“I love animals and I love what animals do to help us humans!”
Diane Bridgwater has been around animals all her life but when she was a volunteer at a shelter in California, she saw wonderful dogs brought in with what the owner called “behavior issues,” she was determined to help people avoid giving up their pet due to lack of basic manners and Pawsitivity was started. With 9 years of experience, she teaches you the techniques you need to build your relationship and get back on track. “I want training your dog to be fun and a positive experience. My training techniques are positive reinforcement using a clicker in addition to reward training.”
Pawsitivity never uses harsh tugs, dominance, corrections, yelling, newspaper swatting, etc., instead we teach you to focus on the positive and good behaviors your dog is doing. “I became fascinated with dog behavior and training when I found my first dog as an adult. Her name was Honey Bear. After she bounded up the stairs through my front door and laid down on the carpet. She had me — hook, line and sinker. I tried looking for her family and no one came forward. At that point, I had fallen in love with her. She was 95 lbs and suffered from severe separation anxiety and dog aggression. I worked with many dog trainers and read everything I could about these issues and knew I had to find a way to help other dogs with these same issues. My goal through this experience was to help other lost and unwanted dogs. As a senior volunteer and trainer at the shelter, I spent many weekends teaching the shelter dogs good behaviors to help them find and stay in their forever homes. These dogs taught me so much, not only about dogs but about life.”
Diane loves working with client’s and their dogs and teaching them how to communicate to one another in a positive way. These training techniques not only help the dog but many client’s actually start using positive reinforcement in their every day life. It’s so exciting to see the relationship grow with their dogs!
Diane and her dog, Koda (a rescued Bernese Mountain Dog) live with two cats and many foster animals.
Diane’s education & membership: BA, Sacramento State University; Member of Association of Pet Dog Trainers; member SPCA
& ASPCA, eWomen Network; Volunteer: Homeward Pets (Woodinville, WA)
