Marty Strausbaugh, KPA CTP

Why Positive Reinforcement Dog Training?

Marty didn’t grow up wanting to be an animal trainer, he actually wanted to be a veterinarian as a small child. Knowing the responsibilities associated with having a dog, he waited until his lifestyle started to settle down before getting a puppy.  He was almost 40 years old before deciding the time was right. All of Marty’s training with his puppy was that of traditional training with corrections as the foundation.  He now calls that his “yelling and yanking” training days.

While working an aggression case he became frustrated at the lack of progress and searched hard for something other than the corrections and dominance methods he was learning.  He came across clicker training and was intrigued by the force free nature.  Wanting to learn more he found Karen Pryor’s book, “Don’t Shoot the Dog” and then discovered she had a dog training school, the Karen Pryor Academy.  That was his introduction into the world of positive reinforcement training and he’s been a training geek ever since.

Marty's Inspiration

His learning about training all started because of the breed of puppy he had fallen in love with, the infamous Jack Russell Terrier.  Marty prepared for his puppy in the months preceding her delivery as he had big goals for this pup.  She was to be his mountain biking partner and needed to be very well trained for her distracting off leash environment.  So he read several book on JRT training and each book had a similar theme, “These dogs are very active and are difficult to train.  Recommended for experienced dog owners only.”  Definitely a novice, he knew he had to learn how to train dogs, and learn fast.

His puppy was a model of the breed characteristics and a very good teacher.  He made several mistakes along the way, which only helped to further his education.  He was successful at teaching his puppy off leash recall, to ride in his camelback on downhill stretches while mountain biking and even to like cats, something some had said couldn’t be done.  Her untimely death from Acute Pancreatitis at the young age of 3 ½ years old was devastating and will always be a low point in his life.  But, as tragic as this loss was for him, it was the catalyst for a career change and has brought him to where he is today.  

Certifications & Education