About Kaitlin Bennett
Dog Trainer
Kaitlin Bennett
Dog Trainer
Kaitlin and her first “foster fail”, Capone, had a special relationship, a secret handshake, and an adrenaline filled hobby of bicycling through her Brooklyn neighborhood together. Depending on the day, they would walk side-by-side down the block in total harmony; other days her obedient and loving pitbull rescue would explode into barking at another dog.
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Capone had left his litter at the frighteningly young age of 4.5 weeks, and had fallen victim to attacks as a pup - more than once - and grew up insecure and defensive of his personal space. Although Kaitlin was proactive and had trainers for Capone from the beginning, there was no obedience skill that could solve Capone’s fear of: other dogs, fireworks, thunderstorms, fire alarms, and the tremors he would experience when overstimulated. When relocating to Vermont, she knew Capone needed to ground himself/decompress from 6 years in the city, and worked with Kevin Behan, practicing Natural Dog Training to bring him out of his hyper-vigilant state of mind and connect his mind and body. The approach was successful for Capone and Kaitlin, and Capone went onto have doggy roommates, friends, and eventually a little sister, Fern.
With Fern, a Catahoula Leopard Dog rescue, Kaitlin started training with professionals early, starting in a puppy class with Rhonda Bilodeau of Vermont Dog Pack. After the group class, Kaitlin and Fern continued with an extended one-on-one training package with Rhonda, which grew Kaitlin’s passion for dog training and led to shadowing and assisting Rhonda. Through the shadow learning, she turned an interest into a skill that she used to start helping others.
Kaitlin has learned with, and from, several trainers to expand her knowledge and tool-kit for solving the human/dog relationship alignment. Through Jay Jack of Next Level Dogs, Kaitlin learned how to build confidence through play and games on the leash, and how to improve your relationship and communication with your dog by doing what makes their heart sing.
Exactly one week after the passing of her beloved Capone, Kaitlin attended her first seminar on Training Between The Ears with Mark McCabe, which she discovered was the answer to Capone’s emotional issues all along. Training Between The Ears is the methodology that Kaitlin has taken the most courses on, and it is the basis for the work done with behavioral modification for stress, anxiety, over excitement and reactivity.
She continues her studies through seminars on various training protocols and techniques, philosophies, psychology, and training skills, in order to make dogs' lives more enjoyable and aligned with their human counterparts. Kaitlin continues to dedicate her life toward the world of dog training and has an off leash dog camp and training business, as well as being on the training team for Passion For Paws.
Recently Kaitlin fostered a yorkshire terrier who came with the issue of separation anxiety, inappropriate marking, and the need for a lot of space from other dogs and new humans. They bonded immediately, and after reading his records, and noting that her house would be his fourth home, Kaitlin decided to make her home his permanent home and help Sir Duke become his best self - after all, it’s what she does for a living!