Cheryl Salvador

My journey began with our hyperactive beagle, Kidlat, who filled our home with boundless energy and excitement—and, yes, more than a few headaches. He became increasingly destructive, overly excitable, and restless, leading to frustration for both of us. It was nothing like the "picture-perfect" expectations I had before getting a dog, a sentiment many pet owners can relate to. In desperation, I turned to various techniques I found on the Internet, most of which relied on aversives and punishment, such as leash pops, verbal corrections, and timeouts in crates. But something about these methods didn't sit right with me. I felt uncomfortable using them, and I realized they weren’t really teaching Kidlat anything other than how to stop doing what he naturally wanted or needed to do.

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I knew there had to be a better way, so I stopped using those methods and dug deeper into how I could improve my relationship with my dog. That’s when I discovered Emily Larlham, also known as Kikopup, and everything changed. Emily introduced me to positive/progressive reinforcement training, a method that avoids physical, verbal, or psychological intimidation. Instead of focusing on what not to do, it teaches dogs what to do by breaking down behaviors into manageable steps and using rewards that the dog finds reinforcing, such as food, toys, interaction, and access to the environment. I’ll forever be grateful to Emily for generously sharing her time, insights, and materials, which helped me take my first steps toward becoming a professional dog trainer.

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Through Emily, I discovered many other incredible positive trainers, like Grisha Stewart and Chirag Patel. I joined the Grisha Stewart Academy, a treasure trove of resources from numerous force-free, positive reinforcement trainers specializing in areas like Behavior Adjustment Training (BAT), Predatory Substitute Training, Cooperative Care, Separation Anxiety, Resource Guarding—you name it!

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It was within this academy that I found my mentor, Viviane Arzoumanian. Viviane is an expert in Urban BAT, and her business, PumpkinPups Dog Training, has been repeatedly recognized as the best dog training service in Brooklyn, New York. Without Viviane’s guidance, I might never have started my own training services to help other pet parents facing the same struggles I had—struggles that continued with the addition of Botchok, an anxious and fearful Aspin we adopted. I learned so much from Viviane, and she was instrumental in my journey to becoming a Certified Family Dog Mediator. She also encouraged me to take the Accreditation Test at the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, a milestone I’m proud to have achieved.

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Looking back to my early days as a new dog parent, frantically Googling “how to stop your dog from chewing furniture,” I realize just how far I’ve come. It’s all thanks to the community of force-free, positive reinforcement, and family dog mediation advocates that I was fortunate enough to join. There’s still so much more to learn, but I’m eager to share the knowledge and skills I’ve gained with other pet guardians who dream of having a harmonious and trusting relationship with their dogs—especially in a country where punitive techniques are still widely used.

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I hope you’ll join me in promoting humane methods of caring for dogs that respect their needs and individuality. Together, we can create a community where dogs are seen as more than just pets—they are integral members of society.