Sarah Jean Bonomo has achieved a three (3) year certification by way of having earned the appropriate number and type of continuing education credits and passing the CPDT-KA examination. Information about this distinguished credential can be found at www.ccpdt.org.
Sarah has been passionate about animals, especially dogs, her entire life. Her family adopted their first puppy, Diesel, when she was nine years old, and from then on she’s been fascinated with dog behavior. She worked hard trying to understand Diesels’ “problem” behaviors, such as dog reactivity and resource guarding, and made strides in helping him overcome these obstacles.
She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Zoology at SUNY Oswego, in May 2018 and graduated with honors. She minored in Psychology, and completed a thesis in which she analyzed the stress levels of rescue dogs. After graduation, Sarah spent the year completing her Dog Training Certification through CATCH Canine Trainers Academy. She then obtained her Fear Free Certification and is a part of the Pet Professional Guild.
Currently, Sarah is co-founder to a small animal rescue and an avid volunteer with other local rescues. She is passionate about working with dogs with behavioral problems and helping them get ready for adoption. She lives with her two bully mix rescues, Ruger and Russell, and a variety of different foster animals.
Sarah’s training methods are that of patience, understanding, and positive reinforcement. She uses positive reinforcement-based techniques for basic obedience training, as well as the use of classical counter-conditioning and desensitization for overcoming behavioral problems. She is especially passionate about proper socialization for puppies, and ensuring that all pups are set up for success from day one.
Sarah focuses on finding the root cause of behavioral problems, which in most cases is the lack of appropriate, mentally and physically stimulating exercise. Off-leash reliability is crucial for your dog to succeed at Active Dog Hikes, and is something that all dogs, young and old, can have great success with!
Joselyn Impastato has achieved a three (3) year certification by way of having earned the appropriate number and type of continuing education credits and passing the CPDT-KA examination. Information about this distinguished credential can be found at www.ccpdt.org.
Joselyn has always been an animal lover growing up in Massachusetts. She received her Diploma as a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner from the Dog Trainer Professionals Program at Karen Pryor Academy, in October 2020 and graduated with distinction, which is the industry leader in scientifically sound, positive, and humane animal training methods.
Afterward, Joselyn spent her time completing her Fear Free Certification and took a 12 week course to gain more knowledge on service dogs and to obtain her certification as a Service Dog Trainer. She then obtained her Certification as a Certified Professional Dog Trainer knowledge Assessed through the CCPDT and is a member of the Pet Professional Guild.
She is passionate about helping dogs with behavioral concerns and teaching pet parents how to understand one another. She lives with her four dogs, Alisha(American Staffy mix), Emma(Labradoodle), Oreo(Chihuahua mix), and Storm(American Pitbull Terrier rescued from death row), three of them are rescues, one is from a responsible and ethical breeder, and her small mammals.
Joselyn’s training methods focus on your relationship with the animal first and foremost. Joselyn believes in giving dogs the ability and confidence to make good decisions on their own. This is done through proper communication with the dog, taking the time to teach pet parents how to understand body language and communicate clearly with their dog. She uses positive reinforcement-based techniques using the “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” approach to ensure that the animals she works with have the highest welfare possible during the behavior modification process.
Learning theory applies to all species of animals – including humans – and I am as passionate about facilitating your growth as I am about training your canine companion.
Leash reactivity, destructive behaviors, fearfulness
Sit, down, wait, stay, leave it, drop it, place
Off leash training so that you and your dog can enjoy freedom!
What is force free training?
Force free training focuses on reinforcing desirable behaviors and providing alternates for unwanted behaviors. Force free trainers also work on strict management plans while we work to change your pup’s emotional response to triggers.
Which breeds can Sarah train?
Sarah has experience working with breeds of all shapes and sizes. However, bully breed rescues hold a special place in her heart. She is a firm believer that no breed needs a heavy hand.
What are Sarah’s qualifications?
Sarah has a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology from SUNY Oswego, and she earned her dog training certification through CATCH Canine Trainers Academy. Additionally, Sarah is Fear Free Certified, and also holds the CCPDT-KA title.
Isn’t it important to correct our dogs when they are being “bad”?
While using physical or verbal corrections on our dogs may appear to give us the results we are looking for (by inhibiting behavior), there is a huge risk of fallout. Dogs may start showing defensive aggression, and may become fearful and “shut down”.
If we don’t show our dogs who’s boss, they will try to dominate us!
The use of the word “dominance” in dog training is long outdated. Dominance Theory is based on a study done in the 1930’s/1940’s, wherein unrelated wolves were placed in captivity. This study found that these unrelated, captive wolves engaged in violent fights in order to gain dominance over the other wolves. However, this is not normal wolf behavior- natural wolf packs consist of a male and female wolf that mate for life, and their offspring (it is a family unit). Dominance Theory doesn’t apply to wolves, and certainly cannot apply to our domesticated dogs. Read more about this here: Debunking the “Alpha Dog” Theory – Whole Dog Journal
How do I pay?
Add a card on file to the Time to Pet portal.
“I have known and used many dog trainers over the past 14 years, many with a lot of years of experience that are published and highly acclaimed but Sarah stands out as the best for many reasons. She clearly has the training, knowledge and credentials. She beautifully balances training the dogs and the owners without putting pressure on either. Sarah is also a very quick thinker and quick on her feet. She is creative and has ideas and solutions for every situation and every issue. She is incredibly kind and has a gentle strength that enables her to handle and understand dogs (and humans) of all types and personalities. My dogs love her and I highly recommend her to anyone needing a dog trainer.”
“We’ve loved working with Sarah to help Benny appropriately greet guests, develop his leash skills, and recall. It’s so clear that Sarah is knowledgeable and experienced. Her love for Benny and all dogs shines through in her work. We did a 5-session package and a follow up a year later to keep up on Benny’s skills. Benny responded so well to her and her training. We’ve also benefited from the activities to work on in between sessions. We highly recommend Sarah!“
“Sarah was born to be a dog trainer. She helped us learn the fundamentals with our Belgian Malinois puppy. She has a very calm and effective approach, with a ton of tips. Each session we learned something new that we utilize with our puppy every day. Her training has helped us tremendously!“
Hiking and learning with sweet Kody he is doing a fantastic job with practicing his muzzle conditioning! Along with practicing his recall on the trails and being able to give focus around other dogs at a safe distance away in a busy parking lot!♥️🐾 #dogtraining ... See MoreSee Less
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Hiking and learning with this adorable crew! Louie, Mac, and Maple!🐾💙🩷😄 #dogtraining ... See MoreSee Less
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Cutie 🥧’s!
Handsome Rudy is learning to focus on his parents when passing by other people! 🐾 #dogtraining ... See MoreSee Less
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Ollie was all smiles while conquering his leash reactivity! 💙🐾 #dogtraining ... See MoreSee Less
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Kody worked on some muzzle conditioning training exercises to help him when he feels uncomfortable in the vans.
His baby brother Tucker (ignore the name tag his name has changed a few times)
decided to join on the learning experience!😆
Puppies can also learn the benefits of being conditioned to a muzzle, you never know when you’ll need to utilize one with your dog.
Way to go Kody!🩵🐾 #dogtraining ... See MoreSee Less
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Smiles from Tilly while practicing loose leash walking! 🐾 #dogtraining ... See MoreSee Less
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Pluto practicing calmness around the downtown distractions! 💙🐾 #dogtraining ... See MoreSee Less
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Good job; good boy.
Sweet Canela learned so much during her session, on how to feel comfortable around stressful triggers in her environment. She did amazing practicing on engage/disengage games when passing other dogs around the neighborhood!
Ps: Her brother Billie wanted to join in on the fun!😄
Way to go Canela!🩷🐾 #dogtraining ... See MoreSee Less
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