On The Spot Dog Training: A Conversation with Marilyn Gaffney

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Housekeeping

We all know that the ANIMALS are the ones who teach us so much! What would you like to share about animals, your experiences with them or that you’ve learned over the years?

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As a dog trainer certified by NADOI (the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors), using positive training techniques, I teach people to train their dogs to be life-long companions.  I teach people how to communicate with their dogs in a language understood by canines.
In 1991, realizing that many pet owners were no longer interested in coming to training classes, with a generalized obedience curriculum, one night a week for ten weeks, I created On The Spot Dog Training.  On The Spot offers training in clients’ homes, incorporating everyone living in the household and focuses on specific training needs of individual clients.  On The Spot provides flexibility, saves clients the time of transporting their pets to training facilities, and deals with pet behaviors where they occur – in clients’ homes.
For several years, prior to launching On The Spot, after a year-long apprenticeship, I taught obedience classes for Kennelwood and various community organizations.
I have served as a mentor trainer for the Animal Behavior College providing local hands-on training experience for up-and-coming trainers.
With my own dogs, I have pursued a variety of endeavors.  I have shown in competitive obedience and conformation.  One of my Dalmatians was featured in a photo shoot and a television commercial.  Additionally, I raised a puppy for the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind.
My spouse and I were charter members of Friends of REGAP, a fund-raising arm we created in the early 1990s to support retired-racing Greyhound adoption in St. Louis.
I continue to work with the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine to grow Barkley House, a Ronald McDonald type facility for people and their pets at Mizzou.  While we continue to raise funds for the Barkley House prototype, we have retrofit two dedicated rooms at a nearby hotel as a precursor to Barkley House.
Additionally, I serve on the Steering Committee of the Humane Society of Missouri Women’s Leadership Council, a group of professional women who connect with each other and direct our time, expertise and support toward making a lasting difference in the lives of animals in Missouri.
Over the years, dogs have introduced me to many of my dearest friends and have taught me invaluable lessons applicable to many aspects of my life.