How and Why Conscious Companion® Came To Be
Conscious Companion was created after Amy left her adventurous career at the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans. After studying animal welfare, applied behavior analysis, animal husbandry, animal enrichment, and ethology for nearly 20 years, Amy wanted to share her knowledge and expertise with others, outside of the animal conservation community. Amy was inspired to teach people and their pets what the captive exotic animals and endangered species benefited from every day: Science, Respect, and Compassion.
Throughout her education, extensive work and personal experience, and her abilities as an Intuitive Empath, Amy began to teach others why all species should be respected by using force-free training techniques. Amy's goal has always been to enhance the human-animal bond. Now Amy has infused her love of conservation and science with her knowledge of holistic practices such as animal communication and energy healing.
All of these tools and techniques are what enables her animal companions to thrive in their home! This is how she helps you to create Life with your animal companion, Improved!
Throughout her education, extensive work and personal experience, and her abilities as an Intuitive Empath, Amy began to teach others why all species should be respected by using force-free training techniques. Amy's goal has always been to enhance the human-animal bond. Now Amy has infused her love of conservation and science with her knowledge of holistic practices such as animal communication and energy healing.
All of these tools and techniques are what enables her animal companions to thrive in their home! This is how she helps you to create Life with your animal companion, Improved!
What You Can Expect From Conscious Companion's Services and Expertise
- Decades of professional and personal experience into your home or shelter.
- Fun enrichment, training, and appropriate husbandry for each animal within your household.
- Utilizing modern animal training methods based on the latest behavioral science.
- A holistic approach to everything
- Specialization in problem prevention and positive, fun solutions.
- Creating a home environment where your life with pets is less hectic and more fun!
Consultations
My consultations address all aspects in the home that can be improved upon to help both the pets and the people live more harmoniously together. Educating my clients is the basis of my consultations. If you can better understand your animal companion, their needs, and how to most appropriately provide those needs, you have the keys to creating a happier, healthier home.
These programs are designed for anyone who wants to:
These programs are designed for anyone who wants to:
- Increase the connection and bond with their animal companion
- Build Trust
- Curb boredom and restlessness
- Reduce destructive behaviors
- Find the root of behavioral issues
- Increase natural behaviors and therefore, increase their pet's health and longevity
- Learn new ways to engage, play with, teach, and enrich their animal companion
- Learn how to truly observe and listen to their animal companion
- Increase the safety and well-being of everyone within their home
Education creates understanding. Understanding facilitates compassion. Compassion creates harmony. Harmony increases safety. A safe, fun, and peaceful home is a happy harmonious home.- Conscious Companion
What My Methods Can Do for Your Family or Facility
My goal is to learn what you are wanting to change or improve, and then provide each of your family members (or team members) with the proper tools and techniques to enhance your relationship with the animal.
- You’ll learn the latest in companion animal science and certified science-based skills.
- You will receive tips that are tailored to each of your animal companions and your family members.
- You’ll be introduced to new resources for knowledge, education, and the use of positive reinforcement techniques.
- You’ll learn how your family can continue to foster more loving and productive relationship with your animal companions for the rest of your lives together.
The result is Life with Your Animal Companion, Improved™!
What We Will Do Together
Together, we will create a detailed training and enrichment plan to suit you and your individual animal’s needs. This plan will be tailored for each person, and species of animal in your home or facility. I will teach you how to train your animal companion using positive methods, and how to incorporate training and enrichment and energy management into a daily practice – This is not an individual lesson for you, but it is an entire family unit experience. I will show you how to open the lines of communication between you and your animal companion. I will work with your busy schedules and find times that accommodate your family time.
My Methods and Tools, and Promise to You
After using other forms of animal training and communication, I firmly believe in, and only use methods that allow and encourage the animal to make better choices, learn, and grow. All of my techniques are based on the latest scientific animal behavior principles. You can learn more about this here.
Thanks to these advanced humane, animal training techniques, I am an expert at:
- Identifying behaviors we want to reinforce
- Identifying behaviors we do not want to reinforce
- Setting the animal (and person) up for success
- Understanding that there is no quick fix.
- Setting the intention to experience life from the animal's perspective
No Force or Fear:
- Identifying behaviors we want to reinforce
- Identifying behaviors we do not want to reinforce
- Setting the animal (and person) up for success
- Understanding that there is no quick fix.
- Setting the intention to experience life from the animal's perspective
No Force or Fear:
- I do not use fear, pain, or force to train your animal companion.
- I will never attempt to modify behavior beyond my professional competency and experience.
- I only provide advice in areas in which I have proven expertise. If your needs are not within my areas of expertise I will gladly guide you to other consultants that specialize in what you are looking for.
- I will consider the needs and requests of everyone in your home.
Animal training should be about mutual respect. The goal is to build a relationship based on trust. When we build trust while respecting the animal's individual needs and preferences, we enhance the bond between the animal and the human. The results improve our life, and the life of our animal companion. ~ Conscious Companion
Changing Behavior to Create Lifelong Bonds
With any behavior modification (on any species - both people and pets!) I apply the science of learning and combine the highest standards available in the animal training industry. The result is observable and measurable behavior change.
How We Do This:
1) Arrange the animal’s environment to set them up for success!
2) Use positive reinforcement to increase desirable behaviors
3) Redirect undesirable behaviors (instead of using punishment)
5) Use techniques that build confidence and trust in both the person and the pet
6) Ensure that everyone is and learning and having fun!
Did you Know?
When an animal or person learns something new through the use of positive rewards there are many benefits that occur. These benefits extend well beyond what's initially learned.
Humane, science-based training is a skill that everyone can learn! And everyone can learn animal communication! These both require practice and patience. As a trainer and coach, I will help you to learn all of this!
Fun, positive, and humane techniques:
- improve relationships
- strengthen bonds
- build new pathways in the learner's brain
- develop confidence in the learner to try new behaviors and explore their environment
- work on every species
- Is Fun!
.... And don't we all need more fun in our lives?!
How We Do This:
1) Arrange the animal’s environment to set them up for success!
2) Use positive reinforcement to increase desirable behaviors
3) Redirect undesirable behaviors (instead of using punishment)
5) Use techniques that build confidence and trust in both the person and the pet
6) Ensure that everyone is and learning and having fun!
Did you Know?
When an animal or person learns something new through the use of positive rewards there are many benefits that occur. These benefits extend well beyond what's initially learned.
Humane, science-based training is a skill that everyone can learn! And everyone can learn animal communication! These both require practice and patience. As a trainer and coach, I will help you to learn all of this!
Fun, positive, and humane techniques:
- improve relationships
- strengthen bonds
- build new pathways in the learner's brain
- develop confidence in the learner to try new behaviors and explore their environment
- work on every species
- Is Fun!
.... And don't we all need more fun in our lives?!
Common Questions (That Should Be Asked to All Behavior Consultants!)
Q: Are you a "positive reinforcement" animal trainer?
A: To be honest, that is a loaded question. A true, science-based animal trainer understands the difference between positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment and more! There are many unqualified trainers out there who use the word "positive reinforcement", but they are not truly using the latest scientific, human techniques with animals and their people! If you were to look closely, you would find they use aversive (harmful) techniques, too. Science-based trainers reinforce desirable behavior with a variety of rewards, and do not draw attention to undesirable behavior. Positive reinforcement is the only type of reinforcement Conscious Companion uses to train both people and animals. All training is based on reinforcing desired behaviors; not punishing the animal or person for undesirable ones.
Q: What is reinforcement?
A: Reinforcers are one way to communicate with animals. Reinforcers let the animal know when it has performed the desired behavior. Reinforcers motivate an individual to repeat the desired behaviors. The reinforcer tells the animal, "Yes, you have done that well." Animals should be trained on a variable ratio reinforcement schedule, with reinforcement variety. Animals are not automatically reinforced after each behavior; the number of reinforcers varies unpredictably from occasion to occasion. But every individual may not respond in the same way to the same reinforcers. Therefore, the goal is to learn which reinforcers are preferred by individual animals (and the people I train, too!).
Q: How do you (or I) know what's reinforcing to my animal companion?
A: We determine what is reinforcing to the animal by carefully observing their behavior after a particular reinforcer is given. If the behavior decreases (ceases or slows down), we can assume that the consequence was not reinforcing. I then offer a different reinforcer. If the behavior increases (is repeated), the reinforcer is likely to be an effective one. So we proceed with that one. But reinforcers can and do change as an animal ages, as their health changes, and even as their mood or energy level changes - yearly, weekly, daily, and hourly! So it's not up to us to decide what's most reinforcing to the animal; it's always up to the animal to show us what is most reinforcing at the time. It's up to us to learn from them and work together as a cooperative team!
A: To be honest, that is a loaded question. A true, science-based animal trainer understands the difference between positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment and more! There are many unqualified trainers out there who use the word "positive reinforcement", but they are not truly using the latest scientific, human techniques with animals and their people! If you were to look closely, you would find they use aversive (harmful) techniques, too. Science-based trainers reinforce desirable behavior with a variety of rewards, and do not draw attention to undesirable behavior. Positive reinforcement is the only type of reinforcement Conscious Companion uses to train both people and animals. All training is based on reinforcing desired behaviors; not punishing the animal or person for undesirable ones.
Q: What is reinforcement?
A: Reinforcers are one way to communicate with animals. Reinforcers let the animal know when it has performed the desired behavior. Reinforcers motivate an individual to repeat the desired behaviors. The reinforcer tells the animal, "Yes, you have done that well." Animals should be trained on a variable ratio reinforcement schedule, with reinforcement variety. Animals are not automatically reinforced after each behavior; the number of reinforcers varies unpredictably from occasion to occasion. But every individual may not respond in the same way to the same reinforcers. Therefore, the goal is to learn which reinforcers are preferred by individual animals (and the people I train, too!).
Q: How do you (or I) know what's reinforcing to my animal companion?
A: We determine what is reinforcing to the animal by carefully observing their behavior after a particular reinforcer is given. If the behavior decreases (ceases or slows down), we can assume that the consequence was not reinforcing. I then offer a different reinforcer. If the behavior increases (is repeated), the reinforcer is likely to be an effective one. So we proceed with that one. But reinforcers can and do change as an animal ages, as their health changes, and even as their mood or energy level changes - yearly, weekly, daily, and hourly! So it's not up to us to decide what's most reinforcing to the animal; it's always up to the animal to show us what is most reinforcing at the time. It's up to us to learn from them and work together as a cooperative team!
“To put everything in balance is good, to put everything in harmony is better.” ― Victor Hugo
“What is Science? But knowledge in Process.” – Susan Friedman
Listen to a brief interview with PPG World Services where I discuss the importance of compassion, empathy, and nonjudgmental guidance while training, and consulting:
