CIA has some of the best trainers you'll find, nationally known and honored with awards.  But don't take our word for it... meet them yourself!

Laura VanArendonk Baugh CPDT KPACTP

Laura has been working with dogs and horses since childhood, and she began training professionally in 1999.  Laura was one of the earliest dog trainers to achieve national certification, scoring 98% on her written exam.  She is very active in pursuing continuing education, staying abreast of the latest research in behavioral science.

Laura is well-known in the clicker training community and is particularly fascinated by the hard science of altering behavior.  Her instructional videos are popularly recommended by other trainers and used in national presentations on clicker training, and one even made its way into a Harvard behavior class!  Laura is also trained in TAGteach, ensuring that she can provide a fun and positive learning experience for the human handler as well as for the dog.

In January 2008 Laura graduated as a Certified Training Partner from the highly-regarded Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior, from which students graduate with an A or not at all!  She is returning to the Academy as an instructor, teaching workshops around the country.  Laura is also a Professional member of the APDT.

Laura teaches Levels 1-3 sessions, Manners 1-2 courses, and the sports/specialty classes at CIA.

Alena Van Arendonk

Alena has a long background working with dogs, horses and other animals and began training professionally in 2000.  She first became interested in the rehabilitation of fearful, reactive and fear-aggressive animals after adopting a fearful Doberman, Lucrezia Under Starlight RN CGC.  This experience inspired her to begin developing a training protocol for fearful and underconfident dogs, which (after much additional time and research) has grown into the Shy Dogs program.

Alena regularly attends seminars and training workshops to continue her education, and enjoys finding opportunities to train unusual species. She is also very interested in the effects of diet on animals' health and behavior, and presents seminars on dog food and nutrition.

Alena now shares her home with two rescued Dobermans, Antares Valenzia AD BH CD-H RL1 RL2 CGC and Spica, as well as two rescued cats and occasional foster dogs.

Alena teaches the Manners for Shy Dogs and the Manners for Reactive Dogs courses at CIA. 

When she is not working with animals, Alena is a studio artist and photographer.  She does outstanding pet and human portraits!