Shelby Marlo (CPDT)
Professional Dog Trainer and Animal Behavioral Specialist

Shelby Marlo is a charter member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, a professional organization of individual trainers who are committed to becoming better trainers through education. Founded in 1993 by Dr. Ian Dunbar as a forum for trainers to meet and discuss topics of mutual interest, their focus is on humane training methods for dogs. Membership has grown to over 3000, and the APDT has become a voice for pet dog trainers worldwide.

A former board member of the West Los Angeles Obedience Training Club, Shelby was a member of the Top Dog team, who showed Lotte, her Smooth Collie, in competition during the 1990s. Lotte was the first Smooth Collie to win "High-In-Trial," the highest honor from the Kennel Club of Beverly Hills and The Collie National. Lotte is now in the history books for her record-breaking accomplishments and was the top ranked obedience collie in America. Shelby and Lotte competed in both the Gaines Regional and the Gaines Classic Competitions by invitation only. They received the prestigious Dog World Award from Dog World magazine.

Co-founder of the L.A. Dog Trainers meetings, which are held on a monthly basis at Shelby's home in Los Angeles, the brightest minds in the Los Angeles dog training world come to exchange ideas and information. Having studied the methodologies of many of the most progressive people in the field, including Dr. Ian Dunbar of the Center for Applied Animal Behavior, the late John Fisher, Michael W. Fox, Karen L. Overall, John Rogerson, Karen Pryor, author of Don't Shoot the Dog, the bible of dog training, Shelby combines her innate knowledge of animal behavior with positive reinforcement and behavior modification techniques. As she says, "I take constant pleasure in seeing difficult animals turn into marvelous family members. This is the true joy of my work."

Dog training is not an accredited field, which is why Shelby works constantly to upgrade standards and legitimize the specialty, traveling constantly to study and update her skills in all areas that apply. She teaches group obedience classes on a weekly basis (kindergarten through agility and advanced training) and has thousands of individual clients across America.

For more information read Shelby's training philosophy