Nina - Flounder's Mom
As an experienced Animal Behaviorist with over 15 years of expertise, I specialize in behavior modification using positive reinforcement for a wide variety of species including dogs, cats, dolphins, river otters, harbor seals, and even monitor lizards. My focus has been on both training new behaviors and reducing undesired ones. Recently, I have developed a passionate interest in Augmentative Interspecies Communication (AIC), aiming to delve deeper into the psychology of animal behavior. By teaching animals to use our language, we can better understand and communicate with them.
I went to the University of Pittsburgh where I majored in Psychology with a focus on Animal Behavior. Then, I began training dolphins in Bermuda, where I learned a lot of positive reinforcement and shaping techniques. I also learned how to implement cooperative care tactics to make medical procedures less scary for the animals, and easier for the humans performing them. I then moved on to dog training where my focus was primarily on obedience and basic behavior training. After a few years doing this, I then moved onto more advanced training with dogs where I implemented capturing techniques. I have also done some basic target training with other species such as monitor lizards, otters, and seals along the way, learning how different species learn in different ways.
Once I welcomed Flounder into my life, I quickly realized that she needed me to work with her a lot as she is very intelligent and VERY energetic. This is where I began to dive into training some animal acting behaviors to help keep her mentally stimulated, and I also introduced buttons to help her with enrichment in her day to day. Once I saw how much the buttons really helped her, I expanded on them, and began training her more extensively.
Join Flounder and I on our exciting training journey, where we blend traditional behavior training with innovative AIC techniques to enhance the relationship between you and your pets. Together, we can create a more harmonious and understanding bond with our beloved animal companions!
Flounder
Flounder is a high-energy bengal cat who has a passion for learning new things. She began her training when she was only a few months old, learning how to target. From there, she learned how to give high fives, and her training has snowballed since then. She currently knows over 30 behaviors which include backflips, “cover your eyes”, foot stalls, jump through arms, and more!
Being the diverse kitty that she is, her training is supplemented with adventures where she goes to the beach, goes on boat rides, swims in the ocean, paddle boards, and explores nature preserves. She of course is leash trained and backpack trained and has the purrfect “heel” and recall.
Flounder’s button journey began when she was a little bit over a year old, with her first words being “outside” and “play”. From there, she has expanded on her vocabulary and she currently has 80 words and counting, with her most pressed button being “Now”.
Flounder’s training can be separated into 4 parts which is definitely recommended for all animals who are looking to enhance the bond between them and their humans. The 4 parts are basic obedience training, enrichment training, cooperative care, and button training.
