Meet Our Team
The trainers at Courteous Canine LLC are supervised by Karen McCarthy, CDBC, CPDT-KA. Many of our trainers are members of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers. All of our trainers who are employed by Courteous Canine are working towards the Certification of Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KA) a comprehensive psychometrically sound (independent of any training school) exam evaluating the trainer knowledge of learning theory, husbandry, canine ethology, classroom management and human teaching techniques. Eligibility for this test requires a minimum of 300 hours as a lead trainer and references from a veterinarian, colleague and a client.
Karen McCarthy, founder
Karen holds a Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Simmons College and completed her mentor hours at Boston MSPCA’s Behavior Department. Karen is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) , a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC), a Pet Partner Evaluator, an American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen and STAR Puppy Evaluator , a professional member of the Association for Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) , and an Authorized Mentor Trainer for Animal Behavior College. She also has a Citation in Animal Cognition from Harvard University Extension School, and regularly attends seminars with the best instructors and theorists in the dog training field, including Dr. Ian Dunbar, Patricia McConnell, Susan Garrett, Kathy Sdao, and John Rogerson. Originally a high school special education teacher working with behaviorally disordered adolescents, Karen switched to professional dog training in 2006. She trained extensively under Jim Barry of Reston Dog Training, better known as the RI Dog Guy. Originally a veterinarian assistant, Karen switched to dog training a decade ago. Between her and her staff of six, Courteous Canine, LLC provides private and group training to Rhode Island, and southeastern Connecticut.
Her credentials specifically related to dog training are:
Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA)
Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC)
Authorized Mentor Trainer for Animal Behavior College
Pet Partner Evaluator
American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen and STAR Puppy Evaluator
Professional member of the Association for Pet Dog Trainers (APDT)