Dog Behavior Training Near State College PA
Your friendly local dog trainer near State College, PA
Pet Lover's Passion, established 2015, can help you:
- Basic to advanced dog obedience training
- Stop dog barking
- Stop dog pulling on leash
- Puppy training
- Puppy biting and nipping
- House training
- Help dogs get along with other dogs and cats
- Stop a dog from jumping up
- Rehabilitation for scared dogs
- Growling or barking at people
- Separation anxiety dog training
- Dog trick training and enrichment activities
- Reliably come when called
- Stop dog door dashing
Heather Smith, Certified Dog Trainer and Dog Behaviorist, uses relationship-based training methods and dog psychology to get to the root cause of behavior problems. She has helped hundreds of people bring balance back into their lives with their dogs.
Heather Smith, Dog Behavior Specialist
Meet Our Head Dog Trainer and Dog Behaviorist
Heather Smith, ABCDT
Heather Smith is a certified dog trainer, a seasoned dog behavior specialist, and a strong advocate for building trust with animals through fair training methods.
Through her hands-on style teaching, Heather has helped hundreds of cat and dog owners calm their wild or anxious dogs, raise puppies right, and help cats regain confidence.
She teaches people how to train their own pets.
"The people who spend the most time with the animal will have the most impact, which is why I teach owners the simplest and most effective training methods they can use in their daily lives." says Heather.
Heather has proven that it doesn't matter your dog's age, breed, behavior issue, or personality...if you have the right know-how, any dog can be trained!
Heather is also experienced in working with cats and multi-pet households to bring peace to peoples' and animals' lives.
Heather Smith is a Dog Behavior Specialist who can help you with:
- Dog behavior problems - dog barking, puppy nipping, house soiling, dog leash pulling, dogs not getting along, jumping on visitors, and more
- Getting lasting results quickly and easily
- Puppy training - basic dog obedience, manners training, puppy socialization
- Dog trick training, canine sports and enrichment activities to keep your dog on their best behavior!
- How to teach your dog to get along with your cat
Heather's dog training methods work for dogs of all ages, breeds, and personalities!
Located near State College, PA - Pet Lover's Passion is the dog trainer for you!
As seen on:
DOG TRAINING TESTIMONIALS
Dog Behavior Training That Works!
★★★★★
"Heather is very knowledgeable and was great with helping us train our golden retriever. We have noticed a big change in his behavior from the time she first came to our last session. His manners are much improved and he even learned some new tricks! I would recommend Heather to anyone who is trying to train their pet."
John & Alisa, PA
★★★★★
"Highly Recommend! Before Heather we had 2 over-reactive dogs that we dreaded taking on walks. Within 4 sessions our dogs are calmer around the house, on walks, and around other dogs. Heather is such a good observer of animal behavior…she was able to point out the details we were missing. She gave us effective homework between meetings and we now have more obedient dogs and a better relationship with them."
Wendy & Ben, PA
★★★★★
"Heather has been a great trainer, and our dog has come so far with her guidance. We highly recommend her to anyone!"
Angie K, PA
Peanut was a very scared dog that Heather worked with for confidence building. With Heather's help, he went from being unable to allow anyone to touch him, to walking confidently around the block! ☺
★★★★★
"I desperately needed a dog trainer to help me manage my two five-year old, 30 pound Cavapoo sisters.
My #1 goal was to be able to walk them together by myself. Too many times they would see something of interest and literally pull me off my feet. It was too dangerous.
Heather with her gentle ways, showed me how to train the dogs so they won’t pull me down the street. My mind was blown last week when we walked down the College Avenue sidewalk with one dog on one side, and the other dog on the other side (with a loose leash). I was beyond proud…
Training is a process, but when they are calm, submissive and watching me for signs while we walk down the street, it’s worth it. It made me proud to see what is possible from something that I thought impossible.
Areas Heather trained me - to train the dogs:
- jumping up on people
- out of control when someone comes to the door
- barking at dogs on TV
- being able to walk properly on the leash with strange dogs nearby
- stop pulling at the leash
I spent some time at the dog park the other day, and every dog coming in and going back to the parking lot was pulling their owners off their feet. Heather can help you and we highly recommend her.
Five stars: ⭐️🌟💫⭐️✨
Best regards,
Pat & Rich"
Pat & Rich, PA
★★★★★
"Last summer we welcomed the fifth golden retriever to our home in the last 20+ years. Each puppy, of course, has had its own personality. On the day the present puppy arrived, we discovered a few of his personality traits. The one that sticks out the most was that he was very frightened of noises. Whether it was a delivery truck or a motorcycle going by, he would run to safe places and hide. I knew we were going to need someone special to help provide the training he would require. After doing some research, I contacted Heather. She was the perfect choice for our new household addition! Calm, knowledgeable, patient, with some tricks up her sleeve, she recorded sessions and gave suggestions for overcoming our concerns. Her training sessions were always reasonable in length, well planned, and reasonably priced. I would be happy to recommend Heather to those who are searching for help working through puppy issues. We absolutely adore our very athletic one-year-old "puppy" who runs and plays ball daily and is still perfecting lessons from Heather."
Carol, PA
★★★★★
"Heather has helped us gain insight into how to relate to our two dogs, Gandalf and Pepper, and be more effective in training them."
Rich & Stephanie, PA
★★★★★
"I searched for a behaviorist to help my Chihuahua mix who struggled with separation anxiety, reactivity on walks, acceptance of being petted, and hypervigilance. Heather seemed like a good fit - she helped with everything and also helped me with teaching tricks for mental stimulation for Remi! Through this training, my relationship with my pup is better than ever! Highly recommend!"
Cynthia, PA
★★★★★
"My German Shepherd/Lab/Pit Mix, Lily, was extremely hyperactive and jumped on everyone who came in the door - including me. She knew none of the basic commands and did not listen to me at all. It was hard to get her to calm down, and she often knocked me over from her jumping. Heather came and worked with her on all of these things and even crate training, and now she sits and waits for me to come through the door - what a relief! I 100% recommend Heather! I wouldn't take my dog anywhere else!"
Glenda, PA
★★★★★
"I was beside myself of what to do. My pup was chasing and biting ankles, chewing up the fringes on my rugs, digging up my hardwood floor boards, and barking at me when I cooked supper. I never had to deal with the behaviors my new puppy displayed, so I called Heather. I employed the methods she taught me, and by her third visit, the bad behaviors were a distant memory. Thank you Heather!"
Diane, PA
★★★★★
"I've always had pugs, but my current one was a trouble-maker! My pug barked at every sound and stole food from the table, sometimes right off our girls' plates. Heather worked patiently with him to stay out of the kitchen and did doorbell training to desensitize him to different sounds. The barking and food stealing has improved and he's an easier dog to be around!"
Rebecca K, PA
★★★★★
"My Blue Heeler pup was chasing cars, biting tires, jumping on hoods of cars and scratching the paint, jumping up and getting people muddy, and being far too rough with my livestock. Heather came and showed me how to change these behaviors. Her methods are clever and make sense! When I consistently do what she taught me, my dog listens to me in a more calm and focused manner."
Bob G, PA
Heather and her dog, Jasper, performing "peek-a-boo".
Meet Our Lead Dog Trainer, Cat Trainer, Animal Behaviorist and Director
Heather Smith, ABCDT and Behaviorist
Hi, I'm Heather! I've been training animals for over 17 years with a strong focus on relationship-based dog training for pups of all ages, breeds, and personalities! I enjoy training cats too (they are so fun and easy to train!)
I have numerous certifications including:
- Animal Behavior College Certified Dog Trainer (ABCDT title)
- Animal Behavior College Authorized Mentor Trainer
- Pet CPR & First Aid
- Training Shelter Dogs
- Animal Massage
- Animal Nutrition and Diet
- Raw Dog Food Nutrition Specialist
- Acute Canine Herbalism Specialist
- Canine Essential Oils Specialist
- Attended Raw Roundup 2019 and 2020, hosted by Dog's Naturally Magazine
- Attended Victoria Stilwell's 2022 Dog Behavior Conference
Training Philosophy
I passionately advocate that training should be fun and good training is about building a healthy relationship of trust with your dog (or cat)!
By using relationship-based training methods, treats are not needed, especially for solving problem behaviors.
However, I do use treats for teaching new cues (or tricks), because using food in this scenario is the fastest way to “program” in a new behavior. ☺
Members of Pet Lover's Passion are always telling me "thank you" for changing their lives with their pets. Such gratitude is inspiring and it feels good to make such a powerful impact on peoples' and animals' lives!
Say "Goodbye" to dog behavior problems, and "Hello" to dog training that works!
Enter your information below and Heather will be in touch with you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Our Dog Training
Dog Training near State College, PA
How long have you been training dogs?
I have been training dogs and cats for over 17 years ☺
My dog is old and has a lifetime of bad habits. Is there any hope?
Absolutely! I have worked with a large number of elderly dogs with behavior issues, and it turns out you really can teach an old dog new tricks! ;)
Is there a training location that I bring my dog to or how does this work?
I provide both in-home dog training (where I come to you) and online video dog training sessions. I do not have a location for you to bring your dog to.
Does online dog training even work?
Of course! Here's how:
Dogs will behave according to their interaction with the people they spend the most time around.
To see what I mean, let's take a board-and-train scenario as an example: an individual sends their dog off to a dog trainer for a couple weeks at another location. The trainer does a good job and sends the dog back home. The dog owner finds that the bad behaviors return within a matter of days. What happened here?
The dog's behavior changed, but the dog owner's habits and way of handling their dog did not, therefore the dog reverted back to old habits.
That is why I teach dog owners how to train their own dogs with insight into the psychology of their dog. With this insight, I arm individuals with the dog training tools they need to handle any situation or bad behavior their dog throws at them.
That right there is how my online dog training works just as well as me coming to your home to train your dogs. ☺
How often do we schedule training sessions?
Most people I work with like to schedule once a week. However, I can come as often or as little as you and I feel is needed based on what type of dog training we are getting accomplished.
How soon will I see results from the dog training?
☺ You know the answer: it depends. It depends on your dog's personality, breed, age, aptitude for learning, the behavior problems we are working to solve, and most importantly: your commitment to the training I recommend.
The people I work with usually see tangible results in the first session. Some people (about 40% of the people I work with) notice a complete turn around in their dog's behavior in only 3 dog training sessions!
Most people see a complete resolution to their dog's behavior problems in 5 to 8 training sessions.
Results will vary.
My dog is harassing my cat. Do you help with this sort of thing?
Absolutely! I've also helped in situations where the cat was chasing the dog! Since I also train cats and have decades of experience working with multi-animal households, I can help you understand and work on the relationship dynamics between the animals.
I look forward to meeting you and your dogs!
♥ Heather Smith, Dog Trainer (ABCDT) & Dog Behaviorist
© 2011-2026 Pet Lover's Passion All Rights Reserved.
Pet Lover's Passion All Rights Reserved.