About Us
Hello,
I’m Carmaleta Aufderheide, but I mostly go by Carm. Before working with dogs, I had a rich NICU nursing career and raised a family. I then returned to graduate school to earn my master’s degree in conflict and dispute resolution (CRES). During my time in CRES, I conducted research investigating the impacts of the human-animal bond with vulnerable populations that sealed my future as a professional dog trainer.
After completing CRES, I graduated from the Karen Pryor Professional Dog Training Academy (KPA-CTP), and soon after earned my Certified Professional Dog Training credentials (CPDT-KA).
Since 2016, I’ve helped improve communication and repair strained relationships for hundreds of people and their dogs. After 6 years of helping clients and their dogs reach their training goals ranging from obedience, therapy prep, canine good citizen prep, and fear reactivity...it was separation anxiety cases that continually held my attention. The difficulty of these cases was unparalleled with poor resolution.
Traditional training often fell short and I wanted more for my clients, so I invested in more education and earned my Certified Separation Anxiety Training credentials under the mentorship of Malena DeMartini, a world leader on separation anxiety.
I now specialize in helping dogs overcome separation anxiety and related problem behaviors. By the time people find me, they are often exhausted, frustrated, and emotionally drained and I get it. I am grateful to those who put their trust in me to guide them through this storm and I make it my mission to support, listen, and partner with my clients. Believe me, when I say, we can do this together!
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My Training Philosophy & Approach
Pairing the latest science-based, field-tested practices with positive training, I can compassionately help your dog overcome their separation anxiety. The skillful implementation of a tailored desensitization protocol allows me to support you and your dog on this journey. At the core of my training philosophy is the implementation of humane, fear-free methods in behavior modification. Little by little, your dog will unlearn their fear of being home alone and transition into relaxing without any feelings of anxiety or panic.
Testimonials
“Separation anxiety is one of the hardest things I've had to deal with as a dog owner. I felt completely lost and alone when it first started happening with my dog, and didn't know what to do or who to turn to. Carm has been the calm in my storm and has been by my side through it all; she never stopped encouraging me and my dog and reminded me that we would get through it on the toughest days. She makes the training feel so much less daunting and brings her expertise and years of experience to the table with every mission she writes. After coming out on the other side of it, I can confidently say that training with Carm works - it's the only thing that helped my dog move through his separation anxiety and allowed us both to lead happier and healthier lives.”
— Alyssa Kianidehkian (Duncan)
“Carmaleta is a fantastic trainer who understands dogs and what they need to succeed. She helped our pup, Hank, regarding reacting to other animals and with walking. She helped us to build the skills we need to help keep Hank grounded in reality when he reacts to something. Given Hank is a big dog, this has helped our family out immensely. We now have skills that we can use now and in the future when Hank has his reactive moments (which are less and less, by the way). It was great to work with Carmaleta and to know we have built lasting skills to help support Hank's best life.”
— Melanie O’Meara (Hank)
“We love Carmaleta!! We’ve used Carmaleta for training two of our dogs. She trained us so that we can train our dog. Carmaleta has a true love in what she does – she is empathic, gentle, kind, and forthright in her communication. She provided a detailed recap of each session, an occasional video, and a training schedule with assignments. We highly recommend her services!”
— Carl & Barb Hultenberg (Calloway)
"I cannot say enough good things about our experience working with Carmaleta! She is a highly skilled, knowledgeable and compassionate trainer. She has excellent communication skills and worked with me and my dog as a team. My dog wasn't socialized properly as a puppy and reacted to the world with fear. Carmaleta understands how dogs think and paid careful attention to how my dog and I reacted to stimuli so that she could individualize the training and better meet my dog's needs. My dog grew to be confident and secure. I highly recommend Carmaleta! "
– Theresa and Kai Mayne
We’re in this together.
As your training partner, I am committed to supporting you throughout all the highs and lows of training as we work towards your training goals. You will not be alone in this journey!