Dog Trainer, Instructor and Family Counselor Internship and Seminar for Career Professionals 200-hour, 4 week Board Certification Program Sponsored by the Association of Companion Animal Behavior Counselors October 1 - October 26, 2007 March 31 - April 25, 2008 Dream Pond Animal Sanctuary and Reserve Crescent City, Florida - Near Orlando/Daytona Beach Instructor: Robert DeFranco, MS, PhD (in progress), BCCAB Board Certified Companion Animal Behaviorist Register Online Today!

A Need for Certified Dog Behavior Professionals Professional dog training is a growing field in the U.S. and other countries worldwide. There are over 55 million dogs in families in the U.S. alone. Sadly, over 20% of these wonderful companion animals are relinquished to animal shelters annually because they are no longer wanted. Most are in this situation because of reported behavior problems. There is an ever increasing demand for well educated, board-certified dog trainers and instructors working in private practice, at veterinary practices, animal shelters, dog training schools, doggie day care centers, pet walking and sitting services, and pet supply stores. If you love dogs and are looking for a new and exciting full-time or part-time career, receiving a quality education (theory, practicum and supervised experience) and a professional credential from an independent peer-reviewed professional membership organization (board certification) is your first step.

200-hour 4 week World Class Internship and Education Program This ACABC sponsored program for professionals is in its 15th year and has graduated over 500 interns while operating in New York City and now Northern Florida. The program currently accepts a maximum of 20 U.S. and international student interns each year. The program is currently offered in the spring and fall of each year at the American Foundation for Animal Rescue's Dream Pond Animal Sanctuary and Reserve in Crescent City, Florida, close to Orlando, Daytona Beach, Jacksonville and Ocala. Dream Pond is a lovely and unique 20-acre tropical reserve with dogs, horses, llamas,wolves, and other animals alongside a 28 acre pond in rural northern Florida. Students will work with hundreds of dogs at Dream Pond and area animal shelters and sanctuaries. Participants study under Robert DeFranco, MS, PhD (in progress), a board certified companion animal behaviorist, researcher and college professor with over 20 years of experience in motivational animal training and behavior counseling. He is president of the American College of Applied Science and former executive director of the Animal Behavior Center of New York and the Queens Community Animal Shelter in New York City. He has worked in and studied applied animal behavior with dolphins, whales, wolves, big cats, and domesticated dogs, cats, birds and pleasure horses. He is the former host of WEVD radio's (New York City) It's About Animals and Queens Public Televison's Pet Talk Live. He has written animal behavior columns in New York City newspapers and has appeared regularly on national televison and radio. He is also a forensic consultant and expert witness in animal injury litigation.

Learn why the ABCNY program is your best choice The AFAR internship program is a non-profit program created by degreed professionals in animal science and veterinary medicine. Everything that we teach is supported by university and veterinary school research and applied science. At ABCNY, we use only the most humane methods of dog behavior training/conditioning including Gentle Leader head collars and motivational operant/respondent conditioning using clickers, thus avoiding excessive use of punishment. This is why Dog Fancy magazine (August 1999), the leading dog magizine in the world, found us to be the top animal behavior career program in the U.S. This program has been featured with our interns on New York City's Fox News, WNBC News, WABC News and New York One.

Please review our program through the links above and the credentials of our faculty. We invite you to compare the quality of this educational program to other dog trainer programs offered both domestically and internationally.Take the first step today by registering for our next 5 week, 200 hour internship prgram to begin an exciting and rewarding professional career as a board certified dog trainer and instructor. Remember that this discounted educational program is for ACABC members only. Membership is US $125 per year. If you are not an ACABC member, visit their web site for online membership application prior to registering.