FSDA SPOTLIGHT on member:
P.J. Lacette, Best Paw Forward
P.J. Lacette has been training dogs and people for more than 40 years. When her first Irish setter destroyed its third couch P.J.’s husband Larry demanded that “something be done about those dogs,” surely not the first frustrated pet owner to utter those words
Erin, a sweet, sometimes-rowdy Irish setter, went to an obedience class with P.J. who has been involved in dog training ever since. Erin was the first of a number of P.J.’s nationally-ranked obedience dogs (Irish setters and flat-coated retrievers), as well as champions and dogs with agility rankings and sporting field titles.
More than 35 years ago P.J. and now-retired training school partner Sandy Guy started Best Paw Forward Inc. for private and group dog training. Today’s 10-acre full-time operation in Central Florida features all facets of pet training, plus obedience competition, rally, agility and conformation classes and workshops.
A major specialty is behavior problem solving including aggression counseling, workshops and growl classes. Our groundbreaking positive program for aggression work for family, performance and show dogs attracts owners and their dogs from all over Florida and beyond.
Seminars presented by P.J. at Best Paw Forward and other clubs have covered a wide range of topics including scent articles, recalls, retrieving, training foster dogs, jumping for obedience and agility, weave poles, agility teeters and conformation, all from a clicker point of view.
Best Paw Forward has the longest running group clicker classes in the southeast U.S. and P.J. was one of the original trainers/instructors to become faculty members for Karen Pryor Academy, an advanced-level certification program for dog trainers who use positive methods.
Her numerous television appearances have included Petsburgh U.S.A., Good Dog U, Ask the Vet, iVillage Live, That’s My Dog and Way to Grow as well as countless t.v. news segments and programs. She was a consultant on and appeared on Zig & Zag Alpha Dog Challenge. Her dogs and cats, as well as those of her students, have also been featured in television and print ads, in movies and at conventions and trade shows. One even went on to become one of the Bush Baked Beans spokesdogs.
Working for The Orlando Sentinel, a major newspaper, for 20 years helped maintain an early love for writing, and her by-line has appeared in dog publications such as the AKC Gazette and Setter Quarterly, as well as in books on dog training tips.
Dog photography is another way P.J. has enjoyed her time with dogs and her photos have been featured in multiple national magazines and journals, including covers of the Flat-Coated Retriever Directory, the golden retriever national club magazine and an Irish setter calendar. One became an inspiration for two limited-edition prints.
An early introduction to Ian Dunbar’s positive training methods paved the way for quick acceptance of lure-reward and clicker training, and the establishment of the longest-running puppy classes in Florida catering specifically to puppies ages 8-18 weeks. P.J. is APDT charter member 15.
P.J. and Sandy heard clicker gurus Karen Pryor, Gary Wilkes and Sue Sternberg speak for the first time at an early APDT conference in Chicago and were instantly hooked. Before long, the clicker way was firmly ensconced in their Central Florida program.
P.J. has also volunteered or worked at nearly every APDT conference and at multiple Clicker Expos, and has attended literally hundreds of educational seminars before and since, proof that all roads lead to clicker. She was vice chair for the APDT conference committee in 2008.
She has judged a working certificate/working certificate excellent, a team obedience event at a flat-coat national specialty and a number of obedience and conformation matches.
P.J. Lacette
BEST PAW FORWARD, INC.,
1835 Oak Haven Plantation Rd., Osteen FL 32764-8872
www.bestpaw.com bestpaw@bestpaw.com
407-321-1006
Erin, a sweet, sometimes-rowdy Irish setter, went to an obedience class with P.J. who has been involved in dog training ever since. Erin was the first of a number of P.J.’s nationally-ranked obedience dogs (Irish setters and flat-coated retrievers), as well as champions and dogs with agility rankings and sporting field titles.
More than 35 years ago P.J. and now-retired training school partner Sandy Guy started Best Paw Forward Inc. for private and group dog training. Today’s 10-acre full-time operation in Central Florida features all facets of pet training, plus obedience competition, rally, agility and conformation classes and workshops.
A major specialty is behavior problem solving including aggression counseling, workshops and growl classes. Our groundbreaking positive program for aggression work for family, performance and show dogs attracts owners and their dogs from all over Florida and beyond.
Seminars presented by P.J. at Best Paw Forward and other clubs have covered a wide range of topics including scent articles, recalls, retrieving, training foster dogs, jumping for obedience and agility, weave poles, agility teeters and conformation, all from a clicker point of view.
Best Paw Forward has the longest running group clicker classes in the southeast U.S. and P.J. was one of the original trainers/instructors to become faculty members for Karen Pryor Academy, an advanced-level certification program for dog trainers who use positive methods.
Her numerous television appearances have included Petsburgh U.S.A., Good Dog U, Ask the Vet, iVillage Live, That’s My Dog and Way to Grow as well as countless t.v. news segments and programs. She was a consultant on and appeared on Zig & Zag Alpha Dog Challenge. Her dogs and cats, as well as those of her students, have also been featured in television and print ads, in movies and at conventions and trade shows. One even went on to become one of the Bush Baked Beans spokesdogs.
Working for The Orlando Sentinel, a major newspaper, for 20 years helped maintain an early love for writing, and her by-line has appeared in dog publications such as the AKC Gazette and Setter Quarterly, as well as in books on dog training tips.
Dog photography is another way P.J. has enjoyed her time with dogs and her photos have been featured in multiple national magazines and journals, including covers of the Flat-Coated Retriever Directory, the golden retriever national club magazine and an Irish setter calendar. One became an inspiration for two limited-edition prints.
An early introduction to Ian Dunbar’s positive training methods paved the way for quick acceptance of lure-reward and clicker training, and the establishment of the longest-running puppy classes in Florida catering specifically to puppies ages 8-18 weeks. P.J. is APDT charter member 15.
P.J. and Sandy heard clicker gurus Karen Pryor, Gary Wilkes and Sue Sternberg speak for the first time at an early APDT conference in Chicago and were instantly hooked. Before long, the clicker way was firmly ensconced in their Central Florida program.
P.J. has also volunteered or worked at nearly every APDT conference and at multiple Clicker Expos, and has attended literally hundreds of educational seminars before and since, proof that all roads lead to clicker. She was vice chair for the APDT conference committee in 2008.
She has judged a working certificate/working certificate excellent, a team obedience event at a flat-coat national specialty and a number of obedience and conformation matches.
P.J. Lacette
BEST PAW FORWARD, INC.,
1835 Oak Haven Plantation Rd., Osteen FL 32764-8872
www.bestpaw.com bestpaw@bestpaw.com
407-321-1006
