Work with an experienced trainer who’s goal is to improve your understanding of dog behavior and help you communicate more positively with your furry family member.
He answered all our questions! He was thoughtful, thorough and patient.
-The MacArthur Family, Brooklyn NY
Meet Mike!
Michael Preis is a CPDT-KA trainer (Certified by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers) and a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT). Prior to dog training he provided dog walking and pet care services throughout the New York City area for over 10 years. He believes that one of the most important aspects of positive reinforcement dog training is the strong bond it creates between dogs and their humans. This process creates a relationship based on trust, encouragement, and fun!
Make it Positive. Make it Fun!
Mike Preis, CSAT, CPDT-KA
Specialties: Separation Anxiety, Puppy Manners, Adult Basic Manners, Behavior Modification
Certified by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KA)
Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT) by Malena DeMartini
During his years managing a dog walking service, Michael met a lot of different dog trainers and witnessed many different methods of training. He quickly realized that positive reinforcement was clearly the way to go. Michael found that this method is not only a more gentle and effective way of training, but also makes the process fun for everyone. Michael began his dog training studies in 2012 apprenticing under Jenny Chun and her colleague, Rikke Brogaard. He says about his time learning with Jenny and Rikke and about his dog training career,
“I was very fortunate to study with these two amazing trainers and be able to further my knowledge of dog training under them. It is such a positive feeling to be able to improve the relationship (and thus improve the lives) between dogs and their people. It is the one occupation that I can truly say becomes more rewarding with each day. I have formed wonderful relationships with clients and their dogs over the years. I look forward to each day and every new experience my life as a dog trainer brings.”
Since childhood, Mike has had a fascination and a love for dogs. One of his favorite playmates growing up was his neighbor’s golden retriever Otis. He and his brother would often go over to the neighbor’s house and play ball with Otis in the back yard. It was no surprise that Mike ended up walking dogs after moving to New York City. Eventually, he met a positive reinforcement, force free trainer Rikke Brogaard. His awakening to positive reinforcement training began when Rikke introduced him to the book “The Power of Positive Dog Training” by Pat Miller. At that time, he had just adopted a young rescue pit bull named Brindy. She had been through a lot as pup. Her ears had been cropped extremely short, she was malnourished, and when neighbors found her, she had been abandoned for hours in freezing rain. Like many young rescue dogs in the city, she had a lot of behavioral issues. Utilizing the teachings of positive reinforcement force free training transformed Mike’s relationship with Brindy and left him hooked forever. She blossomed into such a happy, confident, well-mannered dog.
Not long after that, Rikke started the New York Force Free Dog Behavior Consultants with Jenny Chun of Give Paw Dog Training (later adding Vivian Arzoumanian of Pumpkin Pups Dog Training). They offered a dog training apprenticeship program which Mike was fortunate to have been invited to join. The group’s focus was on the teachings of Karen Pryor, Pat Miller, Patricia McConnell,
Jean Donaldson, Dr. Ian Dunbar, Dr. Sophia Yin and many other pioneers in force free positive reinforcement training. After completing levels one and two of the apprenticeship program, Jenny (of Give Paw Dog Training) offered Mike a job to share some
of her case load. Jenny guided and coached him through his early years as he developed as a dog trainer.
Michael received his CPDT-KA training certification in 2016, became a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT) in 2023, and continues to further his knowledge and stay current in the dog training field attending seminars, online courses, researching new articles and material, and staying in touch with many colleagues in the dog training community.
Meet Jean!
Jean Keesler, CPDT-KA, FDM, CGC Evaluator
Specialties: Puppy Manners, Adult Basic Manners, Behavior Modification, Canine Good Citizen Training & Testing, Cooperative Care
Certified by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KA)
Certified by Kim Brophy as a Family Dog Mediator (FDM)
Canine Good Citizen Evaluator - AKC #107700
Jean has been providing dog walking and pet care services in Brooklyn, NY since 2005. She grew up in the Pacific Northwest with a wily Siberian Husky and a variety of rescue cats that she kept bringing home. Jean moved to Brooklyn, studied Architecture at Pratt Institute and has a background in visual and graphic arts, however she has always had an interest in animals and science from an early age. She became a dog walker while still studying at college and naturally worked very well with dogs that were reactive or fearful. Taking a special interest in being able to understand them better, learning about animal behavior became essential to working with many of these dogs which led to Jean studying and learning from other trainers.
Jean started learning about dog training in 2010 with the late Gary Gross who created Dog Trainers of NYC with Victoria Stillwell. She also assisted with a pet project of his photographing senior dogs for a book and used her various skills from her art and design background to assist with photo editing for Gary. Later she studied dog training with Jenny Chun, Rikke Brogaard, and Viviane Arzoumanian, who are all very influential in furthering Jean’s education in force-free, positive reinforcement dog training. Finding other trainers to learn from who also believe in an empathetic, compassionate and non-aversive approach to working with dogs was important to Jean.
Jean’s interest in animal behavior is not limited to dogs however, she has worked with cats and other small animals over the years. She enjoys clicker training and doing nosework with her cat L.C., a rescue kitty from the Rockaways. Jean loves taking dogs hiking, practicing predation substitute training, working on cooperative care behaviors, and doing tricks training with her clients. Building positive relationships with any animals she has worked with, whether it has been as a dog walker, pet sitter, groomer, or trainer, has been her goal and passion for over 18 years.
