty Ruzzo, Steve White, Nichole Wilde, Turid Rugaas, Bob Bailey, Kathy Sdao, Terry Ryan, Pamela Reid, Pat Miller, Judy Howard, Denise Fenzi, DD Anderson, Bridget Carlsen, Bernie Brown & others.

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Mary has shared her life with a dozen dogs of various breeds.  She currently lives with an Alaskan Malamute and a Siberian Husky.  In addition to carting (like sledding on wheels), back packing, weight pull & other traditional sled dog activities, Mary enjoys competing with her dogs in obedience, rally, agility, nose work, training in freestyle & volunteer work in pet assisted therapy.  They are some of the most accomplished & titled Malamutes in the country. Mary has put 11 obedience titles on 7 dogs, 31 rally titles on 4 dogs, 33 agility titles on 6 dogs, 8 working titles on 3 dogs, 16 nose/scent work titles on 3 dogs and 10 AKC Trick Dog titles on 4 dogs.

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​Mary instructed group classes through Pets In Need Canine College & Rav'n Dog Training (both based in Redwood City) for over 20 years.  She also did private, in-home training & behavior consults during that time.  Now Mary is back in Sonoma County & serving the areas in & around Novato, Petaluma, Penngrove, Cotati, Rohnert Park & Santa Rosa for LIMITED in person training. 

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Mary has written training & behavior articles for a variety of publications.