Obedience
Custom Problem Solving
Behavior Modification
Therapy Dog Training
Service Dog Training
Search and Rescue Training
Law Enforcement Training
Handler Protection
Curriculum Vitae
My name is Stephen B. I have been involved in dog training since 1977, starting out working with a New York State Police K-9 handler at his private training business here in New York in the areas of Basic and Adva
nced Obedience, Personal Protection, Tracking/Trailing and Detection Work. I then taught Group Obedience classes at Olean High School Adult Education for 11 years. I had taught up to three classes a week with 16 people/dogs in each class year round. At the same time, I was training dogs privately in people’s homes for Obedience and Behavior Modification/Custom Problem Solving, and also trained dogs for Personal Protection and Tracking/Trailing. In 1994, I opened up a full time training center in Olean, New York. I offered Private and Group Obedience classes, and also offered Training for Tracking/Trailing, Personal Protection, Narcotics and Explosives Detection, Accelerant and Human Remains Detection, Seizure and Allergen Detection and Behavior Modification/Custom Problem Solving. I have since gone to only private training and no longer offer Group Obedience Classes. I have been certified by The United States Department Of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration and have been Licensed by The New York State Health Department, Bureau of Controlled Substance for possession and use of Schedule 1-5 Controlled Substances in K-9 training and Certification, and a have a Federal Class 33 High Explosives License from The Bureau Of Alcohol To***co and Fi****ms as well as a New York State License from The Department Of Labor to be able to handle and possess the explosive materials needed for K-9 Training and Certification. I have a New York State and BATF approved magazine for the storage of explosives used in my K-9 training. These are also used in the Certification process as well. Currently, I am certified as a Master Trainer by The American Working Dog Association (AWDA). I am also the New York State Coordinator for the AWDA and sponsor seminars here in Olean, New York as well as travel to and instruct at other seminars that are sponsored by the group as a Law Enforcement Instructor. Certifications of all types of Working Dogs, both Law Enforcement and Private, are offered through The American Working Dog Association. The website for The American Working Dog Association, including Certification Standards is www.americanworkingdog.com . I am a International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP) Provider Member. I offer private training for Law Enforcement K-9s in the areas of Narcotics and Explosives Detection, Handler Protection and Tracking/Trailing as well as Search and Rescue Dogs in Tracking/Trailing and Human Remains Detection. I also supply fully trained working dogs and handler instruction. I am currently the Canine Expert for the ESI Employee Assistance Program, which serves over 750,000 households. I write articles and answer dog related questions on their pet help website. The pet help website can be viewed at www.theeap.com/blog . I was also an Adjunct Instructor at Jamestown Community College in Olean NY for many years. I taught at the Kids College with courses on dogs and training. This was run through the Adult Education Program
Most of my clients in Obedience and Behavior Modification are referrals from local Veterinarians, pet shops, Kennel Owners, and Groomers within a 100-mile radius of Olean, New York. I am a past Tester/Observer for Therapy Dogs Inc. and have trained and registered client’s dogs for Therapy Dog work. I currently work with Handlers and Dogs and help them get their dogs registered through The Alliance of Therapy Dogs, Inc. I have also apprenticed with The American Temperament Testing Society, and learned to conduct temperament tests based on breed. I have served on The Board of Directors of the Olean Kennel Club in Olean, New York and also served as the Personnel Chairman on The Board of Directors of The SPCA in Cattaraugus County (NY). I have been involved doing temperament tests and training staff in dog handling techniques at The SPCA in Cattaraugus County, The SPCA Serving Allegany County and many local Rescue Groups for many years as well. I am a sworn Senior Animal Cruelty Investigator for Allegany County (NY) and the was the Senior Animal Cruelty Investigator for Cattaraugus County (NY) and have received certification as a Peace Officer with Fi****ms and Deadly Force Certificate from The NY State Bureau of Criminal Justice, Bureau of Municipal Police through the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department Academy and Peace Officer Training Academy. I received my Peace Officer Certification with Fi****ms after successfully completing the New York State approved fi****ms and Article 35 training course and qualifying with my firearm through the NY State Peace Officer Academy, Office of Public Safety. I had maintained my Fi****ms and Article 35 training through yearly qualification with The Portville Village Police Department. I was a sworn part time K-9 Handler with the Village of Portville Police Department, in Portville, New York. My Badge Number was 7626. I handled both a Narcotics Detection Dog and an Explosives/Fi****ms Detection dog. I currently work with several other area Law Enforcement agencies in Narcotics and Explosives Detection. I also work with many rescue groups on temperament testing and training to find adoptable dogs forever homes. I instruct their personnel in the proper handling and training of dogs and how to “read” dogs while working with them. This includes, but is not limited to, The SPCA in Cattaraugus County, The SPCA Serving Allegany County, Empire Animal Rescue Society and Joyful Rescues. I have been used by many Courts in both New York and Pennsylvania as an Expert Witness to evaluate dogs who have bitten as well as dogs who are in Dangerous Dog suits. Once an owner has been directed by the Court to have their dog evaluated, I then evaluate the dog and issue a written report to the Court to help with the determination in the case. One of my training projects was to formulate a systematic training method for training a Seizure Detection Dog and Diabetic Detection Dog for a woman with type I diabetes to warn her when she is headed for a diabetic coma. The dog has been in use for several years now and has performed its duties dozens of times successfully. I have successfully trained many other Seizure Detection Dogs and Diabetic Detection Dogs using the same methods, and am currently working on others. I also have trained dogs that are used in schools and nursing homes, as well as Service Dogs for Veterans and others with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Mobility issues. I currently train one Service Dog at a time for varied client needs. The actual training time is three to four months of Board and Train at my home, followed by weekly Training Sessions with the new Handler for up to a year. I Train Service as well for WNY Heroes Inc./Pawsitive For Heroes Inc. and one of their Primary Trainers for Veterans requiring Service Dogs due to problems asising from being a Combat Veteran. I have been Certified as an Expert Witness and have testified in Court Cases and offered opinions in both New York and Pennsylvania in court cases. I regularly evaluate dogs sent to me by Courts across NY and PA and write opinions for Dangerous Dog Complaint cases as well as evaluate dogs for local Dog Control Officers and Animal Cruelty Officers. I have been a correspondent for Dog Sports Magazine, writing articles on Police K-9 and doing interviews. I have published a training manual of using the Scent Mixing Method for training Narcotics Detection Dogs, and have been featured in Dog World Magazine on the training of working dogs. I also have conducted and been interviewed by countless people in local and national media on the training and use of dogs, as well as having a cable access TV show for many years called “The Dog Guy “. I am a past Certifying Official for DrugBeat Certifications in Springfield, MO. I also was on the DrugBeat Advisory Board and had input into certification standards, policies etc. I am currently a Certified Master Trainer with the American Working Dog Association and I am qualified to Train and Certify K-9s in the areas of Narcotics and Explosives Detection, Tracking/Trailing, Patrol, Cadaver and Accelerant Detection. I have been sworn as a K-9 Training Officer with The Buffalo (NY) Special Police K-9 Unit. I served as a Lieutenant and my badge number was 1890. In addition to training the K-9’s to be used in this unit, I was also an advisor in policy to be used by the unit and maintenance training. I am currently the Trainer for many Law Enforcement Agencies in both NY and Pennsylvania. I am a Member/Partner with the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners, and follow their Minimum Training Standards when Training Service Dogs. I offer weekly training sessions to those handlers with working K-9’s in our area, and recently started The Multi-Jurisdictional Working Dog Association. The American Working Dog Association membership is available to provide access to an active group for assistance and certification to Working Dog Handlers, both Law Enforcement and Private, in New York State and Pennsylvania. I have started an annual May Working Dogs Seminar in Olean NY with the American Working Dog Association. A weeklong Training session with Certification tests offered in all disciplines at the end of seminar. I have been instrumental in setting up quarterly searches at Federal Correctional Institutes, working with The United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons. The searches are coordinated with The Federal Bureau of Investigation, who has jurisdiction in the Federal Institutions, as well as the United States Attorney’s Office. K-9 teams from our training group have used to perform these searches. I have also been on call to FCI McKean for any time a working K-9 is needed to assist. I also have done many contraband sweeps for the Department of Labor’s Federal Job Corps program, as well as many public and private schools. These searches have been done privately and with Law Enforcement. I was the K-9 Training Director for a 503c non-profit community safety group, Paladin Associates Inc., that provided K-9s and handlers for contraband sweeps in both New York and Florida schools, and provided assistance to Law Enforcement agencies. In that capacity, I was responsible for developing the entire K-9 training program for both the dogs and their handlers, as well as tracking maintenance training and progress of the dogs and handlers. I perform many demonstrations for youth and civic groups during the year to promote the use of working dogs and dog safety, including a program I developed to teach children how to minimize their chances of being bitten by a dog that I use in school demonstrations. I also have hosted a weekly cable TV show on Adelphia Cable 6 show casing working dogs, and anything dog related. On September 11th, 2001, during the Terrorist Attack, several K-9s I personally trained for Paladin Associate Fl. were called upon to check The Presidential Press Corps jet for explosives and weapons prior to its leaving Florida enroute to meet up with President Bush to be able to relay information from the President to the public. We received a letter from President Bush thanking us for our services several months later. My website, with many letters of reference included, can be found at www.thedogguy.net . My Service Dog website can be found at www.servicedogguy.com .
