Meet the trainer: Kaitlin Evaston, CCDT
Kaitlin Evaston earned her certification in November of 2022 from CATCH Dog Training Academy. Before deciding to go back to school for dog training, Kaitlin had been working in the animal care field for 10 years starting out as a receptionist at an animal shelter and then working her way to becoming a veterinary technician which she has been doing for the last 8 years. Kaitlin is a member of the APDT (Association of Professional Dog Trainers) and is an active trainer for Pets For Vets. Her methods are based in positive reinforcement and she does not use any pain or punishment tactics in her basic training and behavior modification. She is also certified by ProPet Hero for pet first aid and CPR and got a certification for completion in one of the most comprehensive courses on aggression in dogs by world renowned dog trainer Michael Shikashio. She continues to expand her knowledge on all things dog training by attending conferences, online webinars, and working with her own pups at home. She is currently training her own personal dog to become a PSD (Psychiatric Service Dog) and hopes to be able to offer service dog training in the future!
Her passion is helping those dogs with fear or aggression AND helping people understand and communicate better with their dog to create a stronger human-dog bond.
Kaitlin lives in Conway with her husband and her furry family which consists of Finn (a 1 year-old pit mix), Fionna (a 6 month-old shepherd mix), Lil’ J (a 3 year-old tuxedo cat), Joey (a 5 year-old mainecoon mix), Jax (a 7 year-old ragdoll), and Roach (a 1 year-old Betta fish). In her free time she enjoys hiking, going to the beach, watching Bob’s Burgers, and listening to murder mystery podcasts.
Why positive training works!
Dog training can be very controversial and everyone has a different opinion on how dogs should be trained and what methods should be used. Kay’s K9s uses force-free positive reinforcement because it works! Positive reinforcement (or R+) is a reward based training that focuses on gaining a dog’s trust and obedience using only positive things like treats, play, and belly rubs! It avoids any type of painful reinforcements such as snapping the leash and batting the nose or pain inducing training items such as choke collars, shock collars, and prong collars.
Positive training has been scientifically proven to be more affective in the long term and creates little to no long term emotional or physical damage to your dog.
Contact us for more information on PAWSITIVE training methods or check out the Pawsitive Dog Blog!
“Choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”
— Confucius
