“The Barkeologist,” Lisa P. Gainer has combined her two greatest joys in life---  teaching people and  training dogs--- into  a “second act” as a VSA Positive Dog Trainer. As a college History professor for over 26 years, Lisa passionately worked to help adults improve their lives through education.  Lisa’s experience of working in a community college system allowed her to invest in the lives of students from 18 to 80, giving her a unique ability to effectively communicate with people of all ages and varied backgrounds.  That experience has now been combined with her lifelong love of dogs to create learning opportunities for dogs and owners to grow their relationship through love and mutual respect. Following her recent retirement from college teaching, Lisa began to work exclusively as a dog trainer.
 Inspired by her forever “heart dog”, Coco, Lisa began training with Victoria Stilwell Academy during the early stages of the 2020 pandemic after her college had gone to remote studies.  With the help of her VSA mentor, Tori, she excelled in the program and quickly completed it. 

Lisa took the lessons that she learned and together with eager student Coco completed numerous AKC training titles while the country remained on lock down.  A brilliant Teacup Poodle, Coco proved to be the perfect first student, giving Lisa lots of truly personal experience in training from both the perspective of the trainer and the owner.  Without the inspiration Coco provided, Lisa would not have pursued dog training, and Coco is honored by being the logo for Lisa’s practice. Lisa is married to Allen Gainer, and together they share Standard Poodle, Lexi, and Miniature Poodle, Lily. Sadly, Coco was lost to an aggressive lymphoma in 2022. 

As “The Barkeologist,” Lisa offers in- home private training, virtual training, and phone consultations. Each training session is designed to maximize time in order to balance the needs of  dog and owner and to achieve behavior modification quickly and efficiently.   Sessions range from 45 to 90 minutes and are offered at affordable rates. Lisa specializes in training basic manners (sit, down, stay, loose leash walking, leave it, drop it, off, come/recall, etc.) and managing nuisance behaviors (door dashing, jumping up, excessive vocalization, nipping, etc.) She also is passionate about designing and implementing enrichment plans to overcome boredom and socialization plans to develop well-adjusted, happy dogs. Lisa is available, upon request, for presentations to small groups and educational settings.