Daniel has been volunteering with the dogs at Last Hope for about 10 years. He started back when it was run out of Sonia’s house who is the founder of Last Hope. He also works as a trainer at Cedar Run Pet Boarding and Daycare. In addition to training Last Hope dogs, he also fosters dogs, helps with adoptions and home visits, transports dogs, and evaluates dogs that come into Last Hope.

Every person who adopts a dog has access to a free obedience class at Cedar Run. They also offer one-on-one training. Daniel’s approach to training is reward-based. Here is what he had to say about his philosophy:

“For training here at Cedar Run with the rescue pups, we like to use fear-free reward-based training. I don’t believe in using aversive or uncomfortable techniques to help change a dog’s behavior or teach a new cue. Most of these dogs are already going through some form of fear, anxiety, and/or stress, so I like my training to avoid causing that as much as possible. I believe using counter conditioning and desensitization helps change a dog’s overall emotional response as opposed to just suppressing it by using tools like e collars or prongs. Using reward-based training helps build a bond between you and your dog and is especially valuable in working with rescue pups who most of the time have had their trust broken. Adopting from Last Hope is so cool because we give lifetime support on any training needs. My biggest goal is to help educate current adopters and potential adopters in dog behavior.”

Daniel is a certified dog trainer and would love to see you and your dog at Cedar Run for obedience training! He has been a huge asset to Last Hope and has done great work with the dogs that sometimes need a little extra TLC.