About
Meet Maritza, certified dog trainer and behavior consultant!
Maritza grew up in the Bay Area, California, and from a young age, like many trainers, taught her childhood dogs tricks and foundational skills. Maritza has 11 years of dog training experience, and 7 years in the professional field.
After being inspired by her family dog Lyanna the Australian Shepherd (who experienced lots of reactivity and fear/anxiety related behaviors,) Maritza started her training journey as a group class trainer, but later decided to move towards private coaching where she could devote her time to each dog’s special needs and unique traits. After volunteering at her local animal shelter as well, she realized the importance of building foundations and a safe environment for dogs who have behavioral issues, and how every dog deserves to live a happy, stress free life. She started West Coast Canine Connections, and then pursued her CPDT-KA (Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Knowledge Assessed) certification through CCPDT, as well as her Fear Free Certification. She also achieved her Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) certification through the International Association of Animal Consultants, (IAABC) a prestigious organization dedicated to helping dogs with behavioral concerns.
One of Maritza’s main hobbies is competing in agility with her border collie named Crunch. Through learning about dog sports she has gained a newfound passion for working with sport dogs on things such as ringside manners, arousal regulation and control, engagement, and a calm thinking brain. All things that are needed for high level performance!
FAQs
How does this all work?
Well, I will reach out to you within 24-48 hours after you contact me. When I email you, I’ll ask you some questions about your dog, main goals, when issues started, etc. We will then set up a phone consultation which is around 30 minutes long. After we discuss things you can book a session with me.
The main thing to understand about hiring a dog trainer is that when you do so, you’re hiring someone to give you the tools, techniques, and tricks to combat behavioral issues or establish a solid foundation for your dog. Despite the name “dog trainer” I am mainly training the humans, as I want you to learn how to set your dog up for success and how to handle situations even when I am not present.
When can we start to see results from the training?
While this is a common question and I can understand that people want to see changes right away, we have to remember that when we are working with dogs who are emotional living beings, change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, energy, patience, and consistency to allow the dog to adapt to new structures, ways of learning, as well as regulate their stress levels and environment. I never promise results by the end of a certain time/date because every dog (like people) are individuals and. there are a lot of factors at play when it comes to a positive prognosis.
