Laura Clawson is the owner of Unleash the Pawsitive and is a certified dog trainer and behavior consultant. She is a graduate of the Animal Behavior College in California where she received her dog training certification. Laura has partnered with Victoria Stilwell, star of the popular Animal Planet show, "It's Me or the Dog" and is proud to be a Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Trainer (VSPDT). Laura is also a member of the Pet Professionals Guild (PPG), an AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) evaluator, a Canine Life and Social Skills (C.L.A.S.S) evaluator through the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, an educator for Family Paws Parent Education (FPPE), a presenter for Dog Gone Safe Be a Tree program, an Associate Nose Work Instructor (ANWI) for K-9 Nose Work®, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire.
As a parent, and as an educator for Family Paws Parent Education, Laura specializes in working
with families with dogs. In her years as a trainer, she has seen so much room for improvement in our relationships and interactions with dogs where children are concerned. It is a personal goal for Laura to help family dogs form solid, stable, safe relationships with children, instead of just tolerating them.
Laura believes in continuing education in order to keep on top of current and effective positive reinforcement based training methods. She continues her education by regular attendance at dog training seminars and conferences, reading numerous dog training publications, working alongside other professional trainers, and studying animal behavior through both live observation as well as training videos. This continuing education has given Laura an in depth understanding of how your companion dog learns and therefore to have the ability to work creatively and effectively with force free, positive methods to address obedience concerns as well as more significant behavioral problems requiring more intense training and behavior modification efforts.
Before moving to Georgia in 2008, Laura volunteered as an animal companion at a humane society in Southern California where she spent individual time with the shelter dogs working on basic obedience skills with the goal of helping each and every animal find a home. Laura knows how rewarding it can be to adopt a shelter dog.
Her four dogs, Jake, Missy, Maggie, and Hazel are all shelter/rescue group adoptees.
